Inspired by Canada and its landscape, Shelly Purdy has teamed up with Maple Leaf Diamonds to use local stones in her new collection.
How did the collaboration with Maple Leaf Diamonds start?
One of the reasons we partnered together is because over my career I always had Canadian themes in my jewelry and my designs. After going to the Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories in 2001, I was excited about promoting Canadian diamonds and using them in my work. The Seasons collection, under the Maple Leaf Diamonds brand and designed by me, is inspired by Canada and its ever-changing landscape. Each of the four seasons features engagement rings, wedding bands and fashion pieces.
Where does the inspiration for your Vintage Opulence collection come from?
I wanted to create a stacking collection that falls between bridal and yet can be presented as fashion jewelry, so they are not typical diamond engagement rings. I use rose-cut diamonds because they have very subtle twinkle and are quite different from brilliant-cut. When you see a rose-cut, you know it’s different by its surface faceting and high dome. They have a really nice big surface and are a little bit more accessible to consumers price-wise. The Vintage Opulence rings are Victorian-inspired, hand-made and different from anything else you’ve seen, especially when you stack them.
Can you tell us more about your other stacking collections?
I developed the Achievement Rings collection almost 20 years ago. Women would come up to my showcase, see the engagement rings and say, “When I find a man I am going to come back and get that ring”. That’s when I realized I needed to come up with a way to satisfy their desire for diamond rings in a way that would make sense and empower them. For example, they can buy themselves an Achievement Ring when they receive their graduate degree or they’ve achieved something in their lives they want to commemorate. It could be anything—a personal goal that gives them a reason for the purchase, instead of waiting for someone else to get it for them. The Achievement Rings also fit with the wedding bands and engagement rings. It’s not like we are so independent that we are not open to love!
Who do you design for?
I design around a personality more than an age group. Millennials are such a hard group to put a label on it. They’re not wowed by diamond rings, but when you’re one on one and you start showing them the work that goes into a diamond ring, they become intrigued and fall in love with the idea of jewelry. They like something a little bit personal. The stacking collection has a hand-made, throwback feel to it, so you can have something simple or quite ornate-looking, depending on the pieces you put together.
How did you start designing men’s bands?
Men tend not to be that excited about jewelry. When it comes to getting a band, they usually want something plain or they don’t want a ring at all. To bring them into the story, I infused experiences and memories into the textured rings in the Seasons collection. You can tell men the story of the ring at the showcase—that it has a certified Canadian diamond from Maple Leaf Diamonds—and that the design is something they can relate to on a personal level. Inspiration for the men’s wedding band collection comes from morning hockey practices, fishing trips with the boys, trekking in the woods with family and weekends at the cottage. This imagery completely changes the way men look at diamonds, especially when you start with the fact Canadian diamonds are ethically sourced.
Who is Shelly Purdy?
“I was always very artistic, although I went to university to study business. Partway through, I decided to become a jeweler and make diamond engagement rings. It was a way for me to be creative, artistic and have a business, rather than being a painter or a sculptor. It’s something a little more purpose-driven,” says Shelly Purdy, a graduate of George Brown College, a jewelry art school in Toronto. After apprenticing with 18Karat, a high-end boutique goldsmith, she launched her business in downtown Toronto in 1991, showcasing her jewelry creations in her studio, which is open by appointment. Earlier this year, Purdy won the Centurion 2018 Emerging Designer Competition at the Centurion Jewelry Show and exhibited in Scottsdale, AZ. Purdy’s Seasons collection will be showcased by Maple Leaf Diamonds at the JCK Luxury and JCK Las Vegas shows.
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