Egyptian Asps

Watching the incredibly glamorous and over-the-top Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor, sparked something in my brain. The costumes! The culture! The love story! Though much of it was 1960s Hollywood applying its shiny veneer to history, I wanted to know more about this woman, Egypt’s final ruler, and all the stories we still tell about her.

Image credits, clockwise from top left: Snake rings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection; Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra; Snake bracelet from Phoenix Ancient Art’s collection; Detail of “Death of Cleopatra” by Francesco Cozza; Illustration from John Edwards Holbrook’s “North American Herpetology”

Most tragically, her final story is one of star-crossed lovers meeting their end. She and Marc Antony, co-ruler of the Roman empire back in 30 BC, fell in love and joined forces against Octavian, Rome’s other co-ruler and eventual emperor. When Octavian’s forces defeated Marc Antony’s in a civil war, she and Marc Antony made a pact to end their lives instead of submitting to a new ruler. Marc Antony acted first, and upon hearing the news Cleopatra locked herself in a tomb with her two maids, using an asp’s poisonous bite to end her life.

Painters, sculptors, and playwrights have depicted Cleopatra’s life, with asps prominently featured every time. These snakes are especially meaningful considering how important they were in ancient Egyptian culture, represented by the goddess Wadjet and symbolizing a pharaoh’s divine authority. Worn as talismans, they were said to grant protection and health. Snakes have been important in other cultures, too, featured in creation myths, symbolizing rebirth and new beginnings, and said to bring good luck.

Left: Asp Bangles and Asp Rings from our Egyptian Asps Collection; Right: Snake bracelet from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, photo by Kenneth Garrett

What started as an obsession with Cleopatra turned into an urge to make this ancient symbol into modern, wearable amulets. I hope you enjoy wearing these new versions from our mythically-inspired Egyptian Asps collection.

Cleopatra's Emeralds

Left: Still from Cleopatra (1963), 20th Century Fox/Photofest; Right: Emerald specimen, photo by Klaus-Peter Kelber.

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I’ve always been fascinated by powerful women in history, and Cleopatra has to be top 3 on that list. She took Egypt from her younger brother and made herself queen; she had affairs with some of the most famous men in history (Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, no big deal); and she had an impressive collection of gems and jewels. (It’s entirely possible she was reincarnated as Elizabeth Taylor!)

But one of the stones most synonymous with Cleopatra is the emerald. She figured out way before anyone else that in order to command fear and respect, she had to look look the part of an impressive, heaven-sent ruler.  And she did that by owning all the gems and constantly showing them off. 

She scooped up all of Egypt’s mines for herself, using emeralds as her royal calling card, wearing and giving them as diplomatic gifts. The Roman author Lucanus wrote that her home was littered with emerald-encrusted objects, and that she adorned herself with so many that he wondered how she didn’t “faint beneath the weight of gems and gold” (#goals). She had so many that during her time, when you thought of Egypt you simultaneously thought of emeralds. 

If you’re feeling as inspired as I am by this queen of Egypt, I highly recommend watching Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra (buckle up, though, it’s a 4 hour movie). Or, dive into more gemstone lore with Victoria Finlay’s “Jewels: A Secret History” where a lot of this incredible information came from. 

The Romantic Rose Cut

Left: Untitled Andy Warhol illustration; Right: Rose quartz and black spinel rose cut stones.

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Gemstones have been enchanting people for thousands of years, and starting in the 16th century people figured out that by cutting and faceting them, you could bring out even more of their beauty. (Have you seen rough diamonds before they’ve been cut? God bless whoever first thought, “Hey, we might have something here.”)

One of the earliest cuts developed was the rose cut, named for the tight, spiraling petals of a rose bud before it blooms. (Once I heard that I was done for.) Triangular facets all over the top of the stone mimic petals, and each one catches the light and sparkles, even on dark or opaque stones.

Rose cut illustration, via Erstwhile Jewelry’s “History of Diamond Cutting”

The rose cut is also more of an old school, antique cut; when cutting technology advanced, you could get more facets and therefore more sparkle out of stones. While newer stone cuts are beautiful, I have a soft spot for the earlier cut, especially when it’s set in a more modern design. I love using them in my own jewelry, and have big plans to use them even more in the not-too-distant future. 

Now that you know its romantic inspiration, have you fallen under the spell of the rose cut, too? 

My Dalmatian Jasper Obsession

There’s magic in semi-precious stones, and something extra special about Dalmatian jasper in particular. It’s the stone I get asked about the most, and stops people in their tracks, eliciting an, “Oooooh, what’s that one called?” I mean, just look at it! Can you blame anyone?

Every time I get a freshly cut batch of Dalmatian jasper it feels like Christmas, with each stone a unique play of black and cream speckles on ivory white. Picking which ones to use in specific designs gets hard — how do I choose when they’re all so wonderful? I especially love seeing lots of them set all together, like in the Willoughby Necklace, so that the natural pattern really starts to show itself.

I’m also a big proponent of natural Dalmatian jasper stones (and most semi-precious stones, really), using them exclusively in my jewelry. They are reflections of a specific moment and place — the chemicals, elements, and debris that got caught up in the stone when it originally formed determine its unique design fingerprint.

Today’s jewelry scene uses reconstituted stones a lot — ground-up stone mixed with resin and put back together. Because it’s man-made you can control the final product so precisely, but I think that takes all the fun out of it. Mother Nature is the best designer, and with semi-precious stones I’m happy to let her work her magic so I can be surprised and delighted with what she comes up with.

I plan on using even more jasper in the future — that whole family of stones (of which Dalmatian jasper is just one member) comes in an incredible variety of colors and patterns. See how I’m using it now, and let me know if you have a favorite stone you’d love to see me use in the future!

Birthstone Star Necklace Inspiration

Image credits, clockwise from top left: sketch from from Galileo's Sidereus Nuncius; found image of an antique plate via Pinterest; detail of Gucci gown from Spring 2017; "Stars of the Ocean," photo by Marit Hettinga via Flickr; personal photo taken in upstate New York; detail of ceiling fresco by Giotto.

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I’m so happy to share that I just added upgrades to the Birthstone Star Necklaces — in addition to solid sterling silver, you can now also choose from brass with gold-fill chain, or solid 14k gold.

In honor of these new materials, I wanted to revisit the inspiration behind the Star Signet Rings and Birthstone Star Necklace: a single, slightly off-kilter star that might have been found in Galileo’s notebooks, or hidden in the sparkle of warm sunlight hitting the water.

Want to see how this inspiration became the final pieces? Check out the newly upgraded Birthstone Star Necklaces, and the Star Signet Rings in aquamarine or pearl.