As with many different creative expressions, designers find inspiration from in fields other than their own—fashion inspires interiors, which inspires jewelry, which inspires fashion, and so on and so forth. This spring, our team at VERANDA is excited about two jewelry launches that are both inspired by architecture, but still true to and evocative of their own DNA.
Temple St. Clair for Croghan's
Temple St. Clair, the New York City-based jeweler known for her rock crystal amulets, has reimagined her iconic design in a fresh way - inspired by the ornate and historic architecture of Charleston, South Carolina.
More From Veranda
St. Clair, who spent many years visiting her mother who long resided in Charleston, has had a long partnership with the city's own King Street Croghan's Jewel Box and created these three special and limited-edition amulets specifically with Croghan's mind. “In all of the Charleston Amulets, I’ve tried to capture details, feelings, and my own memories of the places that live in my imagination," says St. Clair.
The Swordgate, Pineapple Gate, and Rainbow Row (out later in the spring) amulets all are named for and take their beautiful scroll and patterned details from the specific places in the city. The Swordgate amulet is evocative of the gates (forged by renowned Charleston ironworker Christopher Werner in the 1830's) of the Sword Gate House on Legare Street, while the Pineapple Gate amulet takes its cues from the Pineapple Gate that is topped with Italian pinecone finials and allows entrance to the historic Simmons-Edwards House.
For each Swordgate amulet sold, Temple St. Clair and Croghan's will donate 10 percent of each sale to the Historic Charleston Foundation, which focuses on preservation in the city, and for each Pineapple Gate amulet, donations will be made to the Humanities Foundation, which provides housing for Charlestonians in need.
The Rainbow Row amulet will be the only amulet featuring colored gemstones, mimicking the pastel-hued homes on Bay Street, and will be set with aquamarines, pink and yellow sapphires, peridots, tanzanites, and amethysts. For each sale, a donation will be made to the Preservation Society of Charleston.
Davidor
David Gusky of Davidor reinvents his classic arch motif in this spring's newest collection - the L’Arc Voyage - to illustrate the thrill of traveling. The arch, which is evident in many buildings and structures around the world, reappears in a different way in many different locales, reinforcing the feeling of familiarity and discovery while traveling all at once.
"As you travel from country to country, continent to continent, town to town, you discover the local narrative, a distinct story that unravels through the arch," says Gusky, founder, and designer. "L’Arc Voyage captures these beautiful and poetic stories, inspired by landscapes and cultures, flora and fauna. The sautoir’s continuous shape and design is representative of a continued desire to see and be inspired by new places and landscapes."
Davidor's designs, which are also made around the world by the finest craftsmen in Valenza, Italy, and Paris, all start with a sketch, are then done by hand as a gouache painting, and, lastly, are carved in wax or metal before being finally realized at the jeweler's bench.
This classic arch is used in many of the maison's most important designs - from high jewelry to earrings to rings to necklaces, with diamonds and colored gemstones alike. Davidor has also recently opened their Bar Harbour flagship atelier—the space is, quite literally, a chic burgundy-toned jewel box, ready to connect your travel adventures to something tangible that will be a family heirloom for generations to come.
