Neil Lane is an engagement ring trendsetter, perhaps best known for the designs he creates for couples on The Bachelor, but Lane says he feels the best terms to describe him are artist, collector, and star-maker.
That last one isn’t about how his jewelry is worn by celebrities. Rather, Lane says, it’s about how the jewelry he creates for a person can make them a star in their own life, whether they’re wearing it at their wedding, to a gala, or just out with their friends.
“To be able to mix contemporary glamour with vintage glamour and have it come to life—that is probably one of the biggest achievements,” Lane says. “To make anyone feel like a star that night and make it feel like it’s their red-carpet moment.”
Lane just added another accomplishment to his storied career. With his longtime collaborators Kay Jewelers, he has introduced a lab-grown diamond bridal collection called Neil Lane Artistry. Lane has worked with Kay on bridal and fashion jewelry for 13 years, and Kay is promoting the Artistry collection as a continuation of Lane’s signature style with the retailer.
Neil Lane Artistry offers a variety of engagement ring and wedding band styles, all made with lab-grown diamonds. Prices range from $799.99 for a 14k white gold band with 0.25 ct. t.w. round diamonds to $18,499.99 for a 14k white gold engagement ring with 4.25 ct. t.w. diamonds, including a 3 ct. pear-shape center stone.
In an email interview with JCK, Lane told us more about the new Kay bridal line and about how jewelry first caught his eye when he was growing up in Brooklyn and what inspires him today.
What is your earliest jewelry memory?
I was always fascinated by sparkle, starting at the age of 6 or 7. I would find costume jewelry, a bag of little pearls with colored stones, and I would start stringing them. It was then when I realized that I was fully enamored by all the sparkle and jewels. This was my first experience with jewelry design. By age 15, I would go through things that people would discard on the streets and find treasures. I began to understand that antique objects had value. Eventually I began finding jewelry from the ’20s and ’30s and would sell those pieces at the 26th Street flea market in Chelsea.
How did you develop your own style in jewelry?
I think a very important aspect of designing is knowing who you’re designing for. You need to be able to think about all the elements at once: the sparkle, the line of diamonds, the etching, the milgraining, how the light will reflect. I start sketching and let my creativity take over from there.
What are you still learning about yourself as a designer?
As an artist, I find inspiration all over, and nothing gives me greater joy than innovating and trying something new. For the past 13 years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Kay to design collections that are inspired by curated luxury pieces and accessible to jewelry connoisseurs everywhere. With my new Neil Lane Artistry collection at Kay, we now offer an even larger assortment of options for consumers to find something they’ll love to wear and will cherish for a lifetime.
What else would you like people to know about you?
I collect 1920s jewelry that is romantic and visually exciting. I want to evoke that with my designs while maintaining a contemporary look. I have a very particular idea of quality, a certainty about premium manufacturing, look, appeal, design, aesthetic, colors, and everything that goes into that piece. I then ask myself, What period was it from? Art deco? 1930s? 1940s? I buy pieces that way. I buy with passion and not with dollars and cents in mind.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Be true to who you are and continue to develop your passion for sparkle and vintage glamour. Indulge in all your artistic passions and continue to share your love and stories with the world, because it will unlock unthinkable opportunities for you.
Top: Neil Lane last month introduced a collection of engagement and wedding rings with lab-grown diamonds at Kay Jewelers and says he is still passionate about innovating in his designs. (Photos courtesy of Kay Jewelers)
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