Pamela Froman on the Tanzanite Trend

Jewelry editor Deborah Yonick has been noticing a lot of tanzanite being used in designer jewelry lately. Knowing that Pamela has created many beautiful designs with this gem, Yonick contacted her to get her take on the current trend for an article in Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. I've transcribed a bit of the interview for you below:

  

All jewelry shown in this two page spread is by Pamela Froman, photographed by Jay Lawrence Goldman.

 
  "I've been using tanzanite for a while. I'm attracted to its deep bluish-purple that plays well with some of my favorite stones, accentuating the purple flashes in rainbow moonstones and Australian boulder opals. It looks as good with 18k white gold as it does with my signature 18k yellow, giving me more versatility." 
  Froman, based in Los Angeles, prefers the more purple shades of tanzanite, but she says the blue color works better for certain designs. "I love the deep blue tanzanite paired with vibrant Paraiba tourmaline. It reminds me of tropical ocean waters. Last year, I combined these two stones with my rich yellow gold to create an earring that would pair well with my boulder opal designs. The earring was so popular that I expanded that color combination into the Caribbean Crush collection this year."
  Known for her "Crushed" textured 18k gold, Froman uses both faceted and cabochon cuts in unique natural gems and diamonds. "A few years ago I found some milky blue tanzanite cabochons that I just had to have, one of them became a ring's center stone framed by Paraiba tourmaline pave. Last year I started using more faceted rounds because I like pave setting tanzanite around other gems to accentuate the purple colors in the center stone."

Opals for October (or any time of year!)

October may be over but we're still in love with opals! The image above is last month's issue of JCK magazine, which featured Pamela's "Once Upon A Crush" opal ring to illustrate October's birthstone.  However, contrary to superstition, you don't need to be an October baby to wear an opal (you just get a better excuse!)

Here's a better look at the Once Upon a Crush ring... can you see the fairy tale scene?

This one-of-a-kind ring is named "Once Upon A Crush" because we think the Australian Boulder Opal looks like a magical fairy tale scene (can you see the mountain castle and the moat?) It's set in "crushed" 18k pink gold and surrounded by rare vibrant Paraiba Tourmalines to echo the colors of the opal. We'd wear this any day of the year and we weren't born in October. What about you?