Bernice Kelly Shows Off Her Jewelry-Making Materials
She’s drawn to things that veer a little dark.
“I like to go to the core of things,” says Bernice Kelly of her straightforward design ethos. “That level of deconstruction has always interested me.” This is evident in the unfussy pieces Kelly creates for Macha, where her locally sourced metals and gems really pop. Want to know more? Bernice is happy to break it all down. —mattie kahn
Black Diamonds: “I was drawn to black diamonds because they sort of turn the idea of ‘the beautiful diamond’ on its head. They’re less sparkly. They’re a bit darker. They’re the inverse of what people expect. And I suppose it just comes back to my fascination with texture and origin. Black diamonds are closer in color to how the diamond looks in its natural form.”
Silver and Brass: “I love the way the look together. The brass tarnishes a bit against the silver and gives it this really nice sort of aged, industrial feel.”
Engraving: “We do all our engraving by hand, which is great because it means we can pretty much print anything—so the pieces are really personalized. Engravings remind me a lot of old British tradition, which is probably why I started doing them in the first place. I like adding that touch of history. There’s something really sweet about being able to give someone that.”
Like what you see? Then you’ll die over Bernice’s edition, coming first thing tomorrow.
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Of a Kind
Ok, had no clue that red diamonds were a thing, but Mociun knows how to make me want ‘em. —erica
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Of a Kind
This Kora bangle is like the anti-tennis bracelet: On top of its dope design, it’s made of recycled brass cast in Kenya and conflict-free diamonds. —erica
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Four Things that Make Blanca Monrós Gómez’s Jewelry So Special
Hers is the stuff that you buy for life.
The slender bracelets and pared-down earrings that Blanca Monrós Gómez makes might be understated, but once you know her work’s identifying features, you’ll spot it all over the internets—and dedicate more headspace to pining for it than you’d like to admit. These are four of the things that make it so standout. —erica
Top of our Valentine lists: The tiny, gorgeous cognac diamond earrings that Blanca made exclusively for Of a Kind.
Rose-cut Stones
“I like working with rose-cuts because they are very shallow—they sit very low and work well for stacking. Large rose-cuts are really hard to find because there isn’t much of a demand for them. People traditionally want a really shiny diamond ring, and these are not as sparkly—you don’t get that blingy effect, which is what I like about them.”
Pave Settings
“A lot of pieces have channel settings or fake pave settings—they don’t call them fake, but they are cast to have prongs that hold the stones. For a real pave setting, you just have a plain bar of metal. With special tools, you make little holes and raise tiny beads of the metal. If you look really closely, you can see the little beads that hold the stones—it’s a very skilled job. When I started making my pieces, I was setting everything myself. Now I have a really good diamond setter in the city.”
Black and Gray Diamonds
“You didn’t see black diamonds much when I started using them, and gray diamonds are very rare—especially big ones. If you were looking for something like these 20 or 30 years ago, you could not find them because these were the discards. But I like that they’re not considered perfect—and that they’re opaque. I think they look really pretty if you mix them, the gray, white, and black—when they’re not matchy-matchy.”
Rose Gold
“Rose gold is my favorite metal. It blends in with almost every skin tone, kind of mimicking it. It almost disappears when you wear it, and I think that’s why men especially like it for wedding rings when they aren’t used to wearing jewelry.”
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Supplies & Demand: Blanca Monrós Gómez
Blanca Monrós Gómez’s jewelry falls into the category of tiny amazing things—right along with Polly Pockets and those itty-bitty bottles of Tabasco. The daintiness of her designs, with their tiny black diamonds or miniscule gold flowers, makes you want to wear two, four, or a dozen of them at once. Here’s what helps her make her really major small pieces. —erica
One of Blanca’s rings that I will someday own.
“I have a favorite file—it’s round, domed, and the right size to get into tiny little spaces. I spend so many hours with my head down at the bench, and one of the most distracting things is to feel my hair falling onto my face. It always has to be up or it drives me crazy, but since I usually meet with clients throughout the day, it also has to look cute! I rely on bobby pins—the little ones that have a rubber coating—to hold my hair up in buns or braids.”
