On May 3 2010, one of TV’s sexiest mothers, Gossip Girl’s Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford), was dripping in drama. The stylists for Gossip Girl selected our Diorissimo necklace to offset Lily’s man troubles with Serena’s (Blake Lively) father. The 24K gold necklace is stunning on brunettes, and amplified even more on blonds like Kelly Rutherford.

As a special tribute to Gossip Girl and the fashions the show promotes, we will be running a 25% fashion discount from May 3rd to May 5th. Enter LILY at checkout for 25% off your entire purchase of M. Sturman Jewellery and treat yourself to some Gossip Girl fashion. And treat your mom to some jewelry for Mothers Day. She will love anything you pick. Shop for the Diorssimo necklace at M. Sturman Jewellery (it’s a limited edition piece) >

We can also act as personal shopper help you pick something special, so contact us for personal attention.

This necklace is made of vintage yellow stones ordered by Dior from Swarovski after WWII.  The stones are bezeled with 14k gold-plated seed beads and suspended from a chain woven of the same beads.  All of it handwoven, totally one-of-a-kind fashion and totally Lily van der Woodsen, played by Kelly Rutherford.

Shop for the Diorssimo necklace at M. Sturman Jewellery >

You should have been there — on Wednesday night, December 9, at the launch party of InnerRewards.com at Soho House!  This party and holiday shopping bazaar was complete with food, drink and DJ, to say nothing of Collective-e member vendors of holiday products for everyone on anyone’s holiday list.

But the star of the show was the founder of InnerRewards, Julie Elaine Brown, who clearly follows closely the mission of her new company:  “bringing you the latest in high-end, solution-oriented products and packages to help people lose weight, find that fountain of youth, reduce stress, and live more optimally”.

So I was really excited when Julie agreed to wear during the evening my “Peacock Earrings”  http://bit.ly/5C920U to frame her face and set off her lovely dress.  These earrings are my personal favorites, the earrings I had my ears pierced for!  I was about to put them on when Julie spotted them from across the room and asked to wear them.  These were really perfect her because of her long neck and long dark hair framing her face.  Not only is she gorgeous, but she also has great taste!

The “Peacock Earrings” feature two different vintage Swarovski stones and a vintage Swarovski filigree, bezeled with 24k gold-plated seed beads with a rainbow effect and fringed with them and some new CRYSTALLIZEDtm – Swarovski Elements crystal beads.  These old stones simply sparkle and shimmer.

Here are some candid shots of Julie wearing the earrings.  What do you think — don’t they look great on her?

I’m looking over a four-leaf quatrefoil – I mean four-leaf clover.  A quatrefoil is a symmetrical shape formed by the outline of four flowers, sometimes with less overlap and at other times with more overlap, and sometimes with the outline of a square between the lobes.  And it seems to make people happy, just like the famous jingle.

In heraldic terminology a quatrefoil is a four-leaf clover – the French “quatre” for four and the “foil” is middle English for “flower”.  It is a motif that has been used for centuries in architecture, art and design, reaching its peak during the Gothic Revival and the Renaissance.  The quatrefoil element can be seen in tracery in the windows of Gothic cathedrals and in architecture in the north and the south doors of the Baptistry in Florence.

An excellent discussion of the use of the quatrefoil motif in design – housewares, architecture, and, of course, jewelry, can be found online in the blog, Matters of Style, Crazy for Quatrefoils!  June 16, 2009:  http://www.mattersofstyleblog.com/2009/06/crazy-for-quatrefoils.html .

I researched “quatrefoil” in order to introduce to you my own necklace design using one.  When I made it, as with everything I make, I merely was puzzling out how to use four vintage Swarovski cabochons that I had bezeled with gold-plated seed beads.  I moved them around my worktable – should I attach them each to some sort of cord for a necklace?  Should I make a brooch?  Sets of earrings?  Well, I’d done all of that and wasn’t interested in doing any of it again.  I had four of these and usually in jewelry design all we use are uneven numbers . . .  what to do.  I then pushed the four cabochons in together and considered joining them into a pendant motif, which I subsequently did, added a bail and placed them on a necklace of CRYSTALLIZED^tm – Swarovski Elements crystal pearls, finishing with a closure of margarita crystals.  Then I named it “Quatrefoil Necklace” http://bit.ly/80daUb

I’m nearly too embarrassed to mention that I have a BFA as well as an MFA, with a specialty in Renaissance art and architecture.  And, I had no (conscious) idea when I made my Quatrefoil Necklace about the history of the quatrefoil element or its use, furthermore, in contemporary jewelry.  I’ve seen my daughter-in-law wearing her Alhambra necklace from Van Cleef and Arpels for years and I understand now that David Yurman has made earrings using the form.

Well, such is designing – the visual unconscious rising up.  Have you ever done anything like this?

After a salad lunch with a jewelry colleague last week on W. 57th Street, I suggested we have “dessert” at Bergdorf Goodman – specifically a leisurely tour through the jewelry department. We were amazed and delighted at what we saw: Statement Necklaces! Bold bracelets and earrings! Huge Chains! Chunky textures! Layers! Triple Strands! Bibs and Collars! Lots of large beads, stones and Swarovski crystals, some prong set, some sewn on and appliquéd with seed beads.

Since both of us are designers of hand woven jewelry, we were interested to see that many jewelers represented in this department are using ribbon ties in place of the usual findings as closures for their necklaces – nothing new actually, but now the silk ribbons were holding up large weighty necklaces and so added an airy femininity to the pieces!

Most of my work is also large and bold, incorporating large, rough-cut stones and natural beads, such as the 19” Ebony and Chalcedony necklace with a modern sterling silver clasp, chunks of chalcedony and ebony beads, three of them with woven “jackets” of chalcedony lozenges. Such a blend of materials and textures works well with any of the new fashion trends in the upcoming season.

My particular passion is for vintage beads and Swarovski crystals, such as the Diorissimo necklace, a bold bib style necklace of vintage Swarovski cabochons that would fill the plunging neckline of any little black dress. Can you see it? 

This Diorissimo necklace is made from cabochons ordered by Dior from Swarovski either before or after World War II — vintage in either case.  I bezeled the stones and created a chain with 14k gold-plated beads.  Very dramatic.

Will you make a bold fashion jewelry statement this fall?

– vintage jewelry that is! I adore vintage beads and cabochons of all kinds. I seek them out wherever I am shopping for beads, anywhere from online to the Paris Flea Market, and everywhere in between. It awes me that they are old — sometimes older than I am!

My absolute favorite of all my vintage pieces is called “Games People Played“. This necklace is perfect for the big spender, with a big strong ego! It’s a large, double strand necklace formed with a bolo and fringe, completely made from vintage beads representing all types of gaming pieces — cards, chess pieces, dice, horseshoes — plus vintage Japanese plastic red beads and vintage French silver beads (from the Paris flea market!) — all crocheted by hand into a magnificent, one-of-a-kind, showstopper! The colors – white, black, red, silver — can go with anything you would want to pair with it, so while its large, it’s versatile.

Do you love vintage jewelry as much as I do?