In her will, my grandmother, who lived to be 97, determined the fate
of every single bit of jewelry she owned and specified exactly which of
her five granddaughters would receive each piece. I am sure she made
each of us feel we were somehow special, as she did me one night, when
she took me aside and asked conspiratorially which of her items were my
favorites, as she wanted to make sure id eventually receive them.
She’d
lived a good, long life, and along the way collected many fine things
commemorating important occasions, life-changing journeys, and
expressions of love from my grand-father and the rest of our family. I
told her the only thing I really wanted was her gold charm bracelet,
noisy as Christmas bells – filled with one-of-a-kind charms from all
over the world, and one to mark the birth of each of her children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. A family’s history told on one
delicate gold chain. Despite the obvious nostalgia contained therein, I
do think my grandmother had a very modern approach to putting together a
collection (And what a collection! She actually lived through the deco
period, prewar, postwars, pop, mod, ’70s – she was there!) Modern
because she bought fine jewelry for herself and wasn’t precious about
wearing it, rotating pieces in and out on an almost daily basis.
In this issue we capture that spirit with some of fashion’s fresh new
runway faces sporting the most beautiful and of-the-moment fine jewelry
out there, in an approach that Editor-at-Large Carmen Borgonovo
portrays as a kind of straightforward, pared-down elegance worn with
nonchalance and ease. Carmen, along with Creative Director Joe Zee and
Deputy Editor Maggie Bullock, and under the design-direction of Paul
Ritter, created this issue of ELLE ACCESSORIES with just that in mind- a
determination to show accessories as the beautiful, sometimes
whimsical, usually luxurious, often surprising (did you know that bling
is back? Have you picked out your midheel yet?) pieces that – more than
anything else you wear – express who you are. We are also happy to bring
back the very popular ELLE Index, an A to Z guide to nearly every
collection out there, with nearly 1,200 items to reflect every one of
your identities. For the record, I got the bracelet. I guess she loved
me best.
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