Rhodium-plated white gold and brushed yellow gold-plated engraved ring, with 2.19 carats of white ... [+]
COURTESY OF ALEXANDRA ABRAMCZYKYellow and grey come together to convey a positive message from Pantone, as the world emerges from the dark days of 2020. Three pieces from independent jewelry designers that tap into the current mood of uplift and resilience.
The Pantone Color Institute announced its colors of 2021 last month, the result of extensive research by color experts who dip into almost every area of our lives to choose a shade that they believe embodies the mood of the moment. After Classic Blue for 2020, this year, the Institute has chosen a color pairing of contrasts. Ultimate Gray and Illuminating form a whole that feels spot-on for a time when we have never needed more unity. Solid, tough gray meets optimistic, warming yellow, heralding the promise of better days ahead, if we can just hold tight a little longer.
In jewelry terms, it’s about acid citrine and smooth platinum, lemon yellow quartz and mercurial silver. It's something bracing and fresh for a new year, a fortifying combination that roots and grounds in the midst of uncertainty. Hope in jewelry form, three ways.
Love ring by Alexandra Abramczyk (above)
As a designer who has built a brand based on a melting-pot of different cultural influences, Alexandra Abramczyk frequently explores spiritual themes like hope, alongside more earthly work rooted in the animal and ocean kingdoms. Here, she mixes metals, Ottoman-style, in an intricately worked commitment ring designed to celebrate the dawn of a new love. Brushed yellow gold combines with rhodium-plated white gold, edged with a dentelle of 2.19 carats of white diamonds, bearing the inscription 'Pour des siècles et des siècles' ('For centuries and centuries'). Inside, it reads 'Mon amour', punctuated with a tiny ruby. A private symbol of love, or perhaps a new beginning, in inspiriting yellow and grey.
Rhodium-plated white gold and brushed yellow gold-plated engraved ring, with 2.19 carats of white diamonds and a 0.02 carat ruby, $11,700, Alexandra Abramczyk.
Cahaya blackened ring with yellow, blue and black sapphires and black spinel $1,495, John Hardy
TUMFOTOCahaya blackened Ring by John Hardy
Yellow sapphires gleam against a lunar landscape of black rhodium-plated silver, black spinels and sapphires, in a ring to make a statement from John Hardy. The Bali-based jewelry house, that recently launched a capsule collection co-designed with model and activist Adwoa Aboah, has all of its jewelry handmade by a 700-strong artisan collective on the Indonesian island. All raw materials are ethically sourced and conflict-free, and the label reinvests in the community by providing training and financial support programs. This year more than ever, stellar ethical jewelry credentials like that are surely the strongest expression of hope for the future we have.
Cahaya blackened ring with yellow, blue and black sapphires and black spinel $1,495, John Hardy.
Rose cut yellow diamond ring, $6,940, Cathy Waterman
COURTESY OF CATHY WATERMANRose cut yellow diamond ring by Cathy Waterman
Deeply inspired by world history and European folklore, Cathy Waterman's delicate renditions of motifs plucked from nature, history and fairy tales are a calling card for the designer, who works from her Santa Monica studio in recycled metals and ethically sourced gemstones. A rose-cut yellow diamond of just under a carat shines out from a beautifully crafted platinum garland of millegrain diamond leaves, with a solar intensity that accentuates the meticulous detail she is known for. The calming reassurance of the natural world meets radiant faith in the future.
Rose cut yellow diamond ring, $6,940, Cathy Waterman
Source: Forbes 25-1-2021
