Do the Math
You don’t often find a mathematician–turned–jewelry designer, but when you consider that the signature style of Apeksha Mehta’s line is geometry, her recently debuted collection makes perfect sense. The onetime math and physics major abandoned a career in finance two years ago—Mehta realized that she lacked not only a passion for the job but also weekends off—to launch Design by Auro in August 2012. (Her career change also makes perfect sense: Mehta comes from a family of jewelers.)
Design by Auro hinged bangle in silver with shaded enamel; $350
She relocated to New York City from Belgium and introduced a line in sterling and enamel starting at $65 retail. The designs certainly channel her inner arithmetician: Pieces are symmetrical, with flow—including in a gradient of colors, wave effects, and rotating movement of sphere motifs. “I feel like this makes our jewelry look less stationary and enables it to come alive when worn,” Mehta explains. “The technical aspect of my personality is clearly visible in my jewelry.”
Future looks will feature higher-end pieces (gold, gemstones), but for now, cast and manufactured styles in silver are available. The jewelry is made in Italy, and to date, Mehta does not require a retailer buy-in.
Sterling (and Gemstone) Possibilities
Bracelet in silver with cabochon-cut colored tourmalines; $1,100; Pamela Huizenga, Port St. Lucie, Fla.; 772-873-7206; pamelahuizenga.com
At the age when many American teenagers are learning to drive a car, Pamela Huizenga was learning to be a lapidary. At 16, she started cutting gemstones, eventually carving out a career making colored gemstone jewelry—embracing the imperfections inherent in most rocks and setting them into karat gold designs. (Chunky stone bracelets are her signature.)
As Huizenga’s business grew, she noticed a shift in demand. In 2012, she debuted a silver line containing equally beautiful designs but featuring slightly more organic cuts like cabochons and slices plus stone varieties including fossils and shells. Letting the stones themselves dictate the final designs (as always), Huizenga’s silver pieces retain her trademark fluidity, but add one more component: hard-to-resist entry-level prices (from $100 to $5,000).
“Working in silver allows me to be very creative and experiment with a variety of stones,” she says. And that includes opals—for which she has a particular passion. Actually, the artist doesn’t simply like opals, she loves them. “Many of my opals get named,” she confesses.