On your wedding day, wearing a piece of jewellery that has been passed down through generations is a wonderful way to pay homage to your family’s past. Heirlooms and antiques can be used creatively to add another layer to your ensemble: grandma’s rhinestone brooch could be perfect pinned to the satin ribbon wrapped around your bouquet, and it’s like having her right there beside you as you walk down the aisle. However, as nice as vintage jewels are in their original state, the latest trend in antique jewellery is creating something new from something old.
After noticing a void in the market for affordable costume jewellery, Dayle Goertzen, the designer behind Winnipeg-based label Vintage Bling (vintagebling.ca), was inspired to start her own business. Using pieces of vintage jewellery that she has collected over the years, Goertzen creates unique one-of-a-kind necklaces, bracelets and earrings that are perfect for brides. Wearing a piece of Vintage Bling on your big day also contributes to the green movement, notes Goertzen. Indeed, many of the old pieces that she works with are broken, so by recycling some of their components and giving them new life, she is saving them from the landfill site.
Similarly, Rosemary Bartram, the owner of Era Design in Vancouver (eradesign.ca), thoroughly enjoys re-working old items into something modern. Bartram is often called upon to reinvent heirloom pieces. A recent example involved a bride who had inherited a ring from her grandmother that contained three diamonds. Bartram dismantled the ring and executed a unique and meaningful design: two of the original diamonds from the grandmother’s ring were placed on either side of a new diamond in an engraved, Victorian-style setting; the third original diamond was incorporated into the groom’s wedding band.
Why is jewellery (whether old or new, or both) such an important part of your bridal ensemble? According to Goertzen, it is because it’s the only part of your outfit that you will likely wear again. “A statement of the bride that she carries with her,” she says.
Adds Bartram: “Jewellery is meant to be a portable form of wealth that is passed down.”
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