{"id":11671,"date":"2011-07-18T00:01:46","date_gmt":"2011-07-18T04:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=11671"},"modified":"2011-07-17T18:58:37","modified_gmt":"2011-07-17T22:58:37","slug":"new-jewelry-collection-memento-mori-skulls-in-18k-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/new-jewelry-collection-memento-mori-skulls-in-18k-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"New Jewelry Collection: Memento Mori Skulls in 18K Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because of the soaring prices of gold and silver<\/a>, many jewelers are using less metal in their work. That means a knuckleduster<\/a>-size ring feels surprisingly light considering how big it looks. My jewelry has always been about heft, because I like the feel — not just the appearance — of luxury. I have pieces that incorporate over an ounce of gold.<\/p>\n

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The Virginia Woolf Whistle weighs 1.4 troy ounces. Click for original post.<\/p><\/div>\n

I am trying to avoid reducing the relative weight of my pieces — at least until the price of gold is absolutely more than I can bear. But, with the price of gold is pushing the retail prices of my big, bold pieces well over $10,000,\u00a0 I decided to do a collection of smaller designs. The smaller size means these pieces can be really solid while retailing for under $5,000, which is not a bad price for limited-edition, U.S.-made gold jewelry these days. I’d been meaning to do a necklace version of my Memento Mori skull-and-bone cufflinks for ages anyway.<\/p>\n

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Memento Mori cufflinks in 18K gold. I used to sell these for $6,000. Now they're $11,000! Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Memento Mori cufflinks in silver. $2,000. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

Once I got going, I couldn’t stop at just one necklace. Instead, I created eight new Memento Mori pieces (for the meaning of “memento mori,” click the Inspiration tab on any of the product pages linked below). All photos are by SquareMoose<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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18K yellow gold necklace. $1,900. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

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18K gold and sterling silver necklace. $2,400. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

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18K yellow gold and ruby necklace. $2,250. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

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18K yellow gold earrings. $3,600. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

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18K yellow gold and ruby earrings. $3,900. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

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My first hoop-earring design! 18K yellow gold. $3,300. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

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18K yellow gold. $2,850. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

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18K yellow gold and ruby ring. $3,300. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

I brought several of these designs to London so that gorgeous bloggers <\/a>could model them and give you a sense of the size.<\/p>\n

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Sharon Rose modeled the Memento Mori ruby-eyed skull necklace. Click for Sharon's blog.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Kate of The Further Adventures of Make Do Style is wearing the ruby-eyed skull ring AND the necklace. She's also wearing my Little Woolf necklace in silver. Click for her blog.<\/p><\/div>\n

And here is the ruby-eyed skull on me.<\/p>\n

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Click to see the rest of the outfit.<\/p><\/div>\n

You can see the back of the skull pendant in the picture below. The skull is three dimensional so it rolls around a bit. I prefer the movement to the stasis of a run-of-the-mill flat pendant. You can also see that I’m wearing the ruby-eyed skull ring as a pinky ring.<\/p>\n

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Click photo for a history of my flower-pinching escapades.<\/p><\/div>\n

The weight of this little pendant makes it so tactile. I can’t stop playing with it when I’m wearing it, and I was happy to see that Sharon and Kate did the same! Of course, silver Memento Mori pieces are in the works. As I’ve said elsewhere on the blog, the price of silver has doubled in the past year, so silver isn’t as inexpensive as it used to be, but it will still be easier on the budget than gold. Here are the unfinished silver skulls lined up, waiting for my attention.<\/p>\n

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"Finish us!"<\/p><\/div>\n

I should have the silver Memento Mori pieces finished by the end of August; I will know the prices when the work is done.<\/p>\n

This collection is being shown to stores for spring 2012, but you can buy all the pieces now on my website<\/a>. I like to make sure my gorgeous clients are ahead of the crowd! If you have questions or need assistance, holla at me at wbjewelry at hotmail dot com. <\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Because of the soaring prices of gold and silver, many jewelers are using less metal in their work. That means a knuckleduster-size ring feels surprisingly light considering how big it looks. My jewelry has always been about heft, because I like the feel — not just the appearance — of luxury. I have pieces that…<\/p>\n

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