02.04.2025 Let Justice Reign

Martin Luther King, Jr. said that America cannot and will not survive...

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Photo credit: Getty Images

Here we are, in February - which is Black History Month - and despite not being a person of color (if you know me, I'm as pale as they come), I believe in celebrating the rich diversity of America, and the myriad of contributions made by Black Americans.  

The celebration was originally established almost 100 years ago as "Negro History Week". Fifty years later, in 1976, President Gerald Ford issued a presidential message establishing February as Black History Month, which has been celebrated by every administration since (until this year, when is being grudgingly acknowledged).

Because this is also ostensibly a jewelry blog - and especially when I started, my goal was to learn and write about the significance of jewelry - this month I want to highlight the amazing cowrie shells worn by Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on January 20th.

Photo credit: Getty Images

My first reaction to the photos of Justice Jackson's collar of shells and matching earrings was that it must be a nod to Justice Ginsburg's dissent collar, which she notably wore on the day after the 2016 election. 

Photo credit: NMAAHC

But I began seeing comments on social media about the meaning of cowrie shells in African and African American history.

According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, cowrie shells were valued as currency and for protection in Africa as early as the 14th century.

Robyn Mowatt, writing for Essence, says:

"The saying goes a picture is worth 1,000 words. To the inaugural festivities of President Donald Trump, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was spotted wearing a striking collar with matching earrings...it alludes to the long-established value of cowrie shells in tandem [as a talisman against enslavement] with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s unique position of power." 

Ms. Mowatt also notes that the Justice is the descendant of slaves.

There are numerous Supreme Court Justices among my heroes - Felix Frankfurter, Louis Brandeis, Thurgood Marshall, RBG - if you've spent any time around me (or were, perhaps one of my graduate students) you have heard me talk about all of them.  I'm adding a new name to my list - for her courage, dignity, and commitment to justice for all - Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Photo credit: Amazon

Additionally, if you've been reading the blog for any length of time, you know I have written about the use of jewelry in sartorial commentary by women in power before, including

Madeline Albright - who wrote an entire books about her pins.   

On the inside flap of the book jacket she writes: 

"Before long and without intending it, I found that jewelry had become part of my personal diplomatic arsenal.  Former President George H.W. Bush had been know for saying 'Read my lips'. I began urging colleagues to 'Read my pins.'"

The Vice President, 
wearing Irene Neuwirth

...and Vice President Kamala Harris (we coulda had her in the White House; it's only been two weeks, think about how much better things would be) - for whom pearls are a statement about being a Black woman, an HBCU graduate, and a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sisterhood.

Since antiquity, jewelry has been created and worn to send a message. 

Especially in these dark and distressing times I understand and appreciate wearing a talisman; I find myself reaching for my pieces of Judaica both to make a statement that I am still here, and for protection against the dangers that come from speaking out.

Until next time.

1.25.21 Pearls of Wisdom

On my desk: FCTRY Action Figures
and my Official Inaugural Announcement

Happy first Monday of the New Year!

I know we're now in the fourth week of January...

...but as far as I'm concerned - the new year started at 12:01 last Wednesday, when Kamala Harris and Joe Biden were sworn in as Vice-President and President of the United States.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, it should come as no surprise that I am going to write about our new Vice President...

...and pearls.

I don't know about your social media feeds, but on Inauguration Day, mine was flooded with posts from women wearing pearls (and Chucks, if they had them...sadly I do not).  

For this post, most of the photos of the Vice President and her jewelry - as well as some of the background information on the pieces - are courtesy of the wonderful Instagram account Kamala's Closet.

📷 @kamalascloset
AKA lapel pin

There has been a lot written about why pearls are Vice President Harris' (I get chills typing that!) go to when it comes to jewelry.  

As an undergraduate student at Howard University, Ms. Harris became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA*) sorority, the first intercollegiate Historically Black Greek Letter Society in America.  AKA was founded at Howard in 1908, by a group of women known collectively as the "20 Pearls".  There are 20 pearls incorporated into the design of the sorority's official pin; they surround an ivy leaf logo.  So, certainly that's a big part of it...

...an article on WhoWhatWear has a slide show of the Vice President wearing pearls that covers 35 years...back to her Howard University graduation in 1986.

📷 @kamalascloset
Irene Neuwirth Gumball Pearl

I began supporting Kamala Harris for President pretty much from the time she announced - when there was still a cast of thousands vying for the nomination - and that's when I first noticed her pearls.  She wore an Irene Neuwirth necklace (a designer I love and follow) for multiple television interviews. 

I don't imagine I will ever own a piece of her jewelry, but at the beginning of the pandemic, Irene Neuwirth sold beautiful, reversble masks made from Liberty of London fabric as a fundraiser for Campaign Zero.  I bought one - and it came with a lovely handwritten note.

Anyhow...back to the Vice President...

For her inauguration, Ms. Harris wore a custom pearl and diamond necklace created by jeweler Wilfredo Rosado.  In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, the jeweler said

📷 @kamalascloset

“The necklace has a few unifying themes; the gold chain link symbolizes strength, the pearl is representative of both femininity and resilience, and the diamonds add a hint of glamour that I felt was perfect for the occasion”

📷@ireneneuwirth

For the evening inaugural festivities, the Vice President returned to Irene Neuwirth, who created this spectacular pair of bespoke earrings - with 20 PEARLS!! 

The Vice President isn't the first high profile woman in public office to make a statement with her jewelry.  Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright often used her pins to send a message about the state of the world, her mood, or sometimes even how she felt about foreign leaders.

Like other aspects of her political career - first in California, then the US Senate, and now as Vice President of the United States - Ms. Harris' sartorial choices have the power to send strong messages.  By wearing clothes and jewelry designed and made in America, by women - especially women of color - she reinforces the value of art and creativity, and promotes the concept of "if you can see it, you can be it".

For the next four years, and hopefully many more after that, we can look to Kamala Harris to show by example that the future is creative and female!

* Side Note: one of the last pieces I made before we went into pandemic shut down was a custom pendant - a gift for an AKA Sister.  I did some research before making the piece, and it's been thrilling to have even a small connection to VP Harris' community.

Until next time.

08.05.19 What I read on my summer vacation

A couple of posts back, I referenced a book, this time - the post is actually ABOUT the book...

...and if ever a book was written for me, it is Stoned, by Aja Raden.

I am the daughter of a physicist and a mathematician.

I have a Bachelor's degree with a major in government and a minor in religion from the University of Virginia (founded by Thomas Jefferson, the first ambassador to France - relevant, at least to me, because France figures prominently in this book).

I have a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and for more than 30 years I worked in the field of public policy.

I am now a jeweler.

Stoned touches on all of these topics!

Ms. Raden begins her story talking about her mother's jewelry:

I've always most especially loved jewelry. My mother didn't have a jewelry box. She had a jewelry closet. Some of the pieces were real, some of them were fake. It didn't really matter - it all held me in equal thrall; it was all real treasure.

With that passage, I knew I was going to love this book - because I had the very same feelings about my mom's jewelry (and when I wear pieces that belong to her, I still do) that Ms. Raden describes.  But, her book is so much more than just an appeal to pretty or sentimental things - it is a book about the science of metal and gems, of history, politics, economics and romance. It is funny and insightful, and I am grateful to the person in one of my online metalsmithing communities (I wish I could remember who) for recommending it.

Ms. Raden divides the book into three sections - Want, Need, and Take.

Photo credit: Stephen Lang.

Want is about what things are worth - who determines that, and how - and why the value of things changes over time.

One of the examples she uses in Want is wampum beads - similar to those used to purchase Manhattan Island.

Photo credit: Encyclopedia Britannica

Take is about what happens when we want something and can't have it.


In Take she discusses - at great length - the diamond necklace created by King Louis XV for his mistress (but never paid for) that was ultimately used to frame Marie Antoinette and lead to her imprisonment and death.

Photo credit: Mikimoto Pearl Museum

Have is about when we finally get what we (think) we want.

In Have, she writes about Kokichi Mikimoto and his quest for the perfect pearl. This is the Taisho-ren (Boss's pearls) necklace - the largest strand of perfectly cultured pearls ever created. He never sold them - but he always kept them nearby, usually in his pocket.







Stoned is the story of modern human history.  As Ms. Raden puts it The history of the world is the history of desire. This is an examination of that history.

I won't tell you anymore - I don't want to spoil the stories for you - but I do encourage you to get a copy of the book, put up your feet, and enjoy.

Until next time.

06.01.15 Pearls of wisdom...

Can someone please explain to me just how it got to be June!?  Wasn't I just writing an April post about diamonds?

I'm not sure how it happened, but since it's here, I am happy to write about June birthstones. Three different stones are all considered to be "traditional" for June; pearls, moonstone and alexandrite - depending on the source.   Three different stones is really too much for one post, so today I'm starting with the pearl, the oldest of them.

Photo Credit: Becca Knox

Pearls have been used in jewelry since antiquity.  They were prized by the Romans, and have appeared in works of art for centuries.

Recently, a friend who reads my blog, and lives in Seattle, tagged me in some photos she took when she went to the Pompeii Exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. She commented "What was old is new again?"  She couldn't be more right - and how appropriate, as I was in the midst of writing this post about pearls for June.

Photo Credit: Becca Knox

For these 2,000 year old baubles, the item description reads  "Earrings of this style were very common in the area around Vesuvius.  They were described by the contemporary writer and historian Pliny the Elder, who died when Vesuvius erupted.  Women particularly loved that these earrings made sounds whenever they moved their heads."

I don't know about you - but I love earrings that jingle a little bit when I wear them.  Some things (pearls and jingles among them) are truly timeless. 

Photo Credit: Mauritshuis Museum

Pearls are also frequently featured in works of art other than jewelry. One of the most famous depictions of pearl jewelery is by the 17th Century painter Johannes Vermeer, The Girl with the Pearl Earring.  Author Tracy Chevalier wrote a work of historical fiction by the same name, in which a young woman sits for the portrait wearing pearl earrings belonging to the artist's wife.

Another famous work of art featuring pearl earrings is
Venus in Front of a Mirror, by Peter Paul Rubens which hangs at the Metropolitain Museum of Art.  The pearl you see on Venus is white, the one reflected in the mirror is black.  

Photo Credit: Met Museum

So iconic are the earrings in the painting, the museum shop has carried a costume jewelry quality pair for years - and they continue to be a best seller.

Photo credit: Met Museum Store

Pearls aren't really stones - but concentric layers of calcium carbonate - built up over time in the soft tissue of mollusks (clams or oysters).  Truly natural pearls are rare and incredibly expensive.  Cultured pearls are produced in the same manner as natural pearls (except that a starter is inserted into the oyster).  In both cases, the desire is to have pearls that are round and have a high lustre.

I love pearls - cultured, freshwater, faux - and have lots of them in my jewelry box.  I think everyone should have a simple strand and pair of studs (real or not) for dressing up.

Among my favorites are two pieces I have had the longest.  The first is a graduated strand of Mikimoto pearls.  My father traveled extensively when I was in college - including managing a project in Japan.  He brought these back to me for my twenty first birthday, I still treasure them, and and I love wearing them with a simple tee and cardigan as much as when I dress up.

In the summer of 1985 I moved to Austin to start graduate school.  It didn't take me long to scout out some wonderful local jewelry stores. I spotted this vintage pearl and sapphire pin in one of them - and had my eye on it for months.  When I got my first real paycheck (post graduate school) I decided to splurge.  It was the first (of many) pieces of fine jewelry I bought for myself.

So, if you don't have pearls in your jewelry wardrobe, add some.  They don't have to be real, or expensive - but they are classic -  and dress up any outfit.

Until next time.

Czar Alexander II