Since debuting at Paris Fashion Week in the fall of 2017, Harwell Godfrey, the brainchild of designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey (pictured), has taken the jewelry world by storm. (That’s no exaggeration: Check out her bursting-at-the-seams press section.)
The former art director from the San Francisco Bay Area has channeled her passion for sacred geometry, African design, and colorful maximalism into a rich, remarkably cohesive collection that continues to evolve in interesting and meaningful ways. To wit: In April, Harwell Godfrey debuted Stardust, its first diamond-focused range.
The tightly focused 18k gold line includes a dramatic cocktail ring, pendant, and oversized button stud earrings in rounded hexagonal designs; a stacking band and bangle sprinkled with geometric shapes; and a fetching tennis necklace with 13 carats of diamonds. “A smaller set is coming, everything in slightly miniature form,” Godfrey tells JCK.
Below, the designer talks about the origins of the collection, which she described on Instagram as an ode to “sparkling, glittering, exploded stars.”
Your designs are so steeped in color. Why did you decide to turn to diamonds?
I naturally gravitate to color. I was an art director for a long time (I used to have to go to color booths to make sure what I was seeing on-screen was the color I wanted). I nerd out on color. But I like to give myself challenges—that’s part of my design process. “You are known for color, what would you do if you weren’t using color? Or, you’re known for maximalist pieces. What would you do if you were to design something minimalist?” I’m really having fun with the challenges. And I wanted to do something sparkling and gorgeous.
How did the collection come about?
I had a pair of diamond studs from my husband that I wasn’t wearing and realized I wanted to do something with those. The first thing I designed, these very big button studs, were made using my own round diamonds. I started working on them right before the pandemic. Then I had these moments where I had to ask myself, Am I going to have a business? So I stopped working on them. I just wanted to be able to pay my people and hoped that orders would keep coming. Who knew that fine jewelry was going to have such a good year?
I love that you started out with these big ol’ diamond earrings!
During the pandemic, stones became my friends. They were my distraction. They really made it bearable. Who makes a giant button stud out of diamonds in the pandemic? I guess they’re good for Zoom—you can’t really miss them. I just went to a kid’s birthday party this weekend and people were like, “Wow!”
The tennis necklace is an especially cool addition.
I have friends who have vintage tennis necklaces and really like them. Here’s a design secret of mine: When I see something I like, I ask myself: Do I want to buy a vintage one or make one in my own voice? I usually like to make one. What would a tennis necklace look like, and how would it function?
Part of the fun is you can wear it two ways: With the clasp in front and hang stuff from it or you can wear it with the clasp in back so it looks like a tennis necklace set in a hexagon shape. I can be my own muse sometimes. If I want something, someone else probably wants it too.
How would you describe your design voice?
Geometric, pattern heavy, maximalist, colorful. The African influence is very present in the work—in some pieces more than others. The things I collect personally from Africa are the patterns and geometries—that’s what I’m connecting to. Repetition and interesting colors and a lot of visual excitement. I love it.
Have you thought about doing a bridal collection?
I do a ton of engagement rings in custom. It’s something I want to do more of. A bridal collection? It’s in my head, I’m just waiting for the right thing to come along. I want to make sure it’s special and really adds to the work. I’m trying not to do things for the sake of doing them. I’m conscious of waste in the world.
Tell us about the Stardust name—is there a story behind it?
I was originally going to call it Starburst. I have a good friend who saw it and told me I should call it Stardust. She’s really into Joni Mitchell, and it’s a Joni Mitchell song. This was at a time when a lot of lives were being taken—by the police, by the pandemic, by everything. Mortality was on my mind. And also something about the fact that we are all connected. I think people forget that we need to treat each other with kindness, that we’re all part of the same stuff.
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