I went into jewelry designing full-time in 2005, and I did a lot of small trunk shows and private sales right up until the financial crash of 2008. Some of the shows were in homes of friends and family, others were in hotels. This photo from January 2006 was taken in the home of a generous family member.
I still have this Alexander McQueen sweater.
Look at how small the pieces were, and how much white gold I used! All of the necklaces on the black display pieces are in white gold.
I converted the yellow diamond pendant (on the far right) into a ring and sold it.
At the time, I had a business partner who’d been in the diamond/jewelry business for many years. With her experience, she had a strong influence on what we sold together. When she died (far too young) in 2006, I went off in my own direction. My new work was bigger, bolder and heavier. It was inspired by queens and other fascinating women, and mostly designed in 18K yellow gold. More recently, I’ve been deliberately phasing out my use of white gold, except in mixed-metal pieces and custom designs. If you see a lot of white metal in new designs for my own line nowadays, it’s going to be silver or platinum. In fact, I only have two significant white gold pieces left and writing this inspires me to put them on sale. If you’re looking to splurge on a major statement piece with two carats of diamonds, check out my white gold Gloriana necklace, inspired by Elizabeth I. This is an red-carpet-worthy design!
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My white gold Papessa prayer locket — inspired by the legend of a female pope — opens up so you can keep a little something special in it.
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If you want more photos of these pieces or have other questions, holla at me at info at wendybrandes dot com. I’m happy to help you out!
I love the direction you ended up going, on your own!
Thank ewe!