April’s birthstone is the diamond, so my procrastinating ass is going to squeeeeeeze in an April Jewel of the Month post at the last possible moment! Behold, the black-diamond version of my 2010 single-stone platinum Gravity band. This design was originally created as a unisex wedding ring, but I made the new ring as a…
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Feeling Fancy at Wendy Brandes Jewelry
If you haven’t visited my online store in a minute, come on by! I’ve done a few renovations. My updated homepage now has a slideshow that explains each collection. The first slide is my gold collection. Gold always comes first with me — the first serious designs for my line were done in 18K yellow…
Throwback Thursday: Arrowhead Jewelry on 1stDibs
Remember when I used to blog about jewelry? Those were the days! I used to create new designs on the regular too. Here is evidence: The wax model of an arrowhead ring I never made. This ring would have been part of my mini-collection of arrowhead designs, all cast from an arrowhead found in my backyard…
Easter-Egg-Gagement-Versary
Ten years ago, to celebrate Easter, somebunny named John Muggenborg gave his gorgeous girlfriend Olivia an egg-gagement ring. I love the egg-hunt story, which John shared in a comment on an Instagram post I did last year. Happy egg-gagement-versary, John and Olivia! By the way, this the only time I agreed to do a temporary…
Follow Me on Instagram for a Silver Surprise
Follow my business Instagram, Wendy Brandes Jewelry, because I’ll be giving away some sterling-silver statement rings via IG stories! I started doing this last week with the remnants of my silver collection. I figured people need some cheering up during the coronavirus quarantine, and if somehow my jewelry business — and the jewelry industry in…
Take Off Your Rings and Wash Your Hands
In December, when actress Emma Stone showed off the pearl engagement ring given to her by writer/director Dave McCary, my first thought was, “I have to write that ‘Pearl engagement rings are bad‘ blog post AGAIN? Nah … I’m not gonna.” A few weeks later, actress Michelle Williams was spotted wearing what looked like a…
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…
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…
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…
Wendy Brandes Jewelry X the Style Crone, Part 3
The rollout of my Immortal Style campaign continues! In this third image, 76-year-old model Judith Boyd — aka the Style Crone — wears the full suite of my Mary Queen of Scots snake designs: necklace, earrings, ring, and tiara. This collection was inspired by the term that the advisors of Elizabeth I used for Mary:…