Only Jewelry

'Top Chef' host creates elegant jewelry San Francisco Chronicle

23.12.09

With striking good looks and a high-wattage smile, TV's "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi could probably sell just about anything to anyone and make it seem like a necessity.

The good news about the former runway model is that she knows about clean lines, balance and proportion, demonstrated in her eponymous jewelry collection, which was introduced at Neiman Marcus on Union Square this fall with a rare visit by Lakshmi.

Radiant with only minimal makeup, and clad in a black top and jeans (and several months pregnant), Lakshmi said she loved playing with her mother's jewelry as a child. She drew upon her Indian heritage in her designs, creating pieces that in the display case look light and delicate, but when worn on the ears, the wrists or the neck, look surprisingly substantial and statement-making.

"I wanted to do jewelry that moved on the wrist, or the ear, that caught that light and that was part of my identity," she said. "I was never interested in jewelry that wears you."

Her work is predominantly done in gold, and some pieces include precious or semi-precious stones. She likes to layer the pieces and enjoys making two-sided necklaces - things that dangle in both front and back, for those low-backed dresses.

Among her best-sellers: hoop earrings, which look like they have heft but are extremely light. "I love big earrings but hate when they weigh my earlobes down," she said.

Also selling well: her single-strand pod necklaces that resemble tiny seed pellets, for an organic feel. The line ranges in price from $285 to more than $6,100 for custom-made pieces, with the average selling for $2,000. This includes a series based on the Navaratna, an ancient Vedic principle that states wearing nine stones that correspond to nine celestial planets can balance one's life forces, or prana.

"The stones pull the celestial energy to you, like wearing a good-luck charm," Lakshmi said.

Even if it doesn't, it's bound to make you feel pretty, and that's charming in and of itself.

Source: