WE'VE MOVED.

2010-04-18T18:32:00.000-04:00

PLEASE VISIT BREAD & ROSES AT ITS NEW LOCATION:

WINBOWERS.WORDPRESS.COM

Knot Guide

2010-02-09T21:08:00.041-05:00

18k "Lover's Knot" ring stamped Tiffany & Co.

(Ruby Lane)

Verdura watch c. 1940

Hobe Goldtone Bracelet, c.1945

(Annie Sherman)

DeBeers "Everlon" Ring

Two-tone 14k Bracelet
(Seawear)

Victorian Brooch

(Ruby Lane)

Art Nouveau Sterling Silver and Marcasite Screw-On Earrings, c.1920

(Carole Tanenbaum)

Henry Dunay 18k Gold Faceted Ring

(Bergdorf Goodman)

And why hasn't Prada created a jewelry line around their logo square knot? Or have they?

The Necessities in Life

2010-02-08T23:48:00.012-05:00

James Openheim's 1911 poem has become a well-known slogan for workers' rights. Originally written to shine a light on the needs and wants of women garment workers, it easily translates to other industries and remains a relevant demand a century later. I acknowledge the significance of this slogan as it it pertains to the miners, manufacturers, and sales persons who do the grunt work of the jewelry industry but the symbolism of bread and roses extends past protest of social strife.

Bread and roses are symbols of sustenance and beauty. Both are subject to time and will go bad if not used-up and enjoyed. Bread is the need but it must be worked for, while roses may be enjoyed freely and require only momentary leisure (to "stop and smell"). They are stand-ins for time--time spent working and free time, which is the ultimate luxury. Fundamentally, to fully live one must have both. Bread and roses symbolize a life well lived: hard work and the luxuries afforded by it. I see this as an analogy for the jewelry industry.

Jewelry has one physical function which is to adorn the wearer, but glitter is not its only reason for being. Its intrinsic and material value has been in place since prehistory. Jewelry marks status as well as personal and romantic milestones. It is an investment in a physical material, but more importantly, jewelry is an investment in one's legacy. How many grandmothers have been immortalized in the jewelry they've handed to their heirs?

I will never forget the scene in Schindler's List of the family swallowing their jewels before being ushered off to whatever horror awaited. This was made more meaningful to me by a co-worker I knew while working at a delicatessen when in high school. Ricki was an older woman with swollen ankles whose mother left Germany with her and her sister before the war. She told me about the Turkish rugs they brought over and how her mother would clean them with vinegar and salt--a process that struck me as true appreciation for a finely made thing, antiquated and forgotten in the New World I grew up in. Ricki was superstitious in a way that was foreign and silly to me but she was exceedingly wise in her way. I have kept with me one nugget of wisdom in particular which she spat at me in her unrelenting accent: Don't buy junk!

This fall gold hit 1200 USD per ounce. It is a prized natural resource in a league with only diamonds and other precious gems, and oil. Jewelry's raw materials bolster national economies. As a result they finance wars, genocide even. Mining practices have grossly polluted the environment. Changes in trade laws and advancements in shipping have resulted in many manufacturing jobs moving to countries where working conditions are far from ideal. In efforts to cut costs, jobs have been micro-specialized to facilitate mass-production. Jewelry has suffered for it, as fabrication processes have been squeezed into oblivion.

Improvements in social and environmental policy are introduced as consumers increasingly demand responsible products. Tiffany & Co. has begun sourcing from a US mine with environmental policies. Mannin, a company I helped build in Los Angeles, produces jewelry made from 100 percent recycled gold, foregoing mining altogether. 2009 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Monique Pean has also incorporated environmental responsibility into her design philosophy. And Columbia Gem House as well as other gem wholesalers are sourcing and marketing Fair Trade Certified stones. Further, the democratization and mass-production of luxury goods begun in the 1990's has created a backlash. True connoisseurs of luxury items are once again seeking out hand-craftsmanship and unique (read as both "unusual" and "one-of-a-kind") designs. The market for custom handmade jewelry is growing in the US while the market for discounted mass-produced jewelry has been rocked by the recession. In the past year Zales swallowed Whitehall Jewelers only to find itself now teetering on the brink of existence. It is an exciting time for jewelry. Globalism and tightening economies have changed the industry forever. There is huge potential for improvement and growth in new directions.

People will never stop wearing jewelry. Jewelry makes us civilized. It makes us human. Jewelry is likely to live beyond its wearer and extend the wearer's story to a new generation. Likewise, the history and production of jewelry tells a story of humanity. It highlights the struggles as well as the beauty mankind is capable of creating.

Bread and Roses

WE'VE MOVED.

Knot Guide

The Necessities in Life