December 3, 2015
Wow Factor: 5 Jewelry Brands to Amp Up Your Gift Giving
Matthew Wexler READ TIME: 5 MIN.
Check out these five unique brands that will light up your holiday season. If you're giving the gift of jewelry, protect it for all it's worth. Visit Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company for details.
Founded in 2003 by Joan Goodman and Barbara Barnett, PONO draws its name from a Hawaiian word that means "righteousness in all its forms." The brand offers a unique visual sensibility that draws from exotic island life and uses unconventional materials such as horn, shell and our favorite - Italian resin - which has been dramatically reimagined in a new collaboration with Hollywood costume designer Dan Lawson ("The Good Wife").
Many Moons Resin Necklace (antique rose), $390
Nashville's Vincent Peach offers a seductive collection of jewelry designs that combine the casual and the extraordinary. Forget the 1950s-style pearl choker. Peach has reinvented the iconic piece by incorporating a premium leather cord and dropping the length to a dramatic 36 inches. Other unusual materials include megalodon teeth, ancient coins and fossilized walrus tusk.
Prehistoric Megalodon Necklace, $2,999
Technology and fashion converge with the launch of elemoon, a programmable bracelet that brings the mood ring to the 21st century. The wrist cuff offers an array of settings and syncs with an easy-to-use app for your smartphone. Take a photo, upload it and the bracelet will create a pattern based on the image. Receive notifications either by vibration or customized images, or go old school and use the bracelet as a watch. Don't be surprised if you see Hollywood's elite wearing elemoon: it was part of the GBK Productions' 2015 gifting suite at this year's Emmy Awards.
elemoon, $399
Founded in 1985 as the Guild, Artful Home has been connecting art lovers and local artisans throughout the United States and Canada for 30 years. "How is it that an artist's hand is evident in what he or she makes? I don't know, but that magic, that spark that emanates from an object clearly created by a living person has a quality and a story that enriches our lives in untold ways," says CEO Lisa Bayne.
While you could spend days virtual shopping among the site's 1,200 artists, there are a few notable jewelry makers worth an extra glance. Metalsmith Lauren Passenti's silver work is stunning, as is Julie Cohn's bronze work. For a more ethereal piece, consider Nancy Raasch's joomchi (a hand-felted mulberry paper) and silver necklace - a wearable piece of art that will be the showpiece of any holiday party.
Driftwood Cuff by Julie Cohn, $695
Brooklyn-based fashion and jewelry designer Alicia Goodwin has been creating unusual designs for more than a decade. Lingua Nigra (which translates to "black hairy tongue") represents her somewhat macabre and Victorian sensibilities, but fear not: the collections are as sophisticate as they are unusual. The hand-etched bangle bracelets (in brass or copper with gold or silver plating) are created by etching paint splatters on a sheet of metal, placing it in acid and then sawing the shape and creating the form. The accompanying statement necklace features 13 white metal castings that evoke the moonscape.
Nights of Drama Statement Necklace, $310
Matthew Wexler is EDGE's Senior Editor, Features & Branded Content. More of his writing can be found at www.wexlerwrites.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @wexlerwrites.
