When The Times recently invited five independent jewelry designers for a morning of conversation, they all arrived wearing their own creations.
“We are our brands,” as Bernard James, one of the jewelers, put it. “We represent what we make.” The designer, 32, wore, among other pieces, rings from his namesake brand’s Flora collection, inspired by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and a diamond tennis bracelet.
He was joined at Nine Orchard, a hotel in downtown Manhattan, by Jennifer Koche, 38 of Storrow Fine Jewelry, who had necklaces with vintage-inspired charms dangling from her neck, and Johnny Nelson, 35, of Johnny Nelson Jewelry, sporting a razor blade earring and a four-finger gold ring depicting four influential hip-hop stars.
Also, Lorraine West, 48, of Lorraine West Jewelry, wearing oversize hoop earrings and a necklace with the word “Major” in a font based on her own handwriting, and Wing Yau, 36, of Wwake, who had an array of delicate rings on her fingers and hoops adorned with opals.
