Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Some people say shiny things distract them…but I like to think shiny things entrance me.  I absolutely adore everything shiny and sparkly.  I decided to do a quick experiment – I gave myself one minute to take a picture of as many things as I could find in my room which fit that description, and the results are shown below.

Just kidding...these shoes are only mine in my dreams!  I took this photo in Bergdorf Goodman's shoe department in New York City.

It turns out that sixty seconds is not long enough to take many pictures!  But you get the idea, shiny and sparkly accessories make me smile.  I was inspired to learn WHY we are attracted to shiny things.  Sure, my bedazzled watch is a pretty and funky wrist adornment, and I definitely love to glam up with my glittery, metallic nail polish for special occasions.  However, I’m a curious gal, and I wanted to know more.  It turns out the answer is as simple as one hydrogen atom bonded to two oxygen atoms.

WATER!  We guzzle about two liters of H₂O every day to stay alive and healthy, but I never would have imagined that water contributed to my selection of accessories.  However, I discovered that we have evolution to thank:  clean, potable water is shiny because its surface reflects light.  Way back in time, our ancestors survived for days at a time without locating a drinkable water source.  Our genetic predisposition to shiny things is explained by the concept that humans learned to recognize a body of water when they saw a shiny area in the distance.  The shinier the water, the more clean and drinkable it was.  Then natural selection came into play.  Just as a refresher (pun intended), natural selection is the process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.  Natural selection is one of the major processes that causes evolution.  The humans and animals that were more skilled at finding clean water were better adapted to survive and reproduce, so their genes were passed on, and today humans and several other species of animals have an affinity for shiny and sparkly things.  How fascinating is that?!  I love science. 

The rest of this post is devoted to introducing you to or reminding you of two of my favorite makers of shiny and sparkly things, jewelry designers Jennifer Dawes and Dana Lorenz. 

Jennifer Dawes

Jennifer Dawes has a background in fine arts and metalsmithing.  She creates sustainably responsible jewelry by melding her passion for ancient civilizations with current culture and design.  Her collection, Dawes Design, was launched in 2000, and every piece of jewelry in her collection is hand-made.  Her pieces are simple, radiant, and designed for people to be able to express their individual tastes.  The collection encourages customers to try “stacking” the pieces, which involves combining as many pieces as you desire in whatever order or arrangement you choose.  An example of an exquisitely "stack" of jewelry from her collection “Blockette” is shown below.

Ms. Dawes’ pieces are beautiful by themselves, as well.  I included a selection of six of my favorite pieces below to give you a taste of her work.  I encourage you to learn more about Dawes Design at her website, and you might even end up adding to your jewelry collection!

Lux ring with oval pink sapphire (My favorite piece in her collection!)

Relic band swirl small with 6 diamonds

Drape lotus flower earrings

Canyon ring 5 channel

Tine square diamond ring

Dew drop band solitaire 4.5 mm diamond

“Learning how to manipulate this hard, shiny material was like magic to me and I have been passionate about it ever since. My hands have to physically manipulate and fabricate in order for the ideas to emerge out of the metal.” –Jennifer Dawes

Dana Lorenz

If I were asked to describe FENTON/FALLON’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection, the first words out of my mouth would be “jaw dropping.”  FENTON/FALLON's designer, Dana Lorenz, started out in the fashion industry working for Gucci and Donna Karan.  However, what began as a personal pet project for Ms. Lorenz quickly became her true calling:  jewelry design.  She launched FENTON in 2006, a collection which draws inspiration from pop culture, fantasy, and aestheticism.  Each piece of jewelry is dramatic, yet elegant, and many pieces contain Ms. Lorenz’s trademark twisted chains that intertwine crystals, pearls, bead, and rope.  Following FENTON’s immediate success, Dana Lorenz launched FALLON in 2007, a lower-priced collection consisting of bold and intricate pieces of jewelry.  Ms. Lorenz’s versatility is inspiring and exciting, and her talent and ambition earned her recognition by Italian Vogue as one of their "New Talents" featured in the magazine and at Milan Fashion Week, along with several other honors and awards.

Please visit FENTON/FALLON’s website to learn more about Dana Lorenz’s work.  I included several of my favorite pieces from FENTON/FALLON’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection below.  Enjoy!

Sagamore triple plate choker (My favorite piece in the SS 2012 collection!)

Berkeley nugget choker

Sagamore triple plate choker layered with Berkeley nugget choker

 

Delano bead cuff multi

Sagamore double choker

Delano classic choker

Raleigh XL earrings

FENTON Spring 2012 Show

FENTON Spring 2012 Show

Spotlight on the First Lady

Michelle Obama accessorized with a stunning FENTON bow necklace for a Fourth of July TV special that aired on ABC in 2010 (shown above).  She was first seen wearing the dazzling piece of jewelry on the cover of the December 2009 issue of Glamour Magazine (shown below), in which she was honored as a Woman of the Year.  Go Michelle O!

In 2011, the First Lady paired a Prabal Gurung dress with another FENTON/FALLON necklace (shown below) for an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

P.S.  Fun fact of the day – if you didn’t know, the title of this post (Shine On You Crazy Diamond) is the title of a Pink Floyd song.