Alison Lou, the cheeky brand from creative director and designer Alison Chemla, has been delighting us with its emoji jewelry since its first collection, Emoticore, in 2012.
More than a decade later, Alison Lou continues to entertain us with happiness-evoking jewels, including its latest rendition of emoticons, delightfully dubbed In Our Feelings. The 14k yellow gold pieces, with lab-grown and natural gemstones, revisit the fun faces that put Alison Lou on the map as a fun fine jeweler.
“We have seen such a rise in personalized styles, which are always best sellers, but our new icons allow you to express yourself in a different way,” Chemla tells JCK. “This is not just wearing your name on your neck, it’s wearing your emotio—a face that evokes a feeling, a mood, or a memory. We love that with this new collection you can layer the pieces to show all of your moods and emotions.”
In response to greater demand for pearls, In Our Feelings features an assortment of necklaces and earrings that have pearls as well as other gemstones, many of them lab-created. “I have been using lab-grown colored stones in my collections for years,” Chemla says. “It offers our clients a big look for way less. It also allows us to have more control over the color consistency and clarity of our offering. We try very hard to be price-conscious, and lab-grown colored stones allows us to do so.”
Asked about her favorite piece, Chemla tells us she loves the feelings wheel (pictured at top), which is handpainted with colorful enamel and showcases a range of emotions. “The spinner actually spins so you can wake up and have your necklace reflect your mood that day. I love pieces that have a working mechanism to them. That is something I try to do in every collection.”
Top: In Your Feels wheel necklace in 14k yellow gold with 0.31 ct. t.w. gemstones and 0.16 ct. t.w. diamonds, $5,655; Alison Lou
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