Trends

Piece of the Week: Marla Aaron’s Largest Lock Yet

TrendsAug 25, 2023

Piece of the Week: Marla Aaron’s Largest Lock Yet

The brand crafted a 14-karat solid gold lock hand-engraved with images from the Kama Sutra and just like that, it found a buyer.

Marla Aaron Kama Sutra lock
Marla Aaron is never short on whimsy or creativity, so it follows that when she decided to make her biggest lock yet, she came up with the idea for a hand-engraved piece inspired by the Kama Sutra.

The Kama Sutra is most commonly associated with sex but, Aaron pointed out, that’s not all there is to it.

“People only think of sexual positions but it’s actually an ancient Sanskrit text that’s about the art of pleasure and the art of being fulfilled in life,” she said.

“And,” she added, “you don’t really know it’s naughty until you’re up close.”

Crafted in 14-karat gold, the “Kama Sutra Lock” is solid and hand-engraved.

Like the brand’s other hand-engraved pieces, including the still-available Alice in Wonderland “DiMe” bracelet, the details are subtle and rich. 

Viewed from afar, one would have no idea they were looking at a lock etched with outlines of naked people in adventurous positions. And interspersed among the forms are what Aaron describes as “little life details” that have nothing to do with sex—urns, flowers, fabric, a pipe. 

“Hand-engraving is such a dying art. It’s such an honor for me to get to work with an engraver to get to do these pieces,” she said. “It feels like a privilege.” 

@marlaaaron Verified And Just Like That... SJP wore our Kama Sutra Lock. The largest Lock and chain we’ve ever made. Totally and utterly one of a kind like the experience of this show and this journey that SJP and cast took us all on over the years. The Kama Sutra was written as a guide to the art of living well, the nature of love, finding a life partner, maintaining one’s love life, and other aspects pertaining to the pleasure of living. In the interview Diane Sawyer said that “Sex and the City, 25 years ago, was not just a TV show. It was an earthquake. A daring roadmap for single women about being brave, making messy choices, and living with your mistakes.” One might even add that is the art of living well. Yes. It is. Thank you Sarah Jessica for all of it! #marlaaaronjewelry #satc #andjustlikethat #kumasutra ♬ original sound - marlaaaron
Suspended from the brand’s largest ever handmade 14-karat gold chain, the Kama Sutra lock is priced at $90,000.

A longtime Marla Aaron customer already bought it, the designer confirmed, but those who want to admire still can do so, if they subscribe to HBO’s streaming service, Max.

Prior the lock’s sale the costume designers from “And Just Like That,” the continuation of HBO’s popular series “Sex and the City,” came to Aaron and her team and asked to borrow some pieces for possible placement on the show.

Aaron said they didn’t ask for, or even know about, the Kama Sutra lock but she threw it in with the other jewelry “because it’s amazing.”

The “And Just Like That” team apparently agreed because the show’s fashion-loving protagonist, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), was seen wearing the large lock in episode 9, “There Goes The Neighborhood,” which sees Carrie make a pivotal decision about her future.   

Aaron said it’s not the first time one of her pieces has made an appearance on the revival, which was just renewed for a third season. Cynthia Nixon’s character, Miranda, wore one of the brand’s “Chubby DiMe” rings in an earlier episode. 

Unsurprisingly, it’s also not the first time the Kama Sutra has crept into the Sex and the City universe.

For longtime fans of SATC, the motif’s recent cameo is a callback to the highly acclaimed season four episode of the show’s original run, “My Motherboard, My Self,” in which the ancient text was central to Samantha’s (Kim Cattrall) storyline. 

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