Eye-Poppingly Fab, Affordable Heirloom Jewelry

Jewelry to mark occasions by from Ele Keats, Disa Allsopp and The Now Project

Featured item: APR 29, 2008

Simple yet stately, each piece can enhance any ensemble. Prepare yourself for a barrage of compliments.

Ele Keats sources the gold nuggets for her earrings through a family that has been dredging gold on their 1000-acre property for generations. Dredging, the most environmentally mild method, uses suction to dig up gravel and discards everything but the gold. Other methods can produce toxic waste that eventually finds its way to water sources. Disa Allsopp leaves the metals unpolished in her pieces to avoid using harsh, poisonous polishing compounds. Each piece is handmade—bypassing the byproducts of machines—and uses no-conflict diamonds. The Now Project's Presence Now Gold Cuff is made from recycled gold, which makes mining unnecessary and eliminates most environmentally taxing aspects.

While I'm no Elizabeth Taylor, a piece of jewelry has marked most every significant milestone in my life to date: My Nona handed down to me a gorgeous garnet cocktail ring on my sixteenth birthday, my parents a classic string of pearls on my college graduation day, and my husband a diamond stunner on the day we got engaged. And—at the risk of sounding utterly materialistic—I love this. When I look at any of these, it instantly conjures the person who gave it to me and the happy event we celebrated. And I love that someday my daughter will wear my pearls, and my grandson will propose to his love with my engagement ring. My next milestone is the big 3-0, so saying bye-bye to my roaring twenties means that it has to be something especially fabulous (I mentioned I'm not materialistic, right?) A few contenders: The Disa Allsopp Plain Gold Organic Band with four diamonds (pictured, top left), £700, is sparkly yet subtle and has loads of hand-made character, the Ele Keats Gold Nugget Studs (pictured, top right) are unique in their story (who dredges gold from their own property?) and natural simplicity, $260, and The Now Project's Presence Now Gold Cuff (pictured, bottom), $240, is both substantial and sweetly delicate. Years from now when I can't remember what day of the week it is, I know I'll gaze at any of these beautiful baubles and affectionately remember my thirtieth.—Regan Fletcher

Note: Prices are approximate, as the price of gold has fluctuated greatly recently. To inquire about Ele Keats earrings, email ele@elekeats.com or visit Vert in Venice, California (1121 Abbott Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA, 90921; (310) 581-6126). For Disa Allsopp jewelry, email disa.allsopp@virgin.net. To purchase The Now Project gold cuff directly, click here.

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