The jewelry designer is lending her elegant point of view to the hottest current jewelry trend. New York—Jade Trau is lending her elegant point of view to the hottest current jewelry trend.
New York—Jade Trau is lending her elegant point of view to the hottest current jewelry trend.
“One of my favorite things to do is to treasure hunt for Victorian charms and chains, and I always learn something new about how these little trinkets were used to send little hidden messages,” Trau explained. “It's so deeply romantic and sentimental."
The collection further developed after a jaunt to the The Original Miami Beach Antique Show early this year, which “totally solidified how much I wanted to create a charm story that was uniquely Jade Trau,” she said.
The resulting designs, launched this fall on the Jade Trau website, boast the designer’s characteristic mix of vintage-inspired timelessness with an easy-to-wear modernity.
Gold letters feature a sleek knife-edge and Trau’s original font that feels slightly Art Deco. Each character is accented with, of course, diamonds.
But Trau didn’t stop at the alphabet. She also embarked on the zodiac, creating stud earrings and pendants to represent each of the 12 signs, giving them an unabashedly feminine energy.
From left to right, Jade Trau’s zodiac charms representing Gemini, Taurus and Scorpio. She even dabbled in spiritual symbols, launching just two charms in that vein so far—an evil eye and a Buddha pendant, which features a Buddha-cut diamond she told National Jeweler she just had to have when she saw the unique stone from one of her sources.
Trau envisions her clients collecting charms, which are available in 18-karat yellow, white and rose gold, to represent loved ones and life’s special moments.
She dipped into a disparate era—the 1980s—when imagining the perfect way to wear many charms at once.
A client reminded her of the ‘80s charm holders that girls would wear to layer on as many charms as possible for a maximalist look indicative of the era.
Trau’s client “knows I love all things vintage and that I was working on a charm collection,” the designer said. “She came in to pick something up ages ago and took her little charm holder with two birds kissing at the top. She said she wanted me to hold onto it
Aries, Aquarius and Sagittarius For her own take, Trau transformed the clasp from her Loop Necklace into a modern-day charm holder. It comes in two sizes, with or without diamonds, ranging from $1,100 to $2,750.
Zodiac charms retail for $1,990, and their stud earring counterparts, sold as pairs, for $1,850. Alphabet charms sell for $1,450, the evil eye charm for $1,650 and the cross charm for $1,800.
The single Buddha-cut diamond charm starts at $4,950 and varies by carat weight. It’s also available dangling from a set of huggie hoop earrings.
