Lucie Gledhill: Designer

About a year ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Lucie Gledhill at the New York Now show. Her work has really stuck in my head, and I wanted to share some of her pieces with you. Lucie is a UK based jewelry designer who’s about 7 years into her line. What really made an impression on me is how she literally weaves with metal — take a look.

This is her Rope Chain necklace, which takes about 4 days to make. One link always has 2 other links to create the woven look.

She also has a really chic interpretation of the traditional gold chain; this is the Jumbled Curb Chain in 18K gold. I think it’s perfectly imperfect in effect, don’t you?

She has another group of necklaces that she described to me as both “ancient and feminine.” She creates this look by fusing white and yellow gold and accenting with diamond beads.

These firework earrings really made a splash with my short hairstyle.

I didn’t get to see this ring in person, but I’m loving the feel of this Magic Eye ring, with its marquis cut ruby and handcrafted recycled 18K gold.

All in all, a darn cool line! Would it suit your personal style? Do tell.

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Disa Allsopp: Jewelry Designer

I’m pretty voracious when it comes to devouring my Instagram and Pinterest feeds — they’re a constant source of beauty and new ideas. This is exactly how I first came across one of Disa Allsopp’s “spaghetti rings.” So it was with great joy that I had the opportunity to meet her and see her collection at the NY Now show. Here I am trying on three of her spaghetti rings, with bezel-set garnet, peridot and aquamarine. She has perfectly captured that fine line between luxe and organic, don’t you think?

disa allsopp spaghetti rings
Here’s another spaghetti ring, sprinkled with diamonds.

disa allsopp 18k and oxidized silver spaghettig ring with diamonds
Disa, a London-based jeweler, set up shop in 1996. She works in 18K gold, sterling silver, and gems, and she hand-fabricates each and every piece right in her studio. She is inspired by the jewelry of ancient civilizations, from Roman to Greek and beyond. I can certainly see this influence in her work. Take these blue sapphire and gold rings, for instance. It’s hard to determine if they’re new or straight out of the Victoria and Albert jewelry collection!

disa allsopp blue sapphire rings
My lovely mom, who was at the show with me, modeled this necklace, where hand melted pieces of silver are strung on silver wires. It really makes a personal style statement. (SO your look, mom!)

disa allsopp necklace
Disa showed me one of her newest designs — these three and four stone rings. SO pretty in garnet, tourmaline, peridot and yellow beryl.

disa allsopp triplet rings
Very happy I had the opportunity to see this creative line in person. Disa, it was a pleasure meeting you!

disa allsopp and amy roseveare

East-West Set Diamond Rings

My obsession with east-west set diamond rings began in August, when I tried on this one-of-a-king diamond ring by Lauren Wolf at the NY Now show. Granted, I’ve never really been fond of the marquis cut for myself, but turned on its side — I was hooked!

lauren wolf diamond ring
This really got me to thinking about how turning a stone on its side, be it oval, emerald, pear, or whatever, really gives the stone a whole new look! Plus, there are quite a few advantages I can see to this style:

  • easier to stack other rings with it
  • makes some cuts look “larger” as it takes up more horizontal real estate on your finger
  • would be ideal for shorter fingers, which may find certain stone cuts set in the traditional way too “tall”
  • if you wanted to re-design a current ring, it could be a great option instead of getting a whole new stone
  • unique and outside the box, which is always a plus in my book

With east-west set stones on my mind, I started searching for other examples. Jillian Abboud posted this photo of three antique diamonds, resting horizontally, on her Instagram feed and I started picturing different designs in my mind’s eye. (Which one would you choose?)

jillian abboud antique diamonds
Elizabeth Street had me drooling at her selection on Instagram as well!

elizabeth street jewelry
And then my dear friend Laura, who recently got engaged, had Polly Wales make her this fantabulous ring!

polly wales custom diamond ring
All of this spurred me onto an afternoon-long search online to see what other intriguing designs I could uncover. I did find quite a few to share with you, although I think this design is still up-and-coming, as there weren’t as many as I anticipated. In no particular order, here’s some variations on the east-west theme:

Trabert Goldsmiths

trabert goldsmiths
Cathy Waterman

cathy waterman grey mogul diamond ring
Monique Pean x Pamela Love (MPL)

monique pean and pamela love collaboration
Anita Ko

anita ko three stone baguette diamond ring
Polly Wales

polly wales fancy grey marquise diamond halo ring
Susan Wheeler

susan wheeler design
Rebecca Lankford

rebecca lankford espresso diamond halo solitaire
What do you think of this east-west idea? Is it something you could see yourself wearing? Or perhaps you do already? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below — I’ve love to hear from you!

Emanuela Duca’s New Collection

While Italian-born, New York resident Emanuela Duca is probably most well-known for her textured jewlery, I have to say I was quite enthralled with her sleek new collection, Thoughts Frequency, when I met her at the NY Now show.

emanuela duca rings
As you can see from this handful of rings I just had to try on, they are so highly polished that it was impossible to photograph them without getting a reflection of my cell phone in the image! In fact, they practically function as wearable mirrors, and they are intended to reflect the thoughts of those around us. Emanuela talked about how all thoughts are energy, and the thoughts of others certainly influence us. Hence, the name of the collection, Thoughts Frequency.

Made in sterling silver and 18K gold, I find this line ultra-contemporary and very wearable. Here’s two of the 18K rings; you’ll see a yellow sapphire shining in each one.

emanuela duca 18K rings
Emanuela, as lovely on the inside as on the outside, modeled this sterling cuff from the collection for me.

emanuela duca cuff
She was wearing this delicate 18K choker, which would be a perfect luxe, everyday look. I could envision it easily layered with other necklaces as well.

emanuela duca choker
The clean surfaces of each piece feel like a calm in this crazy world we live in. They inspire me to take a deep breath… Wonderful to meet you, Emanuela! If you’d like to see more of her work, here’s a list of retailers around the country.

 

Emanuela and Amy
Emanuela and Amy

 

Ruth Tomlinson: Designer

It never ceases to amaze me that after 5+ years of jewelry blogging and into my 18th year of personal styling (where I pretty much am in the stores constantly), I can STILL come across such unique jewelry designs…those that stop me in my tracks and speak to me. This is exactly what happened as I walked down the first row of the NY Now Handmade show in New York City. I have a new jewelry crush on Ruth Tomlinson. Once I started chatting with Ruth, I was even more hooked. She is soft-spoken, yet passionate about her work. She is incredibly talented with detail, and when you see the intricacies of her pieces, you are truly drawn into a miniature world of gold and gems.

ruth tomlinson rings
Ruth led me on a tour of her four collections. The first up was Lustre, which features lots of diamonds. You can see both raw diamonds, just as they come out of the ground, right next to faceted stones in this collection. She told me how she really appreciates the inner glow of the stones and how they add a bit of mystery to the piece. I completely agree! This particular ring includes grey, champagne and white diamonds in 14K gold. She selects what carat of gold to use based on what will best complement the colors of the stones.

ruth tomlinson diamond cluster ring with faceted pear
Ruth graduated with an MA from the Royal College of Art, and still resides in London, where her line is all made in studio. (Note to self: visit studio on next trip to London!) Though she does sketch designs, she is also very led by the process itself, seeing where the materials take her. She is constantly drawn into a miniature world. Boy, do I like this world!

Midas is the next collection I explored. Inspired by her travels in India, it’s full of color and reminiscent of treasures from long ago.

ruth tomlinson rings from the midas collection
The stacking bands in this group are quite swoon-worthy as well. Perhaps I need one?!

ruth tomlinson stacking bands
Next up was the Hoard collection, based on found treasures such as Victorian and Georgian diamonds. I could see many of these rings as alternative bridal options, couldn’t you?

ruth tomlinson diamond rings
How about stacking a bunch together? Fine by me! These four rings include all old hand-cut diamonds.

ruth tomlinson diamond rings
Ruth was wearing a couple bracelets from the Hoard collection as well — SO lovely!

ruth tomlinson bracelets
Last, but certainly not least, is the Encrustations collection, inspired by the sea. Aqueous colors, pearls and shades of aqua, coral, tourmaline and more all in textured gold. Delicious!

ruth tomlinson rings
Looking through this collection on her website, I’m quite enamored with this tourmaline and diamond ring. The subtlety and combination of hues is fabulous.

ruth tomlinson tourmaline and diamond ring
If you are as entranced by this line as I am, then take a couple minutes to watch this video which takes a closer look at her inspiration and process.

Inspirations from Ruth Tomlinson on Vimeo.

Such an absolute pleasure to meet you, Ruth! I appreciate all your time and creativity.

ruth tomlinson and amy roseveare