Edie Sedgwick: Earring Influencer
Plus: Bottega Veneta's Ubiquitous 'Drop' Earrings Borrowed From This Old Tiffany Design?; A Conan the Barbarian-Ready Ring That I Visit Daily
Edie Sedgwick, the glamorous and tragic star of several Andy Warhol films in the 1960s including Poor Little Rich Girl, had a signature look: black leotard, thick false eyelashes, bleached pixie hair, and the biggest, swingiest chandelier earrings the world had ever seen.
Where did she get them? Some were certainly made by costume jewelry legend Kenneth Jay Lane, who was becoming a fashionable designer and party guest for NYC’s social set.
Edie’s sister Alice Sedgwick wrote in her book, “The elevator door opened, and out stepped Edie…in the most enormous earrings I had ever seen, made of peacock feathers. I was so shocked. I remember saying, ‘Is that the way you want to go around?’ Edie just giggled and said she thought it was fun. Those enormous earrings became her trademark, and guess who designed them? Ken Lane. He had been saying for a while that he wanted to make really big, really lightweight costume jewelry, and now all at once he became a hugely successful designer and sought-after member of the jet set. Ken told me he owed it all to Edie wearing his earrings.’”
There have also been reports that Edie also made some of the earrings herself, and worked with small-business craftspeople to make and combine earrings. NYC jewelry designer Steve Sasco said in a 2021 video that he talked to Bibbe Hansen, a Factory scenester, around 2020, who said that she and Edie used to go to a costume jewelry store in the East Village on St. Marks Place “owned by an Indian man who made Indian jewelry.” Sasco thinks the iconic Edie “Superstar” earrings (below) may have been made by this artisan, by combining two sets of earrings.
Sasco has done great copies of several of Edie’s iconic earrings—you can see them all here.
Coveting: John Brevard Thoscene Ring
There’s something unquestionably fantasy about this sterling silver ring by designer John Brevard. I’m talking Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian, Neverending Story fantastical-feeling. And I’m so smitten with it, I visit it on Brevard’s website every now and then just to marvel over its intricate geometry, fine lines, gutsy volume, and beautifully cut Hessonite garnet center stone.
Thoscene is a large entire collection for Brevard, a CFDA member and Renaissance Man who’s also a bona fide architect. The word stands for “thoughts, sentiments, and energy of a scene or region of space” and Thoscene is actually a customization platform that creates pieces of jewelry based on individual astrological parameters, such as date and time of birth. Each customized piece is 3D printed, and there are billions of permutations available through this platform. I just want this one: it’s merely $1,200 and you can start visiting it (or better yet, make it your own) right here.
Just Dropped
Francesca Villa’s Garden of Eden
Jewelry designer Francesca Villa’s latest collection came together when she chanced on a series of flower resins made in Germany in the 1950s, which she says, “feel like a modern evolution of Essex Crystals.” She set them in 18k gold and decorated them with colorful sapphires, diamonds, and vibrant enamel (the back of each design is engraved with a delicate little bucolic-vibed hand drawing) to create “my own little Garden of Eden.” Villa sells exclusively with retailers including Twist, Kickpleat, and Tiny Gods, who will have the collection soon.
Let’s Talk About These Bottega Veneta Earrings That Everyone Is Wearing That Are Very Much Like Historic Tiffany & Co. Earrings
I can’t get on a Zoom call this month without laying eyes on a pair of Bottega Veneta “Drop” earrings on a stylish colleague or contemporary. Correction: a pair of knockoff Drops. Because the market is flooded with counterfeits of this teardrop style — and the originals, like everything Bottega Veneta makes — are unsettlingly expensive for what they are.
Available in 18k gold plated sterling silver, sterling silver, wood, and glass, the Drop earring ranges from $780 for the sterling silver small version to $1,600 for the wood style (please don’t pay $1,600 for nuggets of polished wood with posts drilled into them).
Copyright infringement is obviously against the law, but I know it’s difficult to muster sympathy for luxury conglomerates (LVMH, Kering, etc.) that have raised the prices on their goods considerably over the past few years. In fact, indulging in dupe culture can feel like you’re rightfully sticking it to the man.
But—sorry to be a buzzkill—it must be said that we’re supporting villains when we buy that faux Goyard or knockoff Van Cleef necklace: counterfeiting can and does fund crime organizations and other nefarious activities, including human trafficking (there’s a lot of design infringement in jewelry design—if you want to learn more, here’s a piece I wrote about it for JCK magazine).
So in the interest of getting a “Drop”-y look without resorting to Amazon copies, why not embrace the design Bottega (allegedly/seemingly/perhaps) lifted its design from? I’m talking about Elsa Peretti’s large Bean earrings for Tiffany & Co., which were introduced in the early 1970s. The large Beans are no longer produced by Tiffany (like, why?), but the secondhand market is teeming with them, and the sterling silver versions can be had for as low as $300.
Here’s a pair on sale on Etsy right now for $334 (below). They’re a clip-on style, but a jeweler could easily solder on silver posts. In a party filled with Shein-Bottega Drops, you’d be the coolest bean in the bowl.
Jewelry Sale Worth Opening a New Credit Card For
Jewelry designer Emily Hirsch, founder of Ojai, Calif.-based Talon Jewelry, is hosting a sitewide 20% off sale of her collection, which ranges from Western-inspired sterling silver pieces to 14k yellow gold styles rich in symbology (think celestial signs, skulls, roses, and ouroboros) featuring pops of color courtesy of ruby, opal, and sapphire. Hirsch—who happens to be a delightful human being!—makes fantastic gemstone rings that nod to vintage designs but are always clean-lined and play well with others in a stack. But in this sale, I’m tempted to pick up one of her 14k gold chains, which top out close to $500 but are closer to $400 with the discount. This one in particular tempts me. The sale ends Sunday so get to shopping here—the code TalonSpring20 gets you the sweet deal.
Rough Cut Podcast: Interview with Alison Lou Founder Alison Chemla
I’m beyond excited to be one of two new co-hosts, with my friend and fellow jewelry journalist Amy Elliott, for jewelry podcast Rough Cut. Founding co-hosts JB Jones (co-founder of NYC Jewelry Week) and photographer Alain Simic have made the podcast a place for easy-yet-uncommonly honest conversations about jewelry, the industry, celebrity style, design, and more. Check out our latest—a memorable interview with modern NYC jewelry icon, designer Alison Chemla, founder of Alison Lou—hosted by JB and Alain. Listen here.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading the second Jewelry Reference newsletter. I’m grateful you took the time to check it out. And if you liked what you read and know someone else who might like it, too, please forward this email to them.
And let me know if there’s anything historical or otherwise you’d like to learn about in jewelry or gems. I’ll figure it out for you!
Such an icon.