Bangles ’n’ beads
Stacking and layering jewelry are popular holiday trends
Great jewelry captures the past, present and future in bits of ancient stones and burnished metals.
All around Albuquerque, jewelers say they have something graceful and timeless, but new in a way that catches the light or flatters your skin and will be just right for wrapping for the holidays.
Trends for the holiday season reported in national publications call for layering and stacking necklaces, rings and bracelets, whether bold and geometric or subtle and organically shaped. Earrings dangle and gold and silver are mixed throughout collections.
Unique style
“Because we have so many artists who have always been attracted to and work in the Southwest, I would say we’re on the edge of what’s trending,” says Phaedra Rayner, a wholesale sales agent for Lilly Barrack. When she takes Lilly Barrack designs around the country, she says her buyers are always eager to see and buy what’s made in the Southwest because it’s unique and trendworthy.
“We’re all allowed to have our own unique style in New Mexico,” she says, suggesting the integration of all New Mexico cultures into its jewelry translates into men and women respecting their own unique style a little more. “We get to be our unique selves and express that in our jewelry.”
Gold is often an adornment on silver in the Lilly Barrack contemporary line, Rayner says, allowing mixing of the two precious metals more easily.
Bracelets begin at $8 for a handmade stretchy band of Swarovski crystals and average about $200-$300 for a bracelet and more for those with gold or stones. Most of the cuffs are gender neutral, she says, with the geometric designs appearing a little more masculine and the rounded cuffs with set stones more feminine.
A handmade beaded Navajo cuff is loomed with sparkly metallic-colored beads using the same technique as traditional blankets, Rayner says. They sell for $69-$118.
Leather cuffs from Rebel Designs out of New York with crystal or metal accents can also change the look of a stack of bracelets for men or women, from $79-$119.
Dangling earrings are popular and Rayner has a threaded look in a gold tone for $29. A dime-sized agate drops from the front while a fine chain threads through the ear piercing and dangles behind the earlobe.
Lilly Barrack, a local jeweler and designer, has stores on Paseo del Norte NE, Rio Grande NW and Central NE in Nob Hill, that feature her designs and others. Each store has a different inventory because each piece is handmade, Rayner says.
Custom work
Shopping local artists is easy enough with the hub of jewelers all around the city.
Dallas Ulibarri, manager and designer at Ooh! Aah! Jewelry in Nob Hill, says custom orders have saved the store during the Central Avenue construction for the rapid transit route. Silver Avenue, south of Central, is a great approach to the store, 110 Amherst SE, just west of Carlisle.
“Rings are unique and personal — pretty colored stones with a halo of diamonds, rough center stones are organic and trendy in a full bezel setting,” she says. “If you can imagine it, we can make it come to life.”
Those custom rings in gold range from $1,000 to $3,900 or more, but similar styles in sterling silver are about $35 to $110, she says. Rose gold is popular because it looks good on many skin tones.
People shopping for holiday gifts usually spend about $50 to $150, depending on the recipient, she says.
For those shoppers, she has dozens of earrings in every price range, many simple and gorgeous, along with dangling earrings, every style and length. “Clean, organic and simple are on trend.” A pair of silver geometric hoops are $18. A larger triangular pair are $32.
Depending on whether the earrings are gold or gold-filled, prices vary from $18 or so to hundreds of dollars. One elegant pair, $398, have an elongated U-shape with a tiny diamond sparkling just below the earlobe.
She suggests simple styles for the most effective layering for both necklaces and pendants. “Small delicate pieces layer together for an effortless look — intentional, yet easy.”
She says it’s hard to go wrong with jewelry as a gift. “It always fits. Jewelry makes people happy.”
Wide price range
Gertrude Zachary’s design line is crafted by Native American silversmiths, but the shops, both in Nob Hill and on Lomas NW, near Old Town, carry other designers and lines of jewelry, says Nob Hill store manager Janice Silva.
“Gertrude Zachary has anything you want in jewelry from $5 to whatever you want to spend,” she says. Gertrude Zachary pieces are 50 percent off the marked price.
Silva says sterling silver inlay pieces, including cuffs, bolo ties, cuff links and pendants, sell well here and around the country.
Cuff links, starting about $100 a pair, fly off the shelves, she says. “Men who travel like cuff links.” Bolo ties to match also start at about $100.
She suggests buying a trio of chains in silver or beads to layer pendants, a trend that’s popular around the country, she says.
Gertrude Zachary designers have a cache of rare turquoise, she says. It often finds its expression in custom inlay bands. Gold, while pricey at $1,000 to $3,500, is popular, especially for wedding bands. Sterling silver inlay bands that can stack range from $125 to $1,000.
She says she has a beaded necklace and bracelet set, $29, that layers and blends well with other jewelry.
Pawned jewelry is popular with Southwest traditionalists and Gertrude Zachary has dozens of authentic pieces from $20 to $1,000, she adds.
Gold is back
Màti Jewelers, with stores in Old Town and Uptown, also has its local designs, Kabana jewelry, with a national reputation and appeal, says Miguel S. Jaramillo, a manager at the Uptown store.
He says gold is having its day again.
“Yellow gold always comes in and out of fashion trends. We see a lot of people preferring yellow gold for fashion jewelry,” he says. “But we still find that most clients buying engagement rings prefer white gold.” Inlay bands, a popular specialty, are often made in yellow gold.
Simple designs are popular for layering both in pendants and bracelets. The Petite collections offers many opportunities to mix and match. Sterling silver pendants start about $100.
“One trend we notice in Albuquerque is more people being aware and placing importance on locally made products, including jewelry,” Jaramillo says. “We’re flattered when clients appreciate that we are local — both in terms of ownership and manufacturing.”