Tiffany Online Jewelry
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Is there any correlation between designing a great building and creating a stunning necklace? In Frank Gehry's case there is; last month the modish architect became the first outside designer hired by Tiffany & Co. in more than two decades. His collection consists of six themed lines, all crafted from rich, unusual materials like black gold, snowy cachalong opal and raw cut diamonds. Some of the striking pieces draw on motifs from Gehry's architecture, like fish. The collection ranges from $125 Tiffany silver rings to a $1 million diamond brooch modeled on Gehry's Guggenheim Bilbao floor plan. "Gehry didn't bring with him any of the restraints or traditions of jewelry," says Jon King, senior vice president for merchandising at Tiffany. "It was a completely fresh approach, modern and contemporary."
Gehry enjoyed it, too. "I like looking [at women], so the idea of decorating them was very appealing to me," he told NEWSWEEK. "I'm also fascinated with diamonds and precious stones--architects don't get to play with stuff like that." He's not the only architect turning his design credentials to such objects: Nigel Coates has created a sleek contemporary line for London jeweler Tateossian. "The body is a site, just as a landscape is," says Coates. And like any eye-catching building, great jewelry should heighten--not overpower--the beauty of its setting.
- This page was last modified 09:05, 3 July 2009.