When the coin necklace trend started, I really liked the look of them. Plus, my fiancé is actually really into metals and coin collecting from a financial portfolio standpoint. So, he offered to help me source the exact coin I wanted and then we’d find a jeweler to turn the coin into a necklace.
Tray directed me to all the collectible coin websites to help me decide on what type of coin I wanted in the first place. All I really knew is I wanted a gold coin and I wanted it to be larger than most of the coins I currently saw as jewelry.
Narrowing it down to a ten dollar coin was the first step. I liked this size coin the best because I felt like it wouldn’t get lost and I could put it on a longer chain.
After that, we searched the collectible coin websites for a few days looking for the right coin. At first, I thought I wanted a foreign coin. I loved the Bahamian coins, but I especially loved the South African coins with the Leopard on it.
Then, I changed my mind and thought I wanted a coin minted in 2020, since that’s the year we got engaged. That search left us empty handed.
Finally, I saw a vintage Lady Liberty coin dating back to 1882, and knew that was the coin I wanted. I loved that it was antique, it was a ten dollar coin and it was gold. So, it hit all the checkboxes.
Once the coin arrived, we searched locally for a jeweler who would be willing to do the custom work to turn the coin into a necklace. I knew I wanted a simple connection point on the coin. I didn’t want the coin to spin or move in any way. A few jewelers turned down the work and passed us on to other jewelers that didn’t impress us.
I remembered I started following a Charleston-local jeweler on Instagram, Jane Pope Jewelry. I loved the lived-in luxury look of all Jane Pope’s designs, and she already had a coin necklace on her website. So, I had Tray send an email for the custom work because he knew the dimensions and other items necessary to communicate for the custom piece.
When Jane Pope accepted the work, we sent a deposit and mailed her the coin. After a few weeks, we were able to schedule an appointment and we popped down to Charleston to pick up the necklace and shop her other pieces while we were in the studio.
Here’s how the necklace turned out (photo credit: Jane Pope). Isn’t it so beautiful?
I already had a few pieces in mind I knew I wanted to look at, including the cigar band and these diamond and sapphire earrings. Then, Tray picked out this cable chain delicate bracelet.
Needless to say, he doesn’t have to worry about gift giving for a while.
I sometimes find jewelry to be too stuffy and traditional or too perfect, and I find myself afraid to wear pieces in fear that I’ll bang it up or leave dents on the metal — or that they’ll be too flashy. I like having nice jewelry, but I don’t want it to be gaudy at the same time. So I love that Jane Pope’s pieces have this beautiful lived-in look but they are still luxurious.
My goal is to have beautiful pieces I can wear every day without fear of messing them up, and that’s how I’ve been wearing these new pieces.
How would you describe your jewelry style?
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