Laced with Romance: Megan Thorne

The designer pays tribute to sinuous effects and upcycled diamonds in her lingerie-inspired jewelry line.

Fort Worth, Texas-based Megan Thorne may have officially studied apparel design at university, but it was a jewelry-making class she took for fun that made the biggest impression on her. After graduation, she went on to work at a job designing lingerie, having fallen in love with ribbons and lace as an integral part of the intimates world, but she couldn’t get jewelry out of her mind. So, she took a risk, quitting her full-time position to retreat to her garage studio to explore fabrication as well as to train at the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology.

By 2007, she debuted her same-name line with an array of what she viewed as right-hand rings, set with colored-stone centers. Despite her intentions for them not to be for weddings, so many people asked if they were engagement rings that she couldn’t disregard the demand. “It seemed like I was on a path worth exploring as the alternative bridal movement of years ago hit at just the right time for me,” she explains.

Ribbon and lace
Her background and new skills — undergarments and goldsmithing — collided in the best possible way. Super-feminine collections of fine jewelry like Wood Nymph and Evergreen took shape, featuring laurel and evergreen leaf garlands or sprays encircling center stones. Scalloping, milgrain, seeds, and lattice effects also appear in the line, as do buttercups, tulips, posies, mosaics, and vintage-inspired frames that look like miniature portraits. Not surprisingly, ribbons, too, are a frequent motif, interlacing with diamonds for maximum girly styling. While literal lacy looks aren’t evident in the line, all the sweet themes and petite scale of pieces together offer a lacelike impression — think silky robe, or a delicately trimmed camisole top — whenever you slip on one of her styles.

And while feminine patterns have long been Thorne’s inspiration, her young son is starting to change that. “I’ve always been a metal-first type of designer, but lately I’ve been letting the stones speak up and have a say in what’s to come,” she explains. “It’s a nice pace rather than searching for just the right stone to fit a preconceived design concept. I’m allowing a little happenstance to influence my collection. My son is six and exploring is everything; I like his ‘Let’s just see what we come across’ attitude.”

What she’s found thus far is a healthy demand for engagement rings with salt-and-pepper diamonds as well as antique and upcycled ones — all mined, no lab-grown. And because every diamond is unique, each job ends up being custom by default. “The lovely thing about bridal is that basically, every ring is custom, even if it is a standard collection design, because the stones are all different,” she observes. True custom ring designs, which require a lot of back and forth with clients, comprise about a third of her work.
Sourcing antique diamonds is no easy feat; it is challenging because consumer awareness and desire for them continue to grow. That said, they’re the right choice for Thorne’s handiwork and customers. “Both the cut and sentiment of antique diamonds fit beautifully with our collection,” she explains.

Timeless style for modern couples
The vintage vibe of Thorne’s aesthetic is beloved by many contemporary clients. More and more, engagement ring purchases include the woman in the decision making.
“In my early years, most clients were partners selecting rings,” she says. “Today, it is unusual for us not to at least have some contact with the woman.”

Sometimes the woman visits one of Thorne’s retailers, or her own studio on the ground floor of a converted 1920s farm apparel factory where every jewel is made, to take notes. At the bare minimum, a Pinterest page is tapped for explicit insights into the bride’s tastes. More commonly, Thorne meets with both parties, who make decisions together.
“I find myself inspired by these meetings with modern women to hear how they live, their likes and dislikes, and their needs and wants. The collections naturally reflect these conversations,” she relates.

Dana Friedman of Petite G. Jewelers in Indianapolis is familiar with this process. She’s carried Thorne’s line since the opening of her store six years ago. “She makes breathtaking custom renderings to scale for clients,” she says. “The line is not classic. It’s bespoke, and for the bride that wants an urban hippy look. Her older European, cut by hand, and rose-cut stones go hand in hand with our store. There’s nothing else like her in industry. Her jewelry is like lingerie for the finger.”

Main image: Jewelry designer Megan Thorne. Photo: Megan Thorne.