{"id":46399,"date":"2021-06-30T23:14:36","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T03:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=46399"},"modified":"2021-07-08T11:46:47","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T15:46:47","slug":"jewel-of-the-month-queen-min-earrings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/jewel-of-the-month-queen-min-earrings\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewel of the Month: Queen Min Earrings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’m extra excited to share June’s Jewel of the Month here, albeit at the last <\/em>possible minute, because this is the first significant new gold design that I’ve created since 2019. Last year was a washout for jewelry design, but the pandemic wasn’t to blame. My manufacturers actually masked up and went back to work in the summer of 2020, so there were people to do the job. And I make most of my sales online<\/a> or privately, not in brick-and-mortar stores, so I wasn’t affected by a lack of foot traffic. It was a matter of priorities. I couldn’t give any thought to jewelry when I knew I had to devote all of my time to fighting white supremacy and fascism ahead of the crucial 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Click for more photos from a June 2020 Black Lives Matter protest.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The political and social emergency isn’t over, <\/a>and I’m still on the streets several times a week, in addition to campaigning for progressive campaigns and causes, and calling and writing my elected officials. The top legislative priority right now is getting rid of the Senate’s Jim Crow filibuster, which Republicans plan to use to block the Democratic majority from passing legislation to protect voting rights at the federal level<\/a>. That’s why this Monday I joined other activists outside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Brooklyn home (AGAIN!<\/a>) to remind him — and his neighbors — that he has the power to get this job done and we expect him to use it. The video below shows a particularly great moment; click here<\/a> to get more information about the event and organizers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Click to shop on 1stdibs.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you’re an OG blog reader or jewelry buyer, these might look familiar to you, because I first made two Queen Min rings in 2008<\/a>. Those were both set with a lemon quartz that was engraved with the image of a crane. In 2012, I added two more Queen Min rings to my collection. One was set with an amethyst with a koi carved into it. The other had a lemon citrine that had been engraved with a dragon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Queen Min rings, from left: The dragon, the koi, and the crane.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When I bought the koi and dragon stones from one of many talented gem carvers based in Idar-Oberstein, Germany<\/a>, I bought them both as pairs. The carver had made them for earrings. Even though I was only interested in making rings at the time of the purchase, I figured I’d use the extra stones eventually. It took almost 10 years, but “eventually” arrived after the election last November. Hoping that I’d be able to get back to business, I reviewed the loose gems I had on hand, and it hit me that the purple amethyst and yellow citrine looked beautiful together. Plus, I’ve loved asymmetrical earrings since the 1980s, when I started wearing single earrings<\/a>. Deliberately mismatched earrings give me the same vibe — they’re usually much more interesting to me than a regular pair of earrings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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