When my client BB got engaged, she received a VERY special ring — a family heirloom sapphire and diamond ring dating back a couple generations. How cool is that?! As soon as she showed it to me, I knew just the designer to make her wedding rings… San Francisco’s own Sethi Couture.
I knew this would be the right fit, as Sethi Couture has this ingenious way of designing jewelry that is utterly modern, yet with an heirloom feel. This is precisely what was needed to complement her engagement ring.
The first step was for BB and I to meet with Prerna Sethi (one of the two sisters behind the brand) for a design session. She had oodles of diamonds to work with, and she quickly visualized two bands with graduated diamonds that would fit snugly with the engagement ring. My client loves the bling (a girl after my own heart), and we wanted to get the diamonds as big as we could, yet not overpower the delicateness of the ring. Prerna was up for the challenge!
How big of diamonds should we use?
Prerna sketching out design ideas
Once Perna had all the measurements taken and a firm idea of what BB was looking for, she was off to the design board. She presented us with a CAD design to see what it would look like. This is fantastic, as it’s not always easy for everyone to visualize what it’s going to look like.
Prerna explained the CAD renderings show a bit more metal than how it will look in real life. Needless to say, BB and I were both very excited to see the finished product. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint!
A close up of the same image, taken by an excited BB on her cell phone!
Pretty spectacular, don’t you think? When I met BB for a shopping appointment this past Thursday, she said, “I honestly could not be any happier with the rings!” I know it must be challenging to not wear them every day, knowing that they’re right in your own house. But only a few more weeks, and they’ll be worn and enjoyed every day.
Thank you so much for your amazing work, Sethi Couture, and I’m sending the happiest of wedding wishes to you and your fiancee, BB!! xoxo
I spent countless weekends at my Italian grandparent’s house in Los Gatos while growing up. I have so many vivid and cherished memories of the time spent there. Whenever my little brother and I would arrive, we’d run into my Nonie’s closet to get a piece of Chiclets gum she always had in her purse. Just typing that sentence, I can feel the crackly texture and whoosh of mint as I would bite into it. We loved to go feed the ducks and ride the train at Vasona Park, eat her mostaccioli with special sauce, and watch Lawrence Welk (while dancing on Nonno’s feet, of course!) . And I can’t even tell you how many games of horseshoes we played in the backyard, with the hand-made wooden score planks made by Nonno.
I know you won’t be surprised, but on certain special occasions, Nonie and I would quietly go into her modest bedroom (sans boys) and look at the treasures in her jewlery drawer. Though she did not have a valuable collection, each piece had sentimental meaning to her and was carefully separated with the terrycloth towel with which she lined the drawer. I loved listening to her tell me about the different pieces, who gave them to her, and where she wore them.
One of my most favorite pieces is her engagement ring…
Married back in 1927, my Nonie was only 16 years old when she became a bride!
Nonie and Nonno’s wedding day
At one time, this ring had a center stone, but now it’s just a roughly worn piece of blue glass. They were very poor immigrants, and when the original stone (I’m assuming a sapphire) fell out, glass was the only thing they could replace it with. Nonie told me it got so worn and pitted from all the lye that was used in long-ago days doing laundry. Running a boarding house at one point early in their marriage and having three children, she did more than her share of laundry, to be sure.
Though this ring has no real monetary value, it’s one of my most treasured possessions. I wear it frequently, and I’m often asked questions about it. And whenever it’s on my finger, I truly feel like my Nonie is with me. I love her and miss her.
Nonie and Nonno were married for 67 years!!
Do you have any treasured sentimental pieces in your jewelry box? I’d love to hear your story! Please send me a photo of your faves to [email protected].
Since August began, my Instagram feed has been full of sparkling peridot jewlery, honoring the birthstone for the month of August. Around August third I had one of those “Doh!” moments. Here I’ve been blogging about jewelry for over four years, and never have I written a series of articles about the birthstones for each month. (Sometimes my blondness amazes me.) So I’m very excited to explore the gems for each month, and we start with the peridot, which I learned is one of the few gems that comes in only one color. Ranging from a lighter yellow-green to a dark olive, the depth of the green is determined by how much iron is in the stone.
Known as “the gem of the sun” and “the emerald of the evening,” the peridot apparently has many benefits to its wearer, including the following:
-Happiness
-Prosperity
-Peace
-Enhances harmony in relationships
-Strengthens intuition
-Slows aging
-Attracts love into your life
What’s not to love about this list?! With that in mind, I started my search to see what fabulous peridot designs I could find. In no particular order, here’s eleven pieces that I would wear in a heartbeat.
So what do you think? Is peridot a stone you can see yourself wearing? Happy birthday to my August birthday readers! I hope all your birthday wishes come true.
You may recall reading about Jacquie Aiche about a year ago, when I posted an article about her here on the blog. I was eager to visit her at Couture this year to see her latest and greatest, and she did not disappoint!
Before I could start looking around, I had to first inspect what she, herself, was wearing!
Did she really bling out an antique watch? Yes…she did!
Jacquie showing me her new amethyst crystal necklaces
Her crystal necklaces wrapped in diamonds are dreamy–shown in the bottom two necklaces in the photo below. Yes, please!
The necklace on the bottom is now on my jewelry lust list!
These carved agate arrowheads with diamonds are unique and versatile.
And how about these sugilite earrings?? (Yep…another gem I had never heard of before!)
The way Jacquie took hoop earrings to the next level is awesome.
Her booth was filled with a riot of color, and I couldn’t resist trying on a few rings.
Though spring in San Francisco currently seems to be colder than our winter, my eye is still being caught by the ever-popular insect motif in jewelry. As I was walking up Sutter Street the other day, this little Victorian beauty buzzed my name from the front window of Lang Antique & Estate Jewelry.
While so beautiful, this intricate piece is certainly an investment for most people. It got me thinking about how this pin would be on the catwalk at Fashion Week. But how to translate this to the street? Or as often dubbed, “Runway to Realway.” I took a look around and compiled a collection of ideas. Here they are, in no particular order.
Tomorrow, as I head out for the day, I’m going to see how many of these winged creatures I see, both in reality and in the form of jewelry. I hope you have a lovely spring day!
What?! Don’t you live/work in SF? Well, yes…I do. I am a Bay Area native. I work in San Francisco many days a week, and I lived in Pacific Heights for a few years as well. (I currently live 15 miles south of the city.) But don’t you find that when you live somewhere, you often don’t take the time to visit all the cool, local places as opposed to when you’re visiting somewhere new? Heck, I know SF born and bred people who have never been to Alcatraz or walked the Golden Gate Bridge, but I know all my friends who’ve visited from abroad have done these things!
This was the impetus for Friday’s field trip, with my fabulous co-hort, Jennifer Bressie. There were a few jewelry stores in areas of SF we don’t often frequent which have been on our “must see” list. So we both cleared our schedule for the day to check them out. Jen was the driver, and I was the the direction girl…(Jen probably should have been worried when I had my directions scrawled on a piece of paper, instead of using Google maps on my phone!)
Off on our adventure!
Our first stop was going to be D & H Sustainable Jewelers in the Castro. Now I know that directions aren’t my strong suit, but the streets in the area where Noe and Market (and others?) meet are so catywompus, that we found ourselves stuck behind this trolley, at a dead stop. (Please note the “Dead End” sign to the right. It’s true, signs don’t lie.) Oops! Let’s do a “creative” U-turn. Perfect. Did I mention I’m not the best navigator?!
But it was all worth it, and Jen’s superb driving skills got us to our destination. In a matter of about 10 minutes, I knew that I wanted Shawn Higgins, half of the duo behind D & H Sustainable Jewelers, as a new best friend. His humor, expertise, and openness are infectious.
This store is among the first that will be SCS certified, meaning that 100% of their products are ethically sourced and sustainable. What a fabulous feat! They sell their own designs, as well as representing many other jewelry designers. It’s clear that bridal is a huge category for them. Being the magpie that I am, I went straight for the bling-iest ring in the case, featuring a flawless yellow canary diamond. (This is one of their own designs.)
Another one of their amazing pieces is this cage pendant, which took over a year to make, to get it just right. It’s made of sterling silver and 14K gold, and housed an incredible Alexander the Great coin, dating back 2500 years. Adore.
You can open it up, and really put whatever sort of talisman you’d like inside.
I also thought this necklace, made from a re-purposed 1910 Edwardian lingerie pin was quite fantastic.
If you’re looking for a supremely unique wedding ring for your guy, then check out this Gibeon meteorite set in rose gold by Lashbrooke!
After briefly meeting Lindsay (the other partner), we had to run. Lunch was most definitely next on the agenda, and you can’t go wrong with the croque monsieur (for me) or the burger sans bun (for Jen–she’s so good!) at Absinthe in Hayes Valley.
With our appetites sufficiently satisfied, were were off to Metier. You may be familiar with this store. They spent 5 years on Maiden Lane (Union Square), 16 years on Sutter (where they were a large clothing and jewelry boutique), and then a year in the Shreve building, before moving to this new location on Laguna. This jewel-box of a boutique offers both vintage/antique jewelry as well as merchandise from current designers. The more carefully you look, the more you see. The owners, Sheri Evans and Trina Papini, have an impeccable eye, so the collection is curated to perfection. During our visit, the place was hopping with customers!
I couldn’t resist trying on these Georgian rings, which are from the late 1700’s-early 1800’s. Amazeballs.
Or what about one of these silver bracelets, from Victorian to Arts & Crafts? So easy to mix with current outfits!
One of the current designers they carry is Arielle de Pinto, who weaves magic with metal. The ombre finish on this necklace is just perfect.
Loved seeing Sheri and Trina, and I’ll certainly be back soon.
Our last stop of the day was in the Mission. Love & Luxe is an amazing jewelry gallery and atelier owned by artist-in-residence, Betsy Barron. She shows her own work and also showcases 40+ other hand-crafted lines in her spacious store. As luck would have it, she came to the store during our visit. Yay!
First checking out Betsy’s line, I couldn’t help but try on a few rings.
Jen was in love with this rose gold locket from 1870. She is a total rose gold girl!
I definitely have always had a thing for turquoise, and this vintage-inspired design with Sleeping Beauty turquoise by Chris Neff made me smile.
Definitely one of the most unique lines I’ve ever seen is James Banks, which is a collaboration between Adam Schulman and Heidi Nahser-Fink. Here is their necklace called “Lightkeeper.” On one necklace, there is a glass bulb filled with black diamonds and one ruby. Then on the other necklace are the “tools” you can use to open the bulb to add/change whatever you want inside. Have you ever seen something like this?!
Even the box it comes in is exquisite.
There was also a lovely selection of work by Johnny Ninos. His current collection is inspired by barnacles, as shown in these rings. Organic beauty, no doubt.
Jen had to take one more look at that locket before we had to leave and get back on the road…
I can’t think of a better way to spend the day–with a life-long friend (We actually went to kindergarten together!) looking at gorgeous jewelry! Thanks to all of you for your time, knowledge and kindness!
Thanks for the great response to my “Observations on Portland” article — so fun! And as I promised, here’s the follow-up post with the jewelry lo-down from the ‘hood. As I mentioned, one of the reasons I went there was to visit Twist. (This store is up in the 23rd Ave. area.) I’ve ordered from them online before, and I was so psyched to see the store in person. Not only was it much bigger than I had envisioned, but they carry items for the home as well. Who knew? The first case that magnetized me was filled with work by Judy Geib. This opal bracelet left me speechless. (There are so many times I wish I had a bottomless wallet…)
I was also fascinated with these crystal lockets from Loquet London. You can select from a vast variety of charms to put inside. Such a darling take on the charm theme!
These lovely studs by Suzanne Kalan with a black diamond halo “sparkled” my attention as well.
Oh, and you can’t help but be intrigued by the signage and light when leaving the store!
Only a couple blocks away on 23rd Ave., I visited Gilt. They specialize in both vintage and antique fine jewelry (on the main floor), and vintage costume jewelry and new items from local designers up on the second floor. It was brimming with customers, and I was told that Sundays are a BIG day for engagement ring shopping. (I’m always learning something new!) Given Portland’s eco-conscious attitude, I’m not surprised that vintage rings are a hot commodity. They have a very clever color-coded box system, and the color of box tells you what metal the ring is set in. Here’s a (very small) sampling of their fabulous selection.
They have a large collection of lockets and Native American jewelry as well.
I did make a little purchase here. It’s a necklace by Amira (a Portland artisan), made of woven nylon thread, glass beads, and brass. It definitely appeals to the boho girl in my soul, and I like the mixed metals. And I just haaad to take home some sort of souvenir, right?!
Walking back towards my hotel downtown, I stopped at Frances May on SW Washington St. They carry some of my favorite clothing designers, and they have a well-edited selection of modern jewelry as well. I liked this large statement necklace by Erin Considine.
This necklace by Arielle de Pinto is made from woven metal. Total work of art!
During my exploration of the east side, I went to Altar, as recommended by my fashionable bartendress, Emily, from the previous evening. I may have missed this had I not been chatting with her. This establishment features “northwest alternative handmade” items, and it’s definitely worth a stop. This organic wall display of necklaces was awesome!
It turns out that the designer of this line (called Iron Oxide Designs) is Amy Fox, and she is part-owner of the store and was manning the front desk that day. Cool!
These necklaces by Fox Tail Jewelry are very industrial boho, and they fit in perfectly with the Portland aesthetic.
I unfortunately failed to note the designer of these tassel necklaces, but I love them!
While I tried to really pack in my shopping time during my two-day stay in Portland (and I certainly saw a lot!), these were my jewelry highlights. As you can see, there’s a real range in offerings. To be honest, I found more diversity in the jewelry than I did in fashion. Hope you enjoyed this virtual tour! And please let me know if you have a favorite spot to shop there as well. I always love hearing from you.
“Fortune favors the bold,” Shannon Koszyk told me when I met her at the JCK show, and her jewelry is certainly testament to this mantra! You may remember me writing about her WWI Victory Medal bracelet back in June of 2013. (Click here if you missed that story.)
Excited to finally meet her in person, I was able to see how her collection is such a mix of raw and refined, light and dark, edgy and fashion forward. I was intrigued. I first tried on this diamond bar ring. Though it looks like it’s a multi finger ring, it’s only one, with the bar extending wide on top. Very comfortable, and definitely a statement.
As she told me, she’s “vintage obsessed” and loves incorporating vintage pieces in her designs, from coins to medals to crucifixes. She took this 1924 Kroner from Denmark, set it in sterling and then made it sparkle with diamonds. Such unique juxtaposition!
Leather is also one of her go-to mediums, with its tough vibe, yet soft feel. This unisex Crux Wrap Bracelet can also be worn as a necklace.
Speaking of necklaces, you must know by now that I have a total thing for horns — so no shock that I would love to wear this diamond horn necklace! This shows her signature bronze hook clasp.
Making every piece by hand in her Seattle studio, Shannon also has branched into the fashion and home decor world. Partnering with Currey & Company, she has designed some pretty unique light fixtures, such as this Fortune Chandelier, made of wrought iron.
While my small apartment may not be able to accommodate her chandeliers, these killer drawer knobs would certainly work!
Her vintage obsession also includes military shirts and jackets, which she takes and re-works. This unisex camo Audaces jacket could be styled many ways. Personally, I’d pair it with a pair of distressed narrow jeans, rolled up, with booties and a silk tank. Very masculine meets feminine.
Such a pleasure to meet Shannon! She sells her work around the country, so click here for a list of stockists. By the way, if her aesthetic appeals to you, then definitely check out her Pinterest page — she has some amazing boards!
One thing I truly love to do is explore new shops and neighborhoods. I’m always amazed how many great places there are, practically in my own back yard. My friend Laura (you may remember her from my great piercing escapade), is like a walking tour book of amazing stores. It’s not just because she loves shopping as much as I do (and she does!), but she is a rep for many home, jewelry, and gift/accessory lines with Aesthetic Movement, so it’s her duty to know all the happening places.
We set our itinerary for various places in Berkeley, Piedmont, and Oakland. I picked her up in SF and headed over the Bay Bridge. First up was Zaver & Mor in Berkeley. I’d met the lovely owner, Rada Sahney, at a couple Women’s Jewelry Association events, so I was very eager to check out her establishment, and it definitely did not disappoint.
She carries some of my favorite lines, such as Tura Sugden, Julez Bryant, and Elyria Jewels. But there were also some lines that I was seeing for the first time. One of my favorite pieces I saw the whole day is this gold and diamond bracelet by Mia Chicco. (One more item for my jewelry lust list!)
I was also excited to see a display of Sharon Zimmerman’s work, who is a local jeweler from San Francisco.
By the time we had (just about) tried on everything we wanted to, it was time to grab a bite for lunch. Since our second stop was going to be Red Bird, right by the Claremont in Berkeley, we popped into Rick & Ann’s for a really tasty meal at their community table.
Sufficiently refueled, we went to Red Bird and began perusing all the lovely clothing and jewelry. This, in fact, is a place where I have purchased many of my favorite items over the years.
I couldn’t resist trying on this unique pearl necklace by Melissa Joy Manning I spotted in the sale case. The organic shapes of the pearls are captivating.
I thought it looked pretty cool layered with the two necklaces I was wearing. And who am I to turn down 60% off?!
Ok…time to hit the road again, and next up was Atomic Garden in Oakland. (Next time I want to explore this area more, as there seemed to be many cute shops on College Avenue!)
While jewelry isn’t the main focus of the store, that isn’t to say that they don’t have a nice selection, including Zoe Chicco, Emily Amey and Ilsa Loves Rick, to name a few.
I was definitely psyched to visit Esqueleto, which is a jewel box of a store in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland, curated by jeweler Lauren Wolf. Not only does the store carry her line (the two rings I have on in the photo below), but they have selections from many designers, including a beautiful vintage selection.
vintage beauties
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Mania Mania is branching into the fine jewlery business, and I love this ring by them!
The natural beauty of these pieces by Lou Zeldis also caught my eye.
As fate would have it, jeweler Marisa Haskell, whose line is now named Marisa Mason, was in the shop, so we had to end our field trip by running around the corner in to her boutique as well.
She has a workshop right in the store, and her jewelry is artfully displayed on the walls, making it very easy to try things on.
By this time, the rain was starting to come down hard, and it was time to head back across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco. Our itinerary was clearly ambitious, as we still have many stores left on our list. Hence…part 2, (hopefully) coming in January. If you have any recommendations for additions to our list, please let me know in the comment section below!
Yes, you’ve heard it from me many times — how difficult it is to pull off the “rings on many fingers” look. Frankly, most people just don’t get how to do it. Heck, I don’t think I’ve even mastered bedazzling more than three fingers at a time! That’s why when I see it done well, I have to take a close look and admire. This was the case with the woman I had lunch with this past week. With a background in fine arts, jewelry, and design, I’m not surprised that this was in her talent base.
So first of all, I want to tell you who and what she’s wearing. The first photo is of her right hand, and here’s the line-up:
pinky finger: black diamond ring by Steven Batelle
ring finger: cognac diamonds in rose gold band by Jennifer Dawes and peach moonstone ring by Gretchen Walker
middle finger: boa constrictor bone ring by Gretchen Walker and rose gold midi ring by Stephany Hitchcock
On her left hand, second photo:
middle finger: diamond ring by Scosha
ring finger: grandmother’s “feral field rat” vintage ring
pinky: rose gold ring by Lauren Wolf
While she was wearing EIGHT rings (how I wish I could do that), it was just so delicate and well-balanced. It didn’t overpower her or her outfit, and it melded so well with her clear sense of personal style. The fact that she could express her style with such an effortless panache, it made me want to get to know her all the more. It wasn’t as if she was “trying” too hard, it was just her.
I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to meet her, and I can’t wait to see what she’s wearing next!
