Editors

Designer Spotlight: Ray Griffiths

EditorsApr 20, 2009

Designer Spotlight: Ray Griffiths

I don’t love to admit it, but I cannot stop watching Bravo’s Real Housewives show. All the dramas of Atlanta? Yep, tuned in for that season. The O.C.? Of course. And now I’m onto New York City, faithfully setting my...

I don’t love to admit it,
but I cannot stop watching Bravo’s Real Housewives show. All the dramas of
Atlanta? Yep, tuned in for that season. The O.C.? Of course. And now I’m onto
New York City, faithfully setting my DVR each Tuesday night to see what
catfights the housewives have lately gotten themselves into.

But this last week, it wasn’t
squabbling that kept me guiltily tuned in. It was a pair of stunning earrings
by Ray Griffiths, an Australian jewelry designer who’s based in the Big Apple.


“Housewives” husband Simon
takes his wife Alex on a surprise birthday mission to Griffiths’ midtown studio,
where the lucky lady finds that she’s turning one year older with earrings that
could be the very definition of statement-making. Truly spectacular on all
ends, the pair features emerald-cut white topaz, a triple diamond drop and an
18-karat yellow gold teardrop. And then—last but not least—there’s the gorgeous
crown-work bezel, intricate metalwork for which Griffiths is quite an expert,
having begun his training fabricating the substructure of tiaras and crowns.

And lucky for Alex, this
won’t be her last such piece. Doting Simon gifts her a Ray Griffiths design for
each year she blows out another birthday candle. Of course, you know I’ll be
tuning in to see what’s next.

To see more, visit RayGriffiths.com.


Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.

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