Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    Indiana retailer opens jewelers’ school
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    The Cargo Hold: 50 years of friendship and business
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    Steering Clear of Russian Rocks
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    Whitmire Fine Jewelry: Selling seashells by the seashore
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    ASHI introduces Petite & Initial Collection
    ASHI introduces Petite & Initial Collection
    GN Diamond reports tennis bracelets the new “Super Trend”
    When talking green, what can a retailer legally say?
    Get-Diamonds reports significant user growth in 2022
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    International School of Gemology Education Series
    The Six Greatest Jewelry Style Icons of All Time
    The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails
    The Retailer’s Perspective: The End of Summer Surprise
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    Do you consider yourself open minded?
    How storytelling connects buyer, seller and product
    The Story Behind the Stone: Yearning for Kazakhstan
    The legal impact of inflated jewelry appraisals
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    Indiana retailer opens jewelers’ school
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    The Cargo Hold: 50 years of friendship and business
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    Steering Clear of Russian Rocks
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    Whitmire Fine Jewelry: Selling seashells by the seashore
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    ASHI introduces Petite & Initial Collection
    ASHI introduces Petite & Initial Collection
    GN Diamond reports tennis bracelets the new “Super Trend”
    When talking green, what can a retailer legally say?
    Get-Diamonds reports significant user growth in 2022
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    International School of Gemology Education Series
    The Six Greatest Jewelry Style Icons of All Time
    The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails
    The Retailer’s Perspective: The End of Summer Surprise
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation
    Do you consider yourself open minded?
    How storytelling connects buyer, seller and product
    The Story Behind the Stone: Yearning for Kazakhstan
    The legal impact of inflated jewelry appraisals
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Columnists

The Story Behind the Stone: Fabulous without reservation

Diana Jarrett GG, RMV by Diana Jarrett GG, RMV
August 1, 2022
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In today’s landscape of jewelry making, much of what we see is mass-produced. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that as it keeps production costs in check and allows retailers to have a ready inventory of their best sellers.

Lapis Coral Turquoise ring in 18K gold c.1970s. Photo credit 1st Dibs
Lapis Coral Turquoise ring in 18K gold c.1970s. Photo credit 1st Dibs

CAD designs allow jewelers to create exactly what their clients had in mind when it comes to custom work. But it wasn’t always that way. At one time, all jewelry was handmade and much of it was one-and-done. In fact, vintage and antique jewelers say that this is a vital part of its attraction for their customers. Jewelry has always been a very personal expression of the wearer’s taste, style, and preference. So, there’s a big attraction to collecting jewelry that will never be worn by another person.

Jewelry Artists Keep Creativity Alive

Because of that, it’s always good to pivot toward those few jewelry artists who continue to craft one-of-a-kind pieces in our modern age. These innovative creations are cherished by their collectors, knowing they will never be seen elsewhere – ever.

While a handful of names of original jewelry artists come to mind for each of us, it’s helpful to expand our knowledge base about original jewelry designers from decades (or more!) ago, whose contributions to the jewelry arts can still motivate us today. Timeless jewelry has at its core – quality manufacture, attractive gemstones, and importantly, the imaginative touch of the artist.

High Fives for Charles Loloma (1921-1991)

Charles Loloma in his studio c. 1979.
Charles Loloma in his studio c. 1979.

Are you acquainted with the jewelry of Native American (Hopi nation) Charles Loloma? If not, it’s well worth becoming familiar with his pioneering collections and the ingenuity they expressed. Loloma has been gone for over 3 decades, but his work is still avidly collected, and it’s obvious why. Ascending prices in the mid to high 5-figures at auction for Loloma pieces reflects its ongoing relevance for 21st century collectors.

As happens with many creative personalities, Loloma worked in different mediums over the years, first by opening a pottery shop in 1954 in Scottsdale, AZ. While he excelled in both the pottery arts and painting, he soon found his true passion for jewelry making. As a creative force, he drew inspiration from his Hopi culture, but also from the larger world outside. This earned him harsh criticism from collectors at first, who wanted him to continue exclusively with traditional Native American jewelry. His work was rejected 3 times from Gallup’s Inter-Tribal Ceremonial events in the early years.

But he pressed on refining his bench skills while leaning into a global sensibility. Forgoing classic Native American materials like turquoise, silver, and coral, he gravitated towards diamonds and pearls, sugilite, lapis, ivory, gold, and even exotic woods. All these materials were essential to his goal of fusing Native American concepts with motifs from around the world.

Gold open cuff on mirror exposing Inner Gems. Photo credit Bonhams London
Gold open cuff on mirror exposing Inner Gems. Photo credit Bonhams London

Global Recognition

By the 1960s, he had garnered a global fan base and was recruited as an instructor of Santa Fe’s Institute of American Indian Arts. Just a few years later, Loloma returned closer to his roots and the Hopi reservation, establishing a studio where he began selling his jewelry in museums and galleries. This was the audience who could best appreciate his designs, understanding them as wearable fine art.

Seeing an Inner Beauty

His evolving techniques included hidden stones or what he called “inner gems” secreted in the interior surfaces of his pieces. This was in harmony with his belief that “people have inner gems,” or something rich and beautiful that is not always obvious to others. “This is why I include inner gems in much of my work,” he explained.

Versions of the hidden concept in jewelry design still appear today among designers who create hidden halo rings, or small gemstones placed on the inside of a gold band that identify a brand. Another variation of the hidden theme concept was the proclivity of diamonds and gemstones set pavilion side out on original jewelry – an unexpected style concealing the stone’s most glamorous part, its crown, which trended a decade ago.

18K gold cuff of sugilite. Photo credit Shiprock Gallery Santa Fe
18K gold cuff of sugilite. Photo credit Shiprock Gallery Santa Fe

During his lifetime, Loloma gathered critical recognition across the globe. He took home 1st prize from the Scottsdale National Indian Art Exhibition for 7 consecutive years. His work was shown from Paris to Japan with locales like Egypt and Colombia in between. Prominent showcasing on NET and PBS and other major television networks expanded the general public’s appreciation of Loloma’s iconoclastic jewelry at the peak of his career.

Loloma died in 1991, but his name lives on to inspire other designers today, in particular the Hopi. Loloma’s biographer, Martha Hopkins Struever, poignantly inquired how he would like to be remembered. “I’d like to be known for beauty,” he replied. Incidentally, the word Loloma means “beauty” in the Hopi language.

Diana Jarrett GG, RMV

Diana Jarrett GG, RMV

Award winning trade journalist and gemologist Diana Jarrett is a Registered Master Valuer Appraiser and a member of the Association of Independent Jewellery Valuers (AIJV). She’s a popular speaker at conferences and trade shows. Jarrett writes for trade and consumer publications, online outlets, her blog: Color-n-Ice, and www.jewelrywebsitedesigners.com. Contact her at info@dianajarrett.com, visit her website at www.dianajarrett.com, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter (Loupey).

Related Posts

International School of Gemology Education Series

August 15, 2022

The Six Greatest Jewelry Style Icons of All Time

August 8, 2022
The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails

The Retailer’s Perspective: The End of Summer Surprise

August 8, 2022

Do you consider yourself open minded?

July 27, 2022

Latest News

Columnists

International School of Gemology Education Series

August 15, 2022
What's New

ASHI introduces Petite & Initial Collection

August 15, 2022
Other News

GN Diamond reports tennis bracelets the new “Super Trend”

August 15, 2022

Other News

When talking green, what can a retailer legally say?

Get-Diamonds reports significant user growth in 2022

CIBJO to present webinar – Connecting a New Generation of Consumers with Jewellery

CA jeweler teams with winemaker to auction ruby encrusted wine bottle for charity

MVEye releases Core 3.5 Lab-Grown Diamond Consumer Segments report

Select Show announces 2023 Show dates

Southern Jewelry News

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.

Additional Information

  • About
  • 2022 Trade Shows
  • Media Kit
  • Contact

Get Social with Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured Articles
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Sponsored Content
  • Latest News
    • What’s New
    • Industry Events
    • Tradeshow News
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Furry Friends
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.