Over the many years of our friendship, I've made Nicole several pieces of jewelry. At least a decade ago, I took apart a pair of raw diamond, drop earrings that she had bought by Todd Reed. He was the first designer to feature raw diamonds in his work, a signature style that made him a very successful jewelry designer. Nicole's Todd Reed earrings were simple drops with the raw diamond cubes set in 18K yellow gold. They were very pretty. She had worn them, but felt like the earrings weren't quite her style anymore and was thinking about repurposing them into a cuff bracelet.
There were a couple of false starts. In the first design, I created a white gold, textured, chunky, cuff bracelet and repurposed the raw diamonds. To be blunt, it wasn't very successful. Of course, I wanted Nicole to love wearing whatever I made. We decided to take it apart and use the gold from the cuff for a couple of thin bangles that became her everyday jewelry. I stashed the raw diamonds in a safe place in my studio for another day.
Every so often, I'd get them out to initiate a design idea, and sometimes, Nicole and I would brainstorm about what they might become. Nicole's taste had evolved. At one point, she even expressed that she wasn't sure if the raw diamonds were even her style anymore. Last February, when I was visiting her in Charleston, I brought them with me. During our bespoke jewelry chat, the Cubist Diamond Stud design concept began to take shape.
BETH!! WOWWWEEEEEEEEE
I am swooning over your beautiful creations! They couldn’t be more different - one is organic, one is architectural and very structured - and I find them both so compelling!
What you’ve done with Todd Reed’s raw diamonds far surpasses any of his designs I’ve seen. They are worth the time we spent to figure out what to do with them.
I am going to wear them both a ton! And the backs are so interesting. It will take me just a bit as you said to get used to their operation, but they are so much better than regular earring backs so even they honor the special creations.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!
Nicole's Cubist Diamond Studs (modeled by neighbor)
I love the backs you used! Why don’t other fine jewelers use them??
Guess what? I have worn my cubist earrings every single day since I got them. They are absolutely PERFECT for my every day.
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