couture show las vegas – Jewelry Fashion Tips

Katherine Jetter’s $3 Million Black Opal!!

You may remember the article I wrote about Katherine Jetter last year. (If not, you’re missing out — click the blue link to read it!) The night before Couture was beginning, I was so happy to run into her at a restaurant at the hotel! While chatting, she told me that she had brought THE most amazing opal to the show, and when she showed me a photo of it on her phone (it basically filled her whole hand), I could hardly believe it! I had to go see it in person!

Here’s a closer look.

So here’s how the story goes…a 68 year-old miner (Bobby) from Lightening Ridge, Australia found this gem covered in muck 14 years ago at the bottom of a bucket of rough, uncut opals. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he cleaned it up and really discovered what he had found!! Fearing it would be stolen, he slept with “The Royal One” under his bed and carried it in a pouch around his neck during the day. Last year he brought the opal to NYC to have it appraised by the Gemological Institute of America. Needless to say, this 306 carat black opal blew everyone’s socks off!

This is where Katherine Jetter enters the picture. She has a solid relationship with other opal miners from that region, so Bobby trusted her to take it to Couture to sell. (Clearly, he’s a great judge of character!) Katherine was thrilled to be showing this “important part of Australian history.” Here’s a CNN clip that will give you some more scoop on this incredible story. (click the blue word “clip” to take you to the video.

I wonder who will buy it…

Sethi Couture

Sisters Pratima and Prerna Sethi have jewelry in their blood. With a father in the jewelry business, backgrounds in fashion, and both with a love of all things beautiful, it was natural that they founded their jewelry company, Sethi Couture, in 2009.

I’ve been a fan of this line for quite a while, yet I’d never met them in person, even though they are based here in the SF Bay Area! It took being all the way in Vegas at the Couture show for our first meeting. About a year ago I helped a client select a new wedding set. We came up with this stack of Sethi Couture rings. The unique color combination, the versatility of wearing one, two or all three rings at once, and the blackened metals really sung to my client’s heart.

In fact, I think their diamond stacking rings are genius. They come in such a range of beautiful colors, and they can add so much when combined with other rings. They were created for “women to easily wear and stack …for effortless elegance.” I’ve got a brown diamond one on my jewelry wish list…

Here’s a ring from their enchanted garden collection — perfect on its own, or stacked with one of their diamond bands. It’s made of 18K white gold with black rhodium, white diamonds and burnt orange diamond accents.

While their line is only a few years old, it’s gaining a huge celebrity following, from Halle Berry to Reese Witherspoon. Here’s Jennifer Lawrence rocking a pair of their stunning earrings!

I think these white rose cut diamond inverted drop earrings are a beautiful design, with green diamonds set in 18K white gold. They were inspired by the rich colors of peacock feathers. As Prerna described to me, “Ours is a contemporary line with an old world aesthetic.” I think that’s the perfect description.

From their "plume" collection — From their “plume” collection

Each sister has different perspectives to contribute to the designs. Prerna loves the architectural details, while Pratima adores feminine, lacy designs. Prerna said that she enjoys “buliding the architecture around these amazing natural stones.” Case in point is this modern chandelier earring, with an exquisite ombre effect, created from cognac, champagne and orange diamonds.

If you’d like to see them and their line in person, then head to Gallery Of Jewels in Union Square on Saturday, July 13. They have a personal appearance from 11-7 during their Endless Love event. You might just find the perfect piece to add some color to your jewelry box!

Megan Thorne: Designer

Last summer I was in charge of my 25th high school reunion. As you know, I’m a strong proponent of self-gifting, so to celebrate the occasion, I bought myself a little prezzie — in this case a wide gold band with diamonds by Megan Thorne. I wear it stacked with a thin gold ring by Armenta, and every time I look at my hand, I remember all the fun memories of the reunion.

I was so excited to meet Megan in person at the Couture show! She is just a delightful woman, and her smile lights up a room! From her first impression, you’d never believe that she actually got kicked out of an NBA game once for yelling at a ref! (Yep…it’s true!)

Megan originally started out in lingerie design, totally swept up in the beauty of lace and the various prints on fabrics. Though once this self-proclaimed klutz tried her hand with a jewelry torch, she knew she was a natural. Thus began her career in jewelry in 2007, tools in hand in her garage in Texas. She’s still based there, and everything is hand-crafted at her Texas studio.

This is called her “picture frame ring.” You can see that the center of the ring really does look like a picture frame with a diamond in it. It’s based on a ring that her grandmother had as a little girl. Years later, she still had the ring in its original box with her childhood handwriting on it. She gave it to Megan, who then fashioned this ring — love that back story!

megan thorne picture frame yellow gold emerald cut with ribbed princess step band

While she didn’t originally set out to be a bridal jewelry designer, that’s where the path has taken her. But I really don’t think you have to be a bride to wear her beautiful pieces. (I’m proof right there!) I was drawn to this ring, which was one of her earlier pieces. I love that that it’s larger in scale, yet still extremely feminine.

Megan designs more than just rings. I just adore these diamond studs, which were inspired by a fabric print. The rose cut diamonds are gorgeous in the white gold setting.

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, then you can meet Megan in person and see/try on her collection. She’ll be at Gallery of Jewels in Union Square on Saturday, June 29th from 11-7. This is part of their big Endless Love jewelry event, which you don’t want to miss! It runs June 28-July 14th at all three of their SF locations. (Click here for the full schedule.) And remember, you don’t have to be a bride to find something fabulous!!

Emily Armenta: Designer

As a long-time fan (and collector) of the Armenta line, I was just thrilled to spend some time with Emily at the Couture show. She was everything I thought she’d be and more! With her long, dark hair and fair complexion, she was just what I’d envisioned as the creator of such beauty. Both her and her line have an almost other-worldly quality to them, with nods to earlier times in history.

Emily Armenta and Amy Roseveare — Emily is truly a visionary in jewelry!

Born into an extremely artistic family (mom paints and sculpts, dad is a writer and sister is a poet!), Emily told me she began to sketch jewelry as soon as she could hold a pencil. Though she did go the route of working as a trader for Morgan Stanley, she knew it just wasn’t the right fit for her. While in business school she created the plan for her jewelry business, and she launched in 2002. From the sounds of it, she did everything in her power to make it work! One of her money-making ventures was buying cars at auctions and then re-selling them. She dumped every cent of profit into building her business, and I’m so glad she did! Not only that, but her whole line is hand-crafted right here in the USA. Brava!

Inspired by the Spanish poet Fedrico Garcia Lorca, Emily learned of duende, which is “…a spirit of unpredictable passions that surges within us, and how it manifests itself as a creative force.” Black and gold are a big part of her signature, and here’s a perfect example of how she expresses herself in large, statement rings.

armenta rings — Quintessential Armenta rings

Personally, I also just adore her bangles. I long to have a collection of them, stacking them with other bracelets I already own. The creative combinations would be endless with each bangle added to the group.

armenta bangles — Opal bangles — delicious!

Working with 18K yellow and rose gold, oxidized silver, and incredible stones, she also launched a “New World” collection in 2011. This group is made of sterling silver with a platinum wash. I asked her about how she finds stones with such amazing colorations. Turns out that she often fuses two stones together, which are called doublets. For example, she’ll fuse boulder opal to sandstone. Not only does this create fascinating hues, yet it also creates a stronger stone. Who knew?! Here are some rings from her New World collection.

armenta new world collection — Just lovely!

If you read fashion magazines, you may well recognize this following photo from her current ad campaign. In addition to her jewelry, she also has started a handbag line! Made of exotic materials such as crocodile and python, many of the evening bags have removable straps. Her wrap leather cuffs actually clip on to the evening bags for an ultra-chic wristlet look. How creative!

emily armenta jewelry — A modern take on historical themes

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and you are intrigued by this line, then it’s your lucky day! This Saturday, September 8th, Emily will be making a personal appearance at her trunk show at Neiman Marcus in Union Square from 10-5. This is a rare opportunity to meet her in person, so don’t miss out!

Clara Williams: Designer

Items that have multiple functions are something I love. Whether it’s a leather motorcycle jacket that can be transformed into a killer vest with de-tachable sleeves, or my hiking pants which can become capris with ease (don’t laugh!), I think it really extends your cost-per-wear on an item.

Dartmouth and Harvard-educated Clara Williams has brought this vision to jewelry, which you know is pretty much one of my biggest passions. With her patent-pended magnetic clasp technology, and over 11 years in business, she has broached (no pun intended) a whole new territory in jewelry. Honored to meet this Chicago-based designer at the Couture show in Vegas, I was so intrigued by her line.

clara williams jewelry — Clara and I at the Couture Show

So the concept behind her necklaces is that you choose the main necklace element, be it one or her 14K or 18K chains, or something more exotic, such as pearls. From there, you choose your center piece, which magnetically clasps to the necklace. How brilliant is that?!

clara williams necklace — 14K braided gold necklace with tourmaline centerpiece

With your imagination, the sky is the limit with the combinations you can come up with. Here are some beautiful examples.

clare williams jewelry — The rough aquamarine has my name all over it!

Her earrings are also convertible. Different enhancers easily slide on and off the basic earring. I can imagine that this line is the traveler’s dream, with the amount of different looks you can achieve with her jewelry! In addition, once you start “collecting” her line, you can just keep adding different pieces, really creating a multitude of looks.

Though Clara loves spending her time fly-fishing and traveling to exotic locales such as the Galapagos Islands, you can also catch her here state-side. Her line is offered in a variety of retailers, and you can even see it live in Pebble Beach coming up on August 16-19 at Elan at the Lodge. If you ever needed a reason to visit one of the most picturesque places in the Unites States, here you have it!

Erica Molinari: Designer

I first stumbled across Erica Molinari’s jewelry line on a visit to Head Over Heels in Menlo Park, CA. While not always drawn to tiny, petite jewels, something about the little pearl pendants with inlaid diamonds really caught my eye. Combined with one of my horn pendants, and her small four-diamond enhancer, it really came to life. In addition, I purchased the oxidized silver chain, which I had been searching for in vain for quite some time. Score!

erica molinari pendants — The three together are quite charming

Erica draws her inspiration from the days of yesteryear…ancient Greek coins, the Italian Renaissance, and old Latin words. While at the Couture show, I was happy to run into Erica’s fabulous rep, Felicia, who showed me a new collection of teardrops pendants. They’re available in a brushed finish in sterling, oxidized silver and 18K gold. The icons range from four-point stars to dragonflies to snakes and evil eyes, just to mention a few. So much to choose from!

erica molinari jewelry — Some of the teardrop pendants

One of the things I love about this line is that you can really mix and match the pendants, creating your own look. I think it’s a great way to play with a mixture of metals on one necklace, as well. And for travel, it’s perfect because you can switch things up and wear different combinations, so you don’t look the same in every picture.

I have yet to meet Erica in person, nor have I seen her whole line. Though I just encountered this photo of her rings and I have a new mission. I’ve got to see these in person! Guess it’s just one more item to add to my jewelry bucket list. 😉