Denny Wong's jewelry
Published On: 11-14-2011 06:55pm
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These are the three features of his jewelry that took my breath away:
#1. The South Seas, Tahitian and freshwater pearls he uses in his pieces were over and above beautiful. Color, luster, nacre, size....you name it, they were superb. And shaped, color-matched and sized perfectly to the design of the piece into which they were fitted.
#2. His faceted, colored stones. OMG! The very finest quality in color and cut. Tanzanites in the deepest purpled blue I've ever seen, a Brazilian citrine that was a deep honey all the way through....Aquamarines, amethysts, tourmalines....all to die for.The sizes of these stones were amazing...that Brazilian citirine had to be 1.5 inches long and more than an inch across. Beautifully faceted, and that wasn't the largest stone there. I was told that he personally goes around the world to find his stones and pearls.
#3. His design and execution....every piece was a marvel. Nothing was simply set. Every piece had multiple elements incorporated into the design. The more carefully you looked, the more you saw. There was always one more detail added.
Some examples for you....two or three pieces had pale green moonstone cabachons set into them...yet the color was much deeper than the stone itself. A peek underneath showed that under the moonstone, he had set a deeply-colored, faceted blue topaz, which gave the moonstone its rich hue and depth. Pieces with a large, faceted, deeply-colored focal stone would also feature artistic metalwork and would be enhanced with small, exquisite faceted precious stones in a complementary color. Different textures would be added to the metal also, so the outside of curve would be smooth with the inside brushed, and vice versa.
With all the detail, the work was never overdone. Instead there was a harmony and drama to each and every piece. I spent about an hour there talking with the rep, and came way feeling so inspired and so in awe of Denny's skills!
The special pieces in the show went from about $5000 to over $50,000. The image attached is of a piece from the more modestly priced line the store carries...where prices ranged from about $500 to $2000 or so. It features a gold octupus, with a textured body, smooth arms and tiny diamond eyes, atop a huge, round freshwater pearl [see my blog: "What The Heck Are Freshwater Pearls?"] The shape of the ring's shank is sculpted instead of being perfectly round, and joins in the back with two small loops. So lovely.
