Nambé stirs things up
At last, you can wear your Nambé ware without resorting to stringing a napkin ring on a cord. The cult-collectible home decor and tabletop company has launched an exclusive jewelry collection with Macy’s that capitalizes on the sleek, sinuous curves of the iconic bowls.
A made-in-America women’s jewelry collection of 26 sterling silver and gemstone pieces launched at Macy’s stores last fall at attainable luxury prices. Stud earrings that look as if waves washed across their surface are $120, while a chain-link bracelet with intricate braid detail on the reverse tops out at $550. A selection of $225 rings is set with large semi-precious gems such as smoky quartz and motherof-pearl, echoing the organic materials such as glass, acacia wood and concrete that now appear throughout the brand.
Founded in 1951 outside Santa Fe, N.M., Nambé gained a loyal following that appreciated the functional sculpture’s top-secret metal alloy that retains heat or cold for hours. Yet the brand had made only limited attempts to branch into jewelry, said Nambé Chief Executive Bill Robedee.
When Robedee joined the company two years ago, he saw unexplored potential, particularly as demand was surging for Midcentury Modern style.
“The designs truly had a place in fashion — the sculptural look, and the midcentury aesthetic was a natural fit for a jewelry collection,” he said from the company’s New York showroom.
Though the sleek, sinuous shapes recall other iconic designers such as Elsa Peretti, Paloma Picasso and Robert Lee Morris, the company found a designer who lived and breathed the Nambé essence — Carolyn Pollack.
For decades, Pollack and her husband, Bill, have designed and manufactured Southwest-influenced sterling silver jewelry collections from their Albuquerque headquarters.
“Carolyn really got it — what Nambé is and translated the artistic aesthetic into jewelry. She understood that it was not ‘Southwest jewelry.’ The first round of sketches we got from her convinced us she was the right person,” Robedee said.
Pollack has lived in Albuquerque for 27 years and has collected Nambé for just as long. “That is what was so exciting about this. I cook with it. I decorate with it,” she said. “I love that it is contemporary, but there is still a spiritual quality with it.”
Pollack sat surrounded by new and archival Nambé pieces in the New York showroom to soak up inspiration. The jewelry shares its contemporary, fluid and organic forms, rounded edges and mirror finish looks with the tableware and home decor. She translated the iconic butterfly bowl’s upswept lines into a ring and imbued pendants with the fluid, curvy lines of the signature platters and bowls.
As both designer and manufacturer, Pollack came to appreciate the precise skill required to achieve the Nambé look. She used a laborintensive, lost-wax casting method to shape the sterling silver pieces, which are plated in rhodium and hand polished to a glossy sheen.
With Nambé making its first appearance in the fine jewelry department, it’s reaching customers unfamiliar with the brand’s history.
“People who love Nambé know it’s timeless. And I’ve really tried to incorporate silhouettes that I know women love to wear,” Pollack said.
Now that she’s immersed in creating Nambé, the designer sees potential in every element. She’s got her eye on the twinkly surface in the brand’s Dazzle collection, a look she’ll replicate in an upcoming collection. If you can’t wait, there’s a set of four Dazzle napkin rings to consider.