Fernando Jorge

Flame Collection

Brazilian sensation Fernando Jorge’s Flame collection is, as the kids say, “fire.” Pear-shape diamonds, a cut you rarely see used in abundance on one piece, light up the look of the jewels and echo the shape of a flame. There is a modernity to the way the gems are mounted on a white gold grid that exposes skin beneath the jewels.

Setting every pear-shape at a jaunty angle and using different sizes of stones gives the jewels a sense of movement. The virtuoso mounting of each stone takes the design to the next level of artfulness. “When I began working on the collection, which was two years in development, I started by using a traditional bezel mounting, but it seemed stiff,” explains Fernando. “The three-quarter bezel I devised created more movement.”

A few specialized prong settings on the pears amplify the sparkle on the edges of the High Flare earrings and bracelet. There is no traditional v-prong on the tip of the pears in these mounts. Just one prong holds the top. “The setters don’t like to do it that way because the work requires more precision, but the overall effect is very different,” says Fernando. “The gems sparkle a bit more.”

Brent Neale

Petal Collection

Colorful gems—and lots of them—usually define Brent Neale’s jewelry. For her new Petal collection, Brent switched things up and made several pieces in diamonds and gold. The effect is as vibrant as her multicolor gem-set jewels. The New York based designer, who does a lot of custom one-of-a-kind work, says the diamonds clients were bringing in to be reset inspired her.

“I enjoyed working with people’s diamonds and I could see how they would work with the Petal collection,” explains Brent. “The gems are intended to look like dew drops on a flower petal. I also like the way diamonds reflect a rainbow of colors.”

To create the natural look of water, Brent placed diamonds of various sizes over the surface of the jewels. The flush set mounting for the gems is a signature from her wildly popular gypsy rings. And it requires a high level of talent from craftsmen.

The gem is set in a drilled hole in the metal so the stone and metal are level. Next the metal is gently hammered around the stone to secure it in place. “You can break stones setting them this way,” says Brent. “In a prong setting the prong takes the hits.”

Brent chooses to go the more difficult path for the stone setting because of the overall effect it achieves. “I love it so much because all you see is the stone and it looks like it is floating in gold,” says Brent.

Harwell Godfrey

Stardust Collection

During the quiet lockdown days of the pandemic, Lauren Harwell Godfrey looked to the stars from her home in Sonoma, California and found inspiration for the Stardust collection. “There is a celestial theme throughout my work but they are my own interpretations of these forms,” explains Lauren.

The designer made what she saw in the night sky her own by using baguette-cut and round diamonds in the Stardust gold rings, earrings and bangles. “Baguettes refract light differently and add a linear form,” says Lauren. “The rounds in the center of some of the jewels are like the perfect point to launch off into the design.”

Lauren infused more texture to the jewels in settings. “I used a flush setting for some of the gems and added depth with inset triangles in other areas. Within the insets there are prong set gems in another triangular pattern,” explains Lauren. “Overall, there is a repetition of forms in an organized pattern with a few surprises here and there.”

“Stardust satisfied my desire to work with diamonds and create a big sparkle,” says Lauren. The beautiful results could also be described as a big bang.

ALMASIKA

Harmony Collection

Catherine Sarr, the founder and designer of ALMASIKA, has a truly global perspective on design. Born in Paris to Beninese parents, she launched her line in London and now lives and works in Chicago. She brings all the parts of her experience together in chic gold and diamond jewels. Many pay tribute to her family’s West African heritage. All have the practical wearability of American style. A European artistry in conceptual ideas define a lot of her jewels including the new Harmony collection.

“Historically, I have use abstraction to interpret what sounds and frequencies would look like then I would add pavé-set diamonds almost as a second-thought after the form,” explains Catherine. “For Harmony I wanted the diamond to be part of the shape. I wanted the gold and diamonds to be equal.”

After playing around with what a pear-shape might look like in the work, Catherine switched to marquise shaped stones. She flush set them in the middle of her gold shapes that look something like a paisley with points at both ends.

The Harmony collection has a rhythmic combination of Catherine’s gold and marquise diamond forms in large and smaller sizes. There are bold rings and stud earrings as well as tennis bracelets and necklaces. Each piece has a visual sense of movement that makes it look as though it is dancing across the body when it is worn.