Star Power: Celebrity Jewelry Designers

By Ronit Scheyer

These  days, movie  stars  and  vocal  artists  are becoming  famous  for  more  than  just  being nominated for an Academy Award or for having a chart-climbing album. Some are being noted for their humanitarian work, some for their “extra-curricular activities,” and some for their fashion and jewelry designs.

An increasing number of celebrities have turned to designing, rather than being designed for. Although most stars-turned-designers have forayed into fashion, others are focusing their attention elsewhere, including jewelry design. The last few  years  have  seen  an  abundance of these multi-talented A-listers releasing everything from clothing lines with jewelry accessories included, one-off jewelry designs for charity events, watch lines and high-end luxury diamond jewelry lines.

Among this group is Brad Pitt, who, although now in a seemingly sol id relationship-with-kids with Angelina Jolie, was once married to Jennifer Aniston. For their special occasion, Pitt designed one-off  white  gold  wedding  rings  for  himself and Aniston, studded with 10 and 20 diamonds respectively and engraved with “Jen 2000” (his) and “Brad 2000” (hers). Following this initial foray, Pitt and Aniston entered into an agreement with the Italian design company for Pitt to design a jewelry collection for them and for Aniston to appear in their international advertising campaign. Incidentally, this collaboration came about only after the couple sued the company for $50 million because Damiani had reproduced the wedding rings Pitt had designed with the understanding that the design would be theirs and theirs alone. Unsurprisingly, the relationship with Damiani soon fizzled out as, sadly, did the Pitt-Aniston union.

With a following of her “Suzanne ladies,” actress and household name Suzanne Somers has been selling her self-titled jewelry collection on the Home Shopping Network (HSN) for 15 years. Although she shot to fame as Chrissy on the American sitcom Three’s Company, Somers now presides over a multi-million dollar lifestyle product empire.

Her jewelry collection includes a vast range of pieces that utilize low-cost cubic zirconia and lab-grown stones – “all fantastic settings,” says Somers, “styled like they should cost thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

While  she  doesn’t  directly  design  each individual item in her line, Somers is involved in  every  step  of  the  process,  searching  out pieces from al l over the world, attending the big Basel , Vegas and New York jewelry shows and meeting with vendors worldwide. She then works with the design team choosing colors and rearranging styles, attempting to make each piece uniquely “Suzanne.”

One of  the main perks of  the brand, maintains Somers, is “the thrill that now all of us can afford to have the jewelry once owned by only the wealthiest women in the world.”

Another famous face who has added her talent to the designer trend is Petra Nemcova. In 2004, Nemcova, a Czech-born model, and her fiancé, Simon Atlee, were caught up in the devastating Tsunami. Nemcova survived by clinging to the top of a palm tree for hours until she was rescued and taken to a hospital. Atlee, sadly, wasn’t so lucky and perished - in the storm.

In  the  aftermath  of  this  traumatic  experience, Nemcova  founded  the  Happy  Hearts  Fund  in 2005. The organization initiates locally run and culturally specific charitable projects in worldwide locations.

In 2006, Nemcova was signed as the face of Fortunoff jewelry.  The model , in collaboration with the Fortunoff design team, also created the “Petra’s Infinite Heart Col lection” jewelry line, which was released in the spring of 2007. It incorporates sterling silver and 14 karat yellow and white gold in six jewelry pieces that retail from $95 for a sterling silver pendant to $675 for a diamond-embellished white gold pendant.

Every piece  in  the  collection, which  includes  a charm bracelet, convertible hoop earrings with charms  that  can  also  be worn  on  necklaces  or bracelets,  and  arious necklaces  and pendants, incorporates the signature “Infinite Heart” charm, inspired by  the  logo of  the Happy Hearts Fund. A portion of the proceeds from each item will benefit Nemcova’s charity. “My goal was to create a collection that can be worn every day and into evening. For me, it also serves as a constant reminder of the children being helped and the hope that has been brought to each of their lives,” says Nemcova.

Another model-turned-designer is Heidi Klum. After testing out her design skills with Birkenstock, the Project Runway host designed a line for Mouawad.  Unfortunately for Klum, it’s not all been plain sailing.  Her company was recently sued by Van Cleef and Arpels over Klum’s use of the quatrefoil shape.  The up-market company, which is owned by luxury goods group Richemont, claims that Klum’s vintage clover jewelry design is copied from their Alhambra collection; Klum claims she was inspired by a clover symbol that she first saw at the Duomo in Milan. Van Cleef and Arpels is seeking $25,000 in damages in the suit, which was filed in a Manhattan federal court.

Although  the  name  Trump may  be most  closely associated  with  real  estate  wealth,  the  next generation of this money-making family is taking their talents elsewhere. Ivanka Trump, daughter of “The Donald,” recently released her own jewelry line, which is being sold exclusively in a newly opened boutique in New York City. (As it happens, jewelry may actually run in the Trump blood, Ivana’s penchant  for  the  good  stuff  notwithstanding, Donald  Trump  has  a  licensing  agreement  with SHR, a division of M. Fabrikant and Sons.)

Ivanka, who is currently the vice president of real estate development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization, launched the Ivanka Trump Col lection as a way of combining her passion for business with a deep love for fashion. According to Mollie Goldfarb, Ivanka Trump Jewelry’s VP of brand development, Trump also wanted to break out of the real estate side of business and develop through a more feminine side of the industry.

The jewelry line  was launched in September 2007 after a one-year process in which Trump worked with the design team creating  a line of rings, pendants, necklaces and earrings, with price points from about $750 to $50,000. There are also a few pieces that have Trump-esque price tags, such as a $350,000 graduated pavé diamond bead necklace or a one-of-a-kind 35 carat D/Flawless diamond ring with tapered baguettes, which retails for well over $1 million.

According to Goldfarb, having the Trump name associated with the collection is a great advantage. “Her name is so powerful. We’re a growing business and there are still a lot of people who don’t know about us.”  However, she also emphasizes the strength of Trump’s relationship with her jewelry collection and insists it is about much more than just lending her name to promote a product. “This isn’t just a syndication,” she explains.

“Ivanka initiated the process, and she’s the owner of the business, which translates into dedication. She oversees the whole process, and the business is like her baby, something she can nourish into being a more global brand.”

Ivanka’s love for wearable art inspired her decision to launch the eponymous line. Jewelry is a pleasurable must-have, and she wanted to fashion a non-intimidating line for women, inspired by women, she explained in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

“You walk into the [ Ivanka Trump] store setting, and it looks like a female boudoir. I think you go into some of these jewelry stores, especially on high-end, and they feel like a mausoleum. They’re so cold and intimidating” because they’re geared toward men who are buying jewelry for women, she asserted.  “And I think now there is a whole generation of empowered, strong women who can afford to buy their own jewelry.”

Referring  to  a  set  of  racy  photos  set  within construction motifs she sat for in a Harper’s Bazaar shoot,  Ivanka  said  that  this  sort  of  contrast –  a beautiful , glamorously dressed woman  complete with diamond  jewelry  set amongst  jackhammers and construction sites – encapsulates the duality of her life. She has designed a luxurious high-end jewelry line but spends most of her time in the world of real estate development.

As part of the beginning stages of their “aggressive expansion program,” the company is also running print ad campaigns in W, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue and has an open-ended supply partnership with DTC Sightholder Dynamic Diamond – which gives the collection a “nice bonus” by al lowing them to include large, high-cost stones in the jewelry designs. Additionally, while the bright and luxuriously decorated boutique just opened in New York, Ivanka, never straying too far from her roots, is on the lookout for locations, locally and internationally, to open new boutiques in the near future.

Whether  it  be  through  collaboration with  an already  well-known  design  house,  a  one-off work or a self-established and nurtured luxury jewelry line, it’s safe to say that the end of high-profile personas designing clothing and jewelry is nowhere in sight – on the contrary this is just the beginning.