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10 standout pieces from the Couture Press Preview
This quartz, gold and diamond ring from Buddha Mama is just one of the many pieces that were on display at the Couture Press Preview held last week. Click through to see more from this year’s eclectic gathering of designers.
Now in its third year, the Couture Press Preview gives editors from major consumer and trade publications--think books such as Marie Claire, Vogue and W--the chance to see pieces from some of the industry’s most innovative jewelry designers and brands.
This year, a total of six brands participated, erecting their showcases at the Midtown Loft & Terrace in Manhattan last Wednesday as a steady stream of editors, writers and bloggers came and went throughout the day.
Brands exhibiting at the preview were: Anthony Lent, Buddha Mama, Clara Williams Company, Pamela Huizenga, Pinar Oner and Yoko London, each company with a completely different aesthetic from the next.
Based in Chicago, Clara Williams Company creates magnetic pieces with interchangeable centers, enabling the wearer to create many looks, which is a trend in jewelry right now.
Lent was a first-time Couture exhibitor this past year while pearl company Yoko London (formerly Euro Pearls) returned to the JA New York Inner Circle at the summer show, part of a push by the brand to refocus on the American market.
Yoko London has an updated take on traditional pearl jewelry, while Lent’s sculptural style incorporates a lot of celestial bodies and mythological characters. A native of Turkey, Oner takes inspiration from the colors, patterns and architecture of her home country.
Meanwhile, the designs of Buddha Mama, a brand founded in 2008 by a practicing Buddhist and introduced more widely to editors in New York this past March, are inspired by the religion’s imagery--the Mandala, malas (prayer beads), buddhas--and Eastern philosophy as a whole.
And lapidarist and self-described “gem geek” Pamela Huizenga aims never to make the same piece twice, molding the metal to fit around her hand-selected stones.
Flip through our gallery to see pieces from each of the six and learn more about the inspiration behind their designs.
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