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Piece of the Week: Retrouvaí’s Ring for CharityPolicies & IssuesJan 10, 2025
Harwell Godfrey, Stephanie Gottlieb Are Raising Money for LA Wildfire Relief
Several jewelry designers are lending a helping hand to charities in Los Angeles amid the raging wildfires.
Harwell Godfrey auctioned off this pavé diamond heart pendant via Instagram to raise money for the Los Angeles Fire Department Emergency Fund as the city battles raging wildfires.
Los Angeles—As Southern California faces raging wildfires, jewelers are stepping up to lend a helping hand.
The Palisades Fire broke out Tuesday morning in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles and has continued to rage across Southern California, burning more than 20,000 acres.
It is one of several fires across California as of press time, including the Eaton Fire, which has burned more than 13,000 acres across Altadena and Pasadena.
Ten people have been confirmed dead, as per a CBS report, and nearly 200,000 residents are under evacuation orders.
The city has also been facing a windstorm, with gusts between 80 and 100 mph at their peak, making firefighting conditions even more difficult.
California-based jewelry brand Harwell Godfrey raised more than $10,000 through an Instagram auction to support firefighters in the area.
Designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey, a California native, shared a post to Instagram Wednesday, offering a limited-edition pavé diamond heart pendant with a retail value of $11,500 as part of her “Charity Heart” series, in which proceeds from a jewelry piece go to different charities.
“My heart breaks for my homeland of Southern California, and I grieve for my friends, family, and partners as devastating fires and unprecedented winds continue to rip through several beautiful communities there. It’s not over, and they need our help,” wrote Godfrey.
The bidding began at $7,500, with the closing bid totaling $11,000. All proceeds will go to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Emergency Fund.
The 18-karat yellow gold pendant, pictured at the top of the article, is set with 1.59 carats of diamonds and features the designer’s signature triangle motif placed over the heart in repetition. It’s meant to look like a broken heart that has been put back together, she said.
The pendant has a bail with the two bars to look like an equal symbol, which Godfrey described as “a gesture of the unity we can achieve when we help each other.”
In a follow-up post, Harwell Godfrey said the limited-edition hearts will be made available to order from now through Jan. 16 for $11,000 with all proceeds going to the LAFD wildfire emergency fund.
The Palisades Fire broke out Tuesday morning in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles and has continued to rage across Southern California, burning more than 20,000 acres.
It is one of several fires across California as of press time, including the Eaton Fire, which has burned more than 13,000 acres across Altadena and Pasadena.
Ten people have been confirmed dead, as per a CBS report, and nearly 200,000 residents are under evacuation orders.
The city has also been facing a windstorm, with gusts between 80 and 100 mph at their peak, making firefighting conditions even more difficult.
California-based jewelry brand Harwell Godfrey raised more than $10,000 through an Instagram auction to support firefighters in the area.
Designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey, a California native, shared a post to Instagram Wednesday, offering a limited-edition pavé diamond heart pendant with a retail value of $11,500 as part of her “Charity Heart” series, in which proceeds from a jewelry piece go to different charities.
“My heart breaks for my homeland of Southern California, and I grieve for my friends, family, and partners as devastating fires and unprecedented winds continue to rip through several beautiful communities there. It’s not over, and they need our help,” wrote Godfrey.
The bidding began at $7,500, with the closing bid totaling $11,000. All proceeds will go to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Emergency Fund.
The 18-karat yellow gold pendant, pictured at the top of the article, is set with 1.59 carats of diamonds and features the designer’s signature triangle motif placed over the heart in repetition. It’s meant to look like a broken heart that has been put back together, she said.
The pendant has a bail with the two bars to look like an equal symbol, which Godfrey described as “a gesture of the unity we can achieve when we help each other.”
In a follow-up post, Harwell Godfrey said the limited-edition hearts will be made available to order from now through Jan. 16 for $11,000 with all proceeds going to the LAFD wildfire emergency fund.
“I launched my first Charity Heart during the pandemic in 2020, and over the years we have added five more to the collection, but this one is very different. This is the first time we launched a heart to fund a need with such urgency and time sensitivity,” said Godfrey in a statement to National Jeweler.
She reached out to her showroom partners at For Future Reference for guidance. Founder Randi Molofsky and Mark Davidovich, the sales director, are both based in L.A. and suggested donating the proceeds from the piece to the LAFD wildfire emergency fund.
“I am so grateful to Randi and Mark, who were both evacuated from their homes just hours later, for taking the time to help me nuance this idea,” said Godfrey.
Godfrey opened her first retail store last year in the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, California, which is located about 400 miles from Los Angeles.
Harwell Godfrey isn’t the only jewelry brand looking to help.
Los Angeles-based jewelry brand Sydney Evan is also raising funds for the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, donating 100 percent of the proceeds from its “Eye Heart LA” charm and “California” charm.
Los Angeles-based jewelry brand Sydney Evan is donating 100 percent of the proceeds from its “Eye Heart LA” charm necklace ($925) and “California” charm necklace ($1,245.)
New York-based brand Stephanie Gottlieb is also gathering donations to send to the West Coast.
“Our hearts are heavy as we witness the devastating impact of the California wildfires,” the brand said in an Instagram post. “Together, we can help provide vital aid to those in urgent need.”
From now through Sunday, all proceeds from its “I Am” bracelet ($390) will be donated to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
While many are offering aid, many more are in need of it.
Darya Khonsary and Arielle Chiara Khonsary, the couple behind Darius Jewels, started a GoFundMe page after losing their home in their fire.
Darya and Arielle, as well as Darya’s mom and their cats, are safe, but the home and everything in it is gone, which has taken both a financial and emotional toll on the couple.
“We felt rooted here, our hearts more connected than ever,” Darya wrote.
Arielle grew up in the house, and it was the house where they fell in love.
“Everything is gone, all burned up by the fire. Little notes we wrote to each other as teenagers, every precious gift we ever gave each other, the gold from Iran that my great-grandmother left for me, my mother's wedding jewelry, irreplaceable [mementos] from our travels, art and books collected over years,” wrote Darya.
“Our entire archive of incredible and irreplaceable vintage, antiques, collectors’ pieces we had built together for almost two decades.”
The couple set a goal of $100,000 to use for temporary housing. As of press time, $58,695 has been raised.
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