‘Game of Thrones’ jewelry no longer a fantasy
The final season of “Game of Thrones” starts April 14, but eager fans can pick up a treasure from “GOT” thanks to an ongoing jewelry collection inspired by the HBO blockbuster.
The jewelry comes from Michele Clapton, the show’s Emmy Award-winning costume designer, and London-based jewelry designers Yunus Ascott and Eliza Higginbottom. They launched MEY Designs three years ago to make the series’ handcrafted pieces available to fans.
“We thought it worked really well on modern women as well as for the show,” Clapton said during a phone interview from her London home.
“Jewelry doesn’t need to be pretty. It can actually be something which says something about the woman.”
Clapton, Ascott and Higginbottom first collaborated on a custom hand-carved sculptural dragon necklace for Emilia Clarke’s character, Daenerys Targaryen, during the show’s fifth season. “We spent so long making it fit beautifully and balanced,” she said, adding that the necklace, which retails for $2,730, remains a favorite. “It was the most important piece because from that everything else came. That was the inspiration for the collection.”
The trio re-teamed on a sterling silver body chain, known as the Mother of Dragons Chain, worn by Daenerys during the show’s seventh season. The intricate piece, which weighs about 1½ pounds, is 40 inches long and retails for $3,650, inspired the trio’s second collection, Breaking Chains.
Clapton explained that the design process began with discussion of what she “needed to tell [Daenerys’] story visually.” From there, Ascott and Higginbottom experimented with various designs and created wax models.
“They’re more than just jewelers,” Clapton said. “They’re sculptors. And that’s what I found so cool. Yunus and Eliza are so clever in the way they think about things.”
Although the show dictated the direction of their jewelry line’s aesthetic, the trio worked together to add more accessible pieces.
“It was interesting to develop things that were slightly more wearable,” Clapton said, “but to try and maintain the strong style of the jewelry.”
Other key unisex pieces available include pendants ($140-$500), statement rings ($95-$360), bangle and cuff bracelets ($300-$1,080), and chain-link necklaces ($900$1,240), which are available at the FIDM Museum gift shop in downtown Los Angeles as well as at mey.london.
Additional pieces from the collection will be seen on the show’s upcoming final season, one of which is the Allegiance ring, which retails for $95.
In honor of the show’s finale, Clapton gifted Clarke with a replica of the necklace she wore on the show.
“We felt she should have it,” Clapton said, adding that the series’ conclusion was bittersweet.
“It’s the end of an era,” she said. “I’m so glad all the night shoots are over, but I’m also really sad that it’s come to an end. … We’re all immensely proud of the work we did on the show, and I think it really did change the way that people look at fantasy. I think the quality really helped elevate television to what it is now.”
Clapton’s favorite wardrobe pieces from the series include the metal costume Cersei wore when she was crowned, as well as Daenerys’ white coat, both of which are in storage in Belfast, Northern Ireland, one location where “Game of Thrones” was filmed. (The series finale is scheduled for May 19.)
Clapton said she didn’t know what would become of the show’s costumes, although she suspects an exhibition may be in the future. “There are thousands of costumes there, and I don’t think they’ll work for the prequel,” Clapton said, adding that she won’t be continuing on to HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel herself. However, she wishes the new series the best.
“I think it’s time for someone else to take it somewhere else,” Clapton said. “It’s good to have a fresh start.”
As for hints about the “GOT” finale, Clapton remained tight-lipped.
“I can’t say anything,” she said, adding, “It’s very good. I’ll say that. The ending, I thought, was amazing, and it’s not anything I thought would happen. But when it did, when I read it, I went, ‘Of course.’ I thought it was brilliant.”