As the world celebrates June as Pride Month, jewelry designers and companies are creating specialty pieces to honor and support LGBTQ communities. In the United States, President Joe Biden declared June 2022 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Pride Month. Pride celebrations started in June 1970 for the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in Manhattan, which began on June 28, 1969, and gave rise to today’s gay-rights movement.
Here are some ways jewelers and the jewelry industry is honoring and celebrating this year’s Pride Month and the LGBTQ community.
Guess Watches vice president of global marketing Ann Marie Santo says in an email interview that the brand worked with the Trevor Project team to collaborate on a Pride Capsule collection. The Trevor Project describes itself as “the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people.”
The resulting watches use the symbolic colors of the Pride inclusive flag as well as details on the dial in the bracelet version and rainbow colors on the silicone band. The brand also is making a donation of $25,000 to the Trevor Project.
“The donation part of our partnership is critically important, as the funds help them expand their digital crisis services to reach more young people and also helps enable their work with policymakers to pass legislation protecting young LGBTQ people,” Santo says.
At Pura Vida, design director Sheva Absher says the company’s Pride collection both supports the Trevor Project and serves as a complement and extension of the brand’s Pride bracelet.
“I wanted to build out the Pride assortment and create a full collection to make our support for the LGBTQ community and our monetary contribution to the Trevor Project more impactful,” Absher says. “With seemingly every brand now doing Pride products, it can start to feel a bit performative.
“But visible support backed by financial contributions to LGBTQ organizations is important,” Absher adds. “Ultimately, that’s just the beginning. Brands like ours need to continue to support this community year-round by being inclusive with our models, content creators, collaborators, and employees.”
At Common Era, founder and designer Torie Tilley says its Pride ring contributes 20% of its proceeds to the Trevor Project.
Tilley created the Pride ring from Common Era’s Gem Alphabet series, which hearkens back to the days of Napoleon, who used a gemstone alphabet to craft “secret messages in jewelry” to his beloved Josephine, Tilley says.
“We’ve been lucky to enjoy so much support from the LGBTQ community, and I wanted to create a beautiful and meaningful piece that spells Pride in peridot, ruby, iolite, diamond, and emerald. It’s a rainbow of beautifully cut gemstones set in solid gold so that it can be worn and loved forever,” Tilley says.
Fossil launched a new limited-edition capsule on Wednesday to celebrate Pride Month. During June, 100% of the proceeds from the capsule’s sales will go to the Trevor Project with a minimum donation of $100,000.
This is Fossil’s largest Pride collection to date with watches, straps, jewelry, and wallets in styles that “embrace and embody” love and celebration the LGBTQ community, Fossil said in an email to JCK. The collection includes two watches featuring graphic “Love” dials, a graphic of the Progress Pride flag, and eco-leather straps.
“We were inspired by the phrase ‘Love Is Love,’ which for our organization means that all love expressed by an individual or couple is valid regardless of the sexual orientation or gender identity,” Fossil said in its email. “It is also really important for us to celebrate Pride Month as it is a commemorative time where we recognize the impact of the LGBTQ community globally. Another fun design detail: Both the cuff and ring have ‘Love Is Love’ engraved on the inside.”
Skagen also created a limited-edition Pride Month collection with 100% of its proceeds donated to Interpride, which has a mission of promoting LGBTQ on an international level to create collaboration, networking, and communication among Pride organizations, act as a source of education, and encourage diverse communities to hold and attend Pride events, the company said in an email interview with JCK.
Inspired by the new Pride and Transgender flags, the pinnacle piece in the collection is the limited-edition Grenen 37 mm watch, featuring Arabic indexes on the dial and sustainable materials such as the woven rainbow strap containing 50% rPet (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) as well as a case made with at least 50% recycled stainless steel. The collection also includes an interchangeable watch strap and beaded bracelet all honoring a spectrum of love.
“Skagen continues to be inspired by Denmark and its progressive stance when it comes to inclusivity. We’re proud that our Danish sensibility reflects a culture of acceptance for all members of the LGBTQ community,” Steve Evans, executive vice president and chief brand officer, said in a statement.
Top: Guess Watches created its #MomentofPride collection in collaboration with the Trevor Project as part of a special collection for Pride Month (photo courtesy of Guess Watches).
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