VIEW HOW IT`S MADE

STYLE
Making
The
Jewel
of a
by
nspired by the beauty of a young
life cut too short, Chana Regev,
p r i n c i p a l o f N ew Yo r k – based
Carelle, created the Brooke Leaf
Collection. It honor s the life of
Brooke Tivol McGrath, who, at 28,
passed away from meningitis earlier this
year. McGrath’s family had a history in
the jewelry industry going back four
generations. She started her jewelry
career at her family’s Kansas City retail
store Tivol. After college, McGrath moved
to NewYork, where she worked at Fabrikant
before becoming the director of marketing for
Carelle. During her four years at the company,
she used her expertise to further develop the
up-and-coming brand.To inspire other young
women to enter the jewelry industry, Regev,
in conjunction with the Women’s Jewelry
Association (WJA), launched the Carelle
Scholarship for Design in honor of McGrath.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the
collection will be used to fund the scholarship.
The collection is based on the Brooke Leaf
Pendant, an 18-karat rose gold and diamond leaf
motif supporting a Rose de France amethyst.
Amber Michelle
The color combination honors the memory
of McGrath, who wore a pair of Carelle Rose de
France and rose gold earrings to work every day.
The leaf motif is used because it is the signature
of Carelle’s brand.Beyond the brand identity,
the leaf supports the stone in the pendant and
symbolizes the delicate balance of life. Each
piece is lovingly crafted in the Carelle workshop by skilled artisans from the initial concept
to the final completion.
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Figure A
The collection was conceptualized by Regev, who
incorporated the leaf motif that McGrath believed was
the cornerstone of the Carelle brand.
Each pendant is based on a rendering (Figure A),
which is then tur ned into a model handmade
by a modelmaker. A rubber model of the components
for the piece is made (Figure B).
Figure B
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Figure C
Once several wax items have been made from the
model, the individual waxes are put together on a
tube to form a “tree.” The wax tree is then put into
a metal flask that gets filled with investment, a type
of plaster, until the flask is full (Figure C). The tree
dries and hardens and then goes into a furnace overnight, where the wax melts and evaporates, leaving
an imprint of the wax in the plaster, which has now
become hollow. In the morning, the flask is put in the
casting machine and gold is poured into the tree where
the wax used to be. The gold hardens and the tree is put into
cold water, which then dissolves the investment, leaving a
gold tree (Figure D).
The gold pieces are cut off the tree and
the artisans begin filing, cleaning and
polishing the metal parts.
Figure D
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Figure E
Then the metal pieces go to the diamond setter, who
sets the diamonds in the piece (Figure E). In the case
of the Brooke Leaf, diamonds are on the outside of the
piece and the inside leaf so that they shine through the
center stone. The pieces are polished again.
A custom-cut amethyst disc is added (Figure F)
and the metal pieces are assembled in a laser machine
(Figure G), which allows the jeweler to hold the
piece in his hand while welding it together.The laser
machine provides more flexibility as there is no heat
to damage any of the pieces.
Figure G
Figure H
The last step is to laser-engrave the piece
with the phrase Brooke Leaf and the Carelle
brand name (Figure H).
The piece gets a final polish and a chain
and it is ready to wear. ✦
Photo of necklace on page 160 by Don Kozusko.
All other photography by Irena Sapilak.
Figure F
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