Jewelry - Sharing Beauty With The World

Rings, Bracelets, Earrings, Necklaces by Manya Vee Selects artists

Jewelry. According to Wikipedia, jewelry has no other purpose than to look appealing. Well, we here at Manya Vee Selects take issue with that! To us, jewelry is a way each and every one of us can share a little piece of beauty with the world around us as we walk through our day. It makes not only you feel a bit more beautiful yourself, but also brings delight and enjoyment to friends and complete strangers.

Here she is, sporting her
new garnet necklace, earrings
and bracelet!

The oldest-known jewelry is over 100,000 years old, made of Nassarius shells. (How many of you had a puka shell necklace at some point in your life?) Since then, people have been making jewelry out of all kinds of materials, including metals, stones, glass, bone, feathers, and whatever else they can get their hands on.

Puka Shell Necklace

I love that the derivation of the word “jewelry” comes from the Latin “jocale”, meaning plaything! I often see people playing with their jewelry: twisting a ring, or moving a pendant along its chain. It's a fun aspect to life indeed. But throughout history, jewelry has taken on a number of purposes, including currency or wealth display, function - as in clasps or fasteners, symbolism - to show membership or status, protection - in the form of an amulet or talisman, or simply artistic display.

When I was hiking in the Himalayas, in passing through a village, you could always tell which woman was the chieftan's wife because of the ostentatious array of turquoise, coral and amber jewelry she'd be wearing.

Interestingly, function and wealth have been the main roles of jewelry. Although making those look beautiful has always been part of it, it has played a secondary role. Until the 19th century, that is. In the late 19th century, jewelry masters Peter Carl Faberge and Rene Lalique emphasized the artistic qualities that jewelry could embody.

Brooch by Lalique

That trend has continued until today, with many thinking of jewelry in terms of miniature sculpture. Alexander Calder influenced many of the jewelers at Manya Vee Selects, including Manya herself. Also a sculptor, Calder reduced the scale of sculpture to jewelry size, and made a name for himself as an innovator in terms of style as well as materials used. He often used materials viewed as non-precious including pottery shards and woven cording, and less-precious metals like brass and copper.

Calder Necklace of brass

The late-20th century has seen the emergence of a strong art jewelry movement, defined specially as jewelry designed to promote a concept. The concept is more important than the materials used. It might be a plastic-coated photograph, encased in an acrylic frame hanging on a cotton cord, as opposed to diamonds and gold. The content of the photograph and the way it is presented are what provide the value here, as opposed to the intrinsic value of gold and diamonds.

Photo encased in resin
on metal

The Pacific Northwest has a very strong group of art jewelers who are known on an international scale. Instrumental in paving the way for this was the now-deceased Ramona Solberg, whose work was clearly influenced by Calder. Ms. Solberg was a fine artist, as well as a teacher and mentor. Under her tutelage, strong jewelry programs arose at various community colleges and even high schools. The Seattle Metals Guild counts among its members many of these intriguing jewelry artists.

Solberg fibula brooch

Judy Morgan of J Heather Designs is among the Manya Vee Selects jewelers who says she is influenced by Calder. Even more so, however, she is influenced by the universe and its myriad stars, constellations, comets and other wonders. Her newest jewelry collection incorporates blackened sterling silver, 18-karat gold, raw stones and pearls to great effect. Price range: $125 - $285.

Pendant by Judy Morgan

Hickman earrings, inspired
by Calder

Emily Hickman is another Manya Vee Selects jeweler who loves Calder. She's currently developing an entire collection devoted to his influence. This pair of earrings is a great example. Price range: $22 - $225.

Parrott necklace, inspired by
the way leaves and fruit
hang off vines

Cheryl Parrott fits into the art jewelry category by her use of glass beads and copper-coated wire that looks like antiqued brass. Cheryl studies the way fruit and leaves hang off vines, and tries to capture that in her jewelry. Notice how it is assymetrical, yet balanced. Price range: $28 - $150.

Three rings by Bill Booze:
Amethyst, Tourmaline,
London Blue Topaz

I can't help but be fond of colorful, sparkly stones. Bill Booze buys his stones raw and facets them himself, using only the most amazing and high quality stones available. He sets them himself, often in sterling silver to keep the costs within a more reasonable level. Simple settings make the stone itself stand out. Priced from $300 - $1200.

Fused, Forged and Woven
from Manya Vee's new collection

I myself have been influenced by a number of factors over the past year, which is culminating in an entirely new and completely different line of jewelry for me. Rounded shapes like circles, ovals and teardrops are forged out of fine silver. Then, I weave a very fine 14k gold-fill wire around the frame. Finally, a single, wrapped stone is added at the bottom. Prices range from $48 to $138.

Whatever your reasons are for wearing jewelry, we hope you'll enjoy the wide variety of jewelry offered by over 25 jewelry artists at Manya Vee Selects!

Artfully Yours,
Manya Vee

www.ManyaVeeSelects.com