Stephen Dweck, jewelry designer extraordinaire, made his 15th annual personal appearance at Neiman Marcus on Michigan Ave. on Thursday, October 27. Dweck has a following of dedicated collectors cleverly named “The Dweckettes”, who return every year to purchase a unique and most often one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry. Dweck engraves his name on the pieces and personal messages by request. He visits Chicago every year because he loves the city stating that it has it all, and is perfectly balanced. He finds New York to be too big at times. Dweck said that Chicago is more artsy, more respectful, and friendlier. He is charismatic, charming and creative (what more can one ask for?).
This past spring, Dweck celebrated his 30th year of designing jewelry and claims the craft comes to him naturally. He got his start showcasing his jewelry with Geoffrey Beene’s collection, this catapulted him to success. His goal is and always has been to create jewelry to be worn as art – statement pieces (creating something that never existed before). Dweck is notorious for his handmade OAK collection, one-of-a-kind collector’s pieces with the signature beetle ADAM to prove authenticity.
The crème de la crème of the trunk show was a STUNNING bib necklace which retails for $20,000 – made of Tahitian blister mabe pearl/grey pearls set in sterling silver. A bronze version of this necklace was worn by Drew Barrymore for a movie premiere. Barrymore asked to purchase the necklace after wearing it, but Dweck declined and added it to his home archival collection instead.
My FAVORITE piece in the collection was a vibrant and elegant necklace – multi strands of amethyst, fluorite, citrine, and green agate (retails for $2,775).
Dweck’s philosophy is not about the origination of the stone, could be American agate or minerals (gems of the earth), something casual. His vision is to elevate the gem to a higher status by adding to another gem (a mineral below another mineral).
Recently, Dweck’s pieces have been worn by actress Blake Lively, Beyonce, and Alicia Keys. In the past, Dweck’s jewelry has been adorned by Elizabeth Taylor and a few First Ladies. Candice Bergen even wore Dweck’s jewelry on “Murphy Brown” and napkin rings from the signature twig collection were presented on a dinner hosted for Pope John Paul II. Dweck has pieces in the Metropolitan Museum and the Smithsonian.
-Cindy Burns
Photos: Second City Style
