CONVERSATIONS

THE JEWEL THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN: THE ONE WE LET SLIP AWAY YET WILL NEVER FORGET August 7, 2017CONVERSATIONS, GETTING PERSONALOff

In June 2017, Bejeweled ran a two-part series of stories as told by jewelry designers, editors, retailers, collectors and antique dealers/store owners about their ‘one that got away’—the jewel that no other has lived up to. (Read here).

We heard from so many of our readers of how much they related to each of the stories that we decided to turn it into a column with one captivating tale each month.

In our initial installation we introduced the series by writing: There is one piece of jewelry that we let go, due to fate, timing, chance or happenstance that haunts us at night (think of Heathcliff wandering the moors for Cathy and you’ve got the picture—just put a pendant in Cathy’s place). And, no matter how many rings encircle our fingers or bracelets climb our wrists, we will never quite forget this piece. For anyone who has loved and lost a gem, read on … you are not alone.

For our first monthly column , we chose Jennifer Heebner, a jewelry journalist for approximately 20 years and Editor/Owner of JenniferHeebner.com, an online video jewelry magazine to tell her tale. She understands our obsession with jewelry and has a serious passion of her own.

“I met the jewel that got away when I was working as an editor for JCK Magazine— It was a rubellite tourmaline necklace designed by Suzy Landa. It was approximately 10 years ago, and I still cannot get it out of my mind. I saw it in Manhattan at a jewelry trade-only show, JANY.

I love anything in a juicy cranberry-like color—I even had a sofa in a similar shade at the time—so I was immediately drawn to this piece Suzy created a Y-shaped necklace with three significant sizes of rubellites in fancy shapes, which hung from a chain with smaller rubellite stations. It was mesmerizing. In all my years covering jewelry, I had never-before seen rubellites as extraordinary in color and I probably won’t see it again. To describe the color, I can only compare it to diving into a bowl of the most mouthwatering cherries.

I called the piece in for a photo shoot, and we included it in one of our pages in which various editors of the magazine choose a favorite pick of the month. I remember spending the entire day with the necklace, absolutely loving the whimsical nature of the mixed shapes, the simplicity of the style, and being so taken by the color. It had all that I look for in a jewel going for it. To this day, I have no idea why I let the necklace slip through my fingers and didn’t talk to Suzy about purchasing it. The image of that beauty is burned into my memory.

I take a bit of comfort in knowing that the piece resides in the private collection of a former jewelry storeowner named Jill who lives in Miami.

Jill, if you’re reading this and ever tire of the necklace (one can hope!), please call or email. I promise to give it a good home and wear it with love and care.

And, Suzy, should you ever find rubellites similar in size and shape with which you can design a similar piece, please give me a shout. I won’t let this one ‘get away.’”