{"id":358144,"date":"2021-09-24T12:05:56","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T16:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/?p=358144"},"modified":"2021-12-15T05:05:03","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T10:05:03","slug":"edgy-jewelry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/edgy-jewelry\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Strong, Edgy Jewelry Is Popular Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Betony Vernon Double Sphere massage rings, 21st Century<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jewelry expresses the personality of both the designer and the collector. Truth be told, a diamond solitaire<\/a> is not for everyone. Here, we highlight four jewelry designers with decidedly edgy appeal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Betony Vernon<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Portrait<\/a>
Betony Vernon wears her Love Lock necklace<\/a>. Photo by Ali Madhavi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The paradigm shift took place over lunch in Florence, Italy, circa 1992. Betony Vernon<\/a>, a striking flame-haired jewelry designer, was showing off her most recent creation: the 18-karat-gold O-ring<\/a>, designed with a nod to a bondage collar, with a smaller ring affixed to its front. Playfully, her partner put his pinky through the smaller ring as she donned the larger one. Then, the unexpected happened. \u201cThere was an electric impulse running through this piece,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWe both felt it.\u201d The feeling changed her life. “That was the moment I knew that jewelry can provide sensation and reinforce an intimate bond.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enabling others to experience electric moments like that \u2014 to \u201cbring luxury, fantasy and sensual possibilities to the fine-jewelry world\u201d \u2014 has been her aim ever since. \u201cSex and luxury were never associated,\u201d Vernon noticed, and she set out to change that. The result was her 1992 Sado-Chic collection, which became the Paradise Found collection.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vernon grew up in Virginia and studied art history, religion and goldsmithing at Virginia Commonwealth University. Following her graduation in 1990, she moved to Florence, later earning a master’s in industrial design from the Domus Academy in Milan. Europe has been home ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her designs are provocative, sexy. But if you look no further than that, you\u2019re missing a much bigger (and more interesting) point. Vernon\u2019s jewelry represents a vital part of what she sees as her life\u2019s mission. \u201cPleasure,\u201d she explains, \u201chas been associated with sin, wrongness and naughtiness, not with joy, happiness and bonding.\u201d Vernon has set out to demolish that \u201cpleasure taboo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how is pleasure reflected in the design of her jewelry (and remember, we are talking sensuality not sexuality)? Early in the design process, Vernon asks, \u201cHow many senses can I turn on?\u201d Every detail relates to a sensual experience. That crisp snap a clasp makes when opening or closing? A pleasure to the ear. The softness and spring of noble metals, silver<\/a> and gold<\/a>? A pleasure to the touch. And always, she believes, jewelry embodies memory, legacy. A pleasure for the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\t

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More Betony Vernon Jewelry<\/div>\n\t\t\t
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