Beautiful Wood turns to Stone!
Jet, a flat-black, opaque gemstone derived from wood that has experienced extreme compression over millions of years, was the haute stone throughout the Victorian era, a time when fashion and jewelry deftly signaled a person’s social status, financial wealth and even emotional state.
Jewelry designer Natasha Wightman — whose evocative, sculptural work is pictured above — is one of a number of creatives working with JET, a long-overlooked gemstone. PHOTO/Tessa Trager
Radiant diamonds, sapphires, and rubies have been among the most coveted gemstones on the planet for nearly a century. But long before their reign, a far less dazzling gem captured the hearts of jewelry lovers — and now it’s making a comeback.
Queen Victoria's embrace of the gem, coupled with the fact that it was mined locally, meant that jet was particularly prominent in the UK throughout the Victorian era. Hulton-Deutsch Collection/PHOTO/Corbis/Getty Images
JET Raven"Catching the First Star" of the night
Natasha Wightman's 'Catching the First Star,' a necklace featuring a raven-sculpted jet pendant. PHOTO/Tessa Trager
The Sussex-based fine jewelry designer Natasha Wightman debuted her first-ever collection
Jet earrings designed by Jacqueline Cullen. Blend Studios/PHOTO
Jacqueline Cullen, whose work is produced in ateliers in London and Whitby, was one of the first fine fashion jewelry designers to use Whitby jet, roughly 20 years ago. Her “Dark Matter” collection ushered jet into the future: Rounded forms carved from hunks of Whitby jet are set with black diamonds, resulting in jewels that affect little galaxies flickering with dim, tonal sparkle.
Raw "JET" natural form stone
While most things in fashion are cyclical, JET — pictured here in its raw form — has been the black sheep of the gemology world for close to a century. Holly Mazour/Alamy Stock PHOTO
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https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/17/style/jet-black-jewels-gems-whitby/index.html
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