Gem News International Gems & Gemology, Spring 2023, Vol. 59, No. 1

Brenda Smith Jewelry Designs

Si Athena Chen and Jennifer Stone-Sundberg

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Figure 1. A: This Lace Ring is crafted in 18K rose gold with blackened gold lace, featuring a cultured freshwater pearl measuring 16.5 mm in diameter, enclosed by natural-color pink and lavender sapphire round brilliants weighing 2.86 carats total. The shank of the ring is embellished with 0.06 carats of diamonds. B: This Tahitian pearl Lace Ring is created in 18K white gold with sandblasted and blackened gold lace. The cultured Tahitian pearl measures 16.0 mm and is surrounded by round brilliant diamonds, 1.35 carats total. The rubies in the shank weigh a total of 0.08 carats. C: A handmade doily crocheted by Smith’s grandmother. Photos courtesy of Brenda Smith.
 
Figure 1. A: This Lace Ring is crafted in 18K rose gold with blackened gold lace, featuring a cultured freshwater pearl measuring 16.5 mm in diameter, enclosed by natural-color pink and lavender sapphire round brilliants weighing 2.86 carats total. The shank of the ring is embellished with 0.06 carats of diamonds. B: This Tahitian pearl Lace Ring is created in 18K white gold with sandblasted and blackened gold lace. The cultured Tahitian pearl measures 16.0 mm and is surrounded by round brilliant diamonds, 1.35 carats total. The rubies in the shank weigh a total of 0.08 carats. C: A handmade doily crocheted by Smith’s grandmother. Photos courtesy of Brenda Smith.

Brenda Smith Jewelry has earned four AGTA Spectrum Awards to date for design excellence. At this year’s AGTA designer showroom, Smith presented three masterpieces to the authors: two award-winning rings featuring pearl and blackened gold lace and an opulent pair of earrings featuring millefiori faces.

Smith’s most prized creation is her Lace Ring design. She shared her white Lace Ring featuring a large cultured pearl accented with gold lace, sapphires, and diamonds (figure 1A), followed by a black Tahitian pearl Lace Ring with blackened gold lace, rubies, and diamonds (figure 1B). Inspired by her grandmother’s handmade crocheted doily featuring a pineapple motif (figure 1C), the rings were created as a tribute to her memory. In 2021, the white freshwater pearl ring won Best Use of Pearls in the AGTA Spectrum competition and the Tahitian pearl ring won the InDesign Award in the category of Pearl Jewelry Over $5,000.

Figure 2. These “Gibson Girl” <em>millefiori</em> earrings in 18K white gold contain Paraíba tourmalines (1.11 carats total), pink tourmalines (1.54 carats total), and 0.56 carats of aquamarine. Photo courtesy of Brenda Smith.
 
Figure 2. These “Gibson Girl” millefiori earrings in 18K white gold contain Paraíba tourmalines (1.11 carats total), pink tourmalines (1.54 carats total), and 0.56 carats of aquamarine. Photo courtesy of Brenda Smith.

Smith’s one-of-a-kind “Gibson Girl” earrings (figure 2) are inspired by the Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. Klimt’s paintings combined realistic faces with geometric clothing, and Smith mirrored this style to create this high-end piece of jewelry. The technique used to create the girl faces is millefiori, which means “thousand flowers” in Italian and produces slices from canes with concentric and colorful patterns. Millefiori techniques can be used to make jewelry, decorative objects, candy, and art pieces. Creating these objects requires a skilled artisan who possesses a deep understanding of material properties, considerable experience, and patience. American artist Barbara McGuire handcrafted the complex face canes for the earrings by arranging and embellishing polymer clays to create a lifelike image. Though millefiori objects are commonly used in decorative pieces, Smith’s design incorporates a harmonious blend of colored gemstones expertly paired and crafted to create a lively figure with a unique personality and color scheme, making it an extravagant and elegant piece of jewelry.

Si Athena Chen is associate technical editor, and Jennifer Stone-Sundberg is senior technical editor, for Gems & Gemology at GIA in Carlsbad, California.