Betony Vernon "Double Sphere Massage Ring" Ring Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 + productor mark Size: 7 1/2 Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty-free
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Sleeping Ring" Small 18K Gold, Ruby and Pearls
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 + producer mark Size: made to order. Production lead time: 5-8 weeks Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty-free
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Ostrich Feather Puff" Black Ring Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 Made to measure Colors: Black Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty free Production time: 6-8 weeks, send us a messag...
Sterling Silver
"Ostrich Feather Tickler Attachment" Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 handle, Ostrich Feathers with Marabou inserts Color: Black / pink champagne / white Hall marks: BV-925 Size: Feathers length approximately 60cm, total l...
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Sleeping Ring" Large Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Production lead time: 5-8 weeks Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty-free
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Sleeping Ring" Small 18 Karat White Gold Pavée Ruby
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Materials: 18 Karat White Gold, Ruby Pavée and two natural white pearls Hall marks: BV-750 + productor mark Size: made to custom only (production lead time: 5-8 weeks) Handcrafted i...
Natural Pearl, Ruby, White Gold
Betony Vernon "Noble Rope Hoop Earrings" Sterling Silver 925 Earrings in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Edition: 1/2 Hall marks: BV-925 Earring Size: unique, rope-ring diameter ø 5cm Weight: 11.2g each Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty free.
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Ostrich Feather Puff" Black Ring Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 Size: 6.5 Colors: Black Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty free
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Small Double Sphere Massage Ring" 18 Karat Gold Ring
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: 18 Karat Gold Hall marks: BV-750 + productor hallmark Size: custom made to order only, production lead time 5-8 weeks Sphere diameter: ø11mm Handcrafted in Italy, all BV m...
Gold, 18k Gold
Betony Vernon "O-Ring Cuff Mini" Bracelet Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: numbered and signed BV-925 + productor hallmark Special limited Edition: 1/21/2021 Size: 1cm height, made on command only (production time 6...
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "O-Ring Band Mini Ring" Ring 18 Karat Gold in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: 18 Karat Gold Hall marks: BV-750 Edition: 2/2017 Size: 5.5 / 6 Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty free
18k Gold
Pair of 1950's Italian Interlocking Puzzle Coffee Tables
By La Permanente Mobili Cantù, Eugenia Alberti Reggio and Rinaldo Scaioli
Located in Hanover, MA
Each is 15.5 inches high by 45.5 inches wide bv 17 inches deep. These were produced by La Permanente Mobili di Cantù, the trade body for furniture-makers in the northern city, who we...
Brass
Betony Vernon "O'Ring Band Medium Ring" Ring 18 Karat Gold in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: 18 Karat Gold Hall marks: BV-750 Edition: 2/2017 Extra Measures: Band max width 12mm / O-Ring mechanism: 9.5mm internal diameter Sizes available: 7.5, 8 Handcrafted in It...
18k Gold
Betony Vernon "O-Ring Cuff Medium" Bracelet Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: numbered and signed BV-925 + productor hallmark Special limited Edition: 1/21/2021 Size: height 2cm, made on command only (production lead t...
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Yoyo Massage Ring" Ring Sterling Silver 925 Woman Size in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver Hall marks: BV-925 + productor mark Size: Woman 7-8 standard size Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty free
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Body Chain Necklace" Necklace Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Available in Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 Edition: 1/2 Necklace Size: unique - one-size fits all Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty free
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "O'ring Band Medium Ring" Ring Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: numbered and signed BV-925 + production hallmark Special limited Edition: 2/21/2021 Extra Measures: Band max width 12mm / O-Ring mechanism: ...
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Noble Rope Hoop Small Earrings" Sterling Silver Earrings in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 Earring Size: unique, rope-ring diameter 3.5cm Weight: 10g each Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty free.
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Petting Ring Small" Ring Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 Size: Small, made to order only (production lead time 6-8 weeks) Glove size approximately 6 to 7, custom sizing required, (left / rig...
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Race Rings" Seven Rings Sterling Silver in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 + productor mark Size: one size fits it all, the seven rings have the same adjustable size Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials ar...
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Finger Ring" Ring Sterling Silver 925
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: numbered and signed BV-925 + production hallmark Special limited Edition: 1/21/2021 Size: Unique (glove size 7-8) made to order only (produc...
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Body Chain" Necklace and Belt Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Available in Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 Edition: 1/2 Necklace Size: unique - one-size fits all Panties Size: 42-44 (customizable) Handcrafted in Italy, all BV...
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Ostrich Feather Puff" White Ring Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 Size: 7 Color: White Also available in: Green, Black Handcrafted in Italy, all BV materials are cruelty-free
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Double Sphere Massage Ring" Ring 18 Karat Gold
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: 18 Karat Gold Hall marks: numbered and signed BV-750 + production hallmark Special limited Edition: 1/21/2021 Size: made to measure (production time 6-8 weeks) Handcrafted...
18k Gold, Gold
Georg Jensen Pair of Sterling Grape Tazzas, 263B
By Georg Jensen
Located in Sarasota, FL
The height 7 1/2in (19cm); diameter 7 1/4in (18.4cm), total weight 39.5 troy ounces. BV
Silver
Betony Vernon "Petting Ring Large" Ring Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 Size: Large, right hand. internal width around 3,5cm.
Sterling Silver
Betony Vernon "Petting Ring Medium" Ring Sterling Silver 925 in Stock
By Betony Vernon
Located in Rome, IT
Material: Sterling Silver 925 Hall marks: BV-925 Size: Medium, right hand / left hand. Internal width around 3,8cm.
Sterling Silver
Koene Oberman Armchair in Gray Two Tone Wool and Iron, Netherlands, 1950s
By Gelderland
Located in The Hague, NL
This very rare armchair was designed by Koene Oberman and produced by Meubelindustrie Gelderland BV in Culemborg, Netherlands in the 1950s. Koene Oberman was not only the founder of...
Iron
$1,735 / set
Dutch Silver Candleholders, Mid-20th Century
Located in Delft, NL
A set of candleholders Dutch silver hallmarked with the Master sign of Molenbeecker NV / bv In den Silveren / Mannetje, C.C. 't (dir) (The Haque 1953 -).
Silver
Floor lamp and plant stand "CLOSE ENCOUNTER" by Kerst Koopman, Dutch design 80s
By Kerst Koopman
Located in DE MEERN, NL
Designer: Kerst Koopman Manufacturer: Kerst Koopman BV Model: Close Encounter Material: Glass, PVC, Laquered wood Measurements: Height: 185 cm Width: 65 cm Depth: 65 cm Weight: 2...
Milk Glass, Wood, Lacquer
$245Sale Price|30% Off
Summer Blues (abstract expressionist monoprint)
By David Chamberlain
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Foundation, 1991, 1994 High Meadow Foundation, 1990 Ford Venture Fund Grant [Univ. of Pennsylvania] 1975-1977 Haas Memorial Fund Fellowship, 1976 GRANTS IN KIND Kodak, Rochester, NY...
Monotype
The paradigm shift took place over lunch in Florence, Italy, circa 1992. Betony Vernon, a striking flame-haired jewelry designer, was showing off her most recent creation: the 18-karat-gold O-ring, designed with a nod to a bondage collar, with a smaller ring affixed to its front.
Playfully, Vernon's partner put his pinky through the smaller ring as she donned the larger one. Then, the unexpected happened. “There was an electric impulse running through this piece,” she recalls. “We both felt it.” The feeling changed her life. “That was the moment I knew that jewelry can provide sensation and reinforce an intimate bond.”
Enabling others to experience electric moments like that — to “bring luxury, fantasy and sensual possibilities to the fine-jewelry world” — has been Vernon's aim ever since. “Sex and luxury were never associated,” she noticed, and the jewelry designer set out to change that. The result was her 1992 Sado-Chic collection, which became the Paradise Found collection.
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.
Vernon's designs are provocative, sexy. But if you look no further than that, you’re missing a much bigger (and more interesting) point. Vernon’s rings, necklaces, bracelets and other accessories represent a vital part of what she sees as her life’s mission.
“Pleasure,” she explains, “has been associated with sin, wrongness and naughtiness, not with joy, happiness and bonding.” Vernon has set out to demolish that “pleasure taboo.”
So, how is pleasure reflected in the design of Vernon's jewelry (and remember, we are talking sensuality not sexuality)? Early in the design process, she asks, “How many senses can I turn on?” 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 and gold? A pleasure to the touch.
And always, Vernon believes, jewelry embodies memory, legacy. A pleasure for the soul.
Find a collection of Betony Vernon jewelry on 1stDibs.
Contemporary jewelry is inextricably linked with the moment in which it is created, frequently reflecting current social, cultural and political issues such as environmental consciousness, identity and sustainability. It’s informed by fashion trends, from the chokers of the 1990s to the large chain necklaces of the early 2000s.
Jewelry is one of the oldest forms of adornment. Lockets made of silver or gold have been treasured gifts for hundreds of years, for example, and charm bracelets, which have existed since prehistoric times, didn’t become especially popular until the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. For many centuries, fine jewelry was used primarily to express wealth or status through lavish materials. Then, in the 1960s, a concept known as the “critique of preciousness” emerged, with jewelers creating pieces that did not get their value from gemstones or precious metals. Instead, it was the jeweler’s artistic vision that was prized and elevated.
This shift still informs Contemporary jewelry being made by artists today. Whether they are using cheap, found materials and working with provocative geometric shapes or seeking out the rarest stones, they are imbuing their work with meaning through their skills, techniques and ideas. Innovative designers such as Elsa Peretti, who popularized sculptural sterling-silver jewelry for Tiffany & Co., and David Yurman, who twisted metal into the simple yet striking Cable bracelet, have also influenced the direction of Contemporary jewelry’s forms and aesthetics.
Meanwhile, technological advancements like metal alloys and laser engraving have led to new possibilities in jewelry design. Now, edgy makers and brands as well as minimalist designers are pushing Contemporary jewelry forward into the 21st century.
Find a collection of Contemporary rings, earrings, necklaces and other jewelry on 1stDibs.