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…
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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:…
Wendy Brandes Jewelry X the Style Crone, Part 2
It’s time to reveal the second image from my new brand campaign with Judith Boyd, aka the Style Crone. In this one, she’s modeling my turquoise skull ring. The hand-carved skull is set in 18K yellow gold and accented by 192 rubies weighing a total of 1.84 carats. This one-of-a-kind piece is available on my…
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…
Jewel of the Month: Laura’s Tourmaline Ring
April’s Jewel of the Month is a custom ring I created for gorgeous client Laura in honor of her 50th birthday. Fun fact: This was the first time I ever took apart one of my existing designs to use a gem for a customer’s ring. Say goodbye to my original 18K gold Fulvia ring … ……
Clemence Ring: Going, Going …
Product alert! I have one size 6 Clemence ring with black spinel and rock crystal left, and I won’t be making any more of this style. Here’s a video to show you the ring’s scale, starring my right-hand woman Eryn’s right and left hands. Buy the Clemence ring now on 1stdibs.