The highlight of 2019 for Wendy Brandes Jewelry was a gem of a person! I am still madly in love with the photo shoot I did with Judith Boyd, aka Style Crone, because I’m always trying to show that jewelry is for everyone. When I did appearances this year, I decorated my booth/case with photos…
jewel of the month
Jewel of the Month: Padparadscha & Paraiba for ANZA
I wanted to save this ring’s blog debut until I had its official portrait taken, but the piece was whisked off to the Kristen Farrell Gallery before I could get it to a photographer! So here is a casual snapshot of my latest creation for ANZA Gems. This one-of-a-kind 18K rose gold ring features a…
Jewel of the Month: Inspired by Empress Eugenie
Thank you to Brecken Branstrator of National Jeweler for alerting me that on Nov. 27, Christie’s in London is auctioning jewelry that once belonged to Eugenie, who was the last empress of France via her marriage to Napoleon III. I appreciate that the auction house has the full provenance of the jewels listed: Provenance is…
Jewels of the Month, Part 3: “Gothic Chic” Skulls
This month, I’ve highlighted jewelry that connects to current events, as well as jewelry designed around perennial themes. My final Jewel of the Month post gives you both qualities. Of course, skulls are always right for the month of Halloween, but the bonus is that the Wall Street Journal has declared this to be a…
Jewels of the Month, Part 2: October Birthstone
Tourmaline and opal are October’s two birthstones. I’ve shared the double-tourmaline ring that I created for ANZA Gems before, but ANZA’s recent Instagram post of it has inspired me to feature the ring again. I love how this post shows the different phases the gems went through: uncut rough; faceted but loose gems; and finally…
Jewels of the Month, Part 1: For the Whistleblower
A real patriot puts country over party or president. I’m thankful to the whistleblower who recorded, in a memo, a White House official’s view that “… the President had clearly committed a criminal act by urging a foreign power to investigate a U.S. person for the purposes of advancing his own reelection bid in 2020”…
Recommended Reading: Anne Thériault’s Queens of Infamy
I’ve been scolding myself for nearly a decade (seriously!) for giving up my Thursday Book Club posts, most of which focused on the bad-ass historical women who inspire my jewelry designs. The last book-club post was the finale of my three-parter on A Distant Mirror, Barbara Tuchman’s book about the 14th century, which I posted…
Jewels of the Month: Time to Give Women a Hand
I’ve got a limited number of my sterling-silver emoji earrings left. Ten of those depict hand gestures; they’re sold as single studs that you can mix and match. Through Sunday, June 16, at 11:59 p.m. ET, I will donate $10 from each $35 purchase of a single stud to your choice of She Should Run…
Jewel of the Month: Throwback Thursday Necklace
Every so often, I get an email with “Is this your design?” in the subject line. When I look at the attached photo, I usually find that the jewelry in question is just a common style, like a safety-pin earring, or something that only looks like my work from a distance. That said, I’ve been…
Wednesday’s Video: Self-Engagement Ring
If you missed last week’s video about my gorgeous customer Laura’s “self-engagement” ring, here’s a little taste. View this post on Instagram Last week on our #vlog, we were talking about a gorgeous custom ring for a gorgeous client: ⠀ ⠀ “I will be 50 on Thursday and I would like to celebrate with a…