Lizzie Mandler (pictured) was 16 years old when she wandered past a metalsmithing school called Precious Metal Arts while walking down Main Street in Santa Monica, Calif. The budding jeweler, who was already working at a nearby bead store, was intrigued. Little did she know that she was about to fall under the spell of yellow gold.
“I decided to take a class in metalsmithing, and everything shifted from semiprecious beading to precious,” Mandler, now 34, tells JCK during a private dinner at her new boutique in L.A.’s trendy Sycamore District. “They used to make fun of me because I was really young, and they said, ‘Everyone casts in silver.’ But I thought, why would I do that? I want to cast in gold.”
For the next four years, Mandler honed her craft and prepared to create her own eponymous brand. From its launch in 2012, the collection has been focused almost exclusively on the yellow metal.
“The real heart and soul of the company is based on the everlasting qualities of jewelry,” Mandler says. “Unlike a jacket, it gets passed down through generations because the materials are everlasting. And silver defeats that purpose because it tarnishes and changes, whereas gold doesn’t. Working in gold was really important to me.”
When Mandler’s brand was just starting out, she primarily worked in 14k. “I switched to 18k eight or nine years ago because Barneys was circling,” she says. “I didn’t want to be a third-floor brand; I wanted to be a first-floor brand. And they dictated the market: ‘If you want to be a first-floor brand, you need to use 18k.’”
In recent years, Mandler has become known for her wide selection of handmade gold chains, many featuring her signature knife-edge silhouette. “We have every [chain] iteration under the sun, and I have a new one coming out soon,” she says. “I can’t seem to stop myself with the chains. We have the necklaces and bracelets, and our chain rings are really popular.”
At her new store, Mandler—whose personal style leans towards a minimalist, monochromatic look—is a walking billboard for yellow gold. “I work in yellow, rose, and white, but I only personally wear yellow, so by virtue of being my own best salesperson, my line is mostly shown in yellow,” she says. “It’s probably 90% of my business.”
Included in Mandler’s jewelry uniform are a gold Rolex Day-Date from the 1970s and her 18k gold engagement ring set with a 3 ct. Asscher-cut diamond, which she designed just days before her store opening on May 4. (Mandler, who married last year, had been waiting to make the ring until she found a stone that “spoke” to her.)
As she looks to the second half of the year, Mandler is focusing on trendy necklace styles, such as her Cleo collar; “thicker, chunkier” links; and “more exaggerated, blown-up shapes” inspired by fashions from the 1970s, the golden decade that keeps on giving.
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