Spoleto Designs

Wear the jewels, always, for everything. Just not in the pool. 😘💎

We just finished sourcing pearls for a client and fell down a rabbit hole. Sharing what we learned.
Pearl requests are coming in more and more, and the more we dug into this category, the more we realized how much confusion exists around it. Even seasoned jewelry lovers aren’t always sure what they’re looking at or why the price difference is so dramatic from one piece to the next.
Here’s the quick breakdown.
Nearly every pearl you’ll encounter in modern fine jewelry is cultured, meaning a human helped start the process inside the mollusk, then nature did the rest. Still a real pearl. Still beautiful. True natural pearls are museum-and-antique-jewelry rare and priced accordingly.
Akoya pearls are what most people picture when they think pearl necklace. Classic, round, bright luster, white or cream with a soft rose or silver glow. Very traditional, very bridal.
Freshwater pearls are so underrated. More affordable, incredibly varied in shape and color, and a high-quality freshwater pearl can genuinely rival a saltwater one.
Tahitian pearls are the dramatic ones. Naturally dark, charcoal, deep green, peacock tones, with a multicolored sheen that shifts across the surface. Not subtle.
South Sea pearls are the largest cultured pearls on the market, known for their soft satiny luster and limited supply. Their size and rarity put them at the top of the price range, and they earn it.
Simulated pearls get dismissed way too quickly. Quality ones replicate the look, feel, and weight of fine pearls and are perfect where uniformity and affordability matter most.
Custom work gives you access to the same quality as the big names like Mikimoto, Paspaley, and Assael with a lot more flexibility in design and price. You’re paying for the pearl and the craftsmanship, not the logo.
Stop thinking in technical categories and start thinking about your life. What do you wear every day? Classic or edgy? Everyday or special occasion? Answer those questions and the right pearl basically picks itself.

Before the estate could be sorted, family members went into the home.
Jewelry disappeared.
No list. No photos. No record of what was there.
Just gone.
No way to prove it. No way to recover it.
This happens more than people think. And it’s not always strangers. It’s what happens when things aren’t documented and emotions are running high.
If your jewelry disappeared tomorrow, would anyone know what was taken?
Most people assume they would. Most are wrong.
A simple inventory changes that. Even just photos and a few notes.
It’s not about the value. It’s about knowing what you have before something forces the question.
If you have pieces that matter to you or your family and no record of them, let’s change that.

Morning well spent. WJA DFW at the DMA taking in Constellations: Contemporary Jewelry — 1,400 pieces asking what jewelry really means when it’s in the hands of artists who refuse to play it safe.
Fingerprint necklaces. Cloud paintings worn at the collarbone. Gold earrings that look alive.
This is why we do what we do.
📍 Dallas Museum of Art
womensjewelryassociation
Women's Jewelry Association DFW - WJA DFW

There’s a conversation happening more often in the fine jewelry world and we are here for it!
Men are inheriting family jewelry.
Grandmother’s diamond cluster ring. A mother’s sapphire brooch. An aunt’s estate pieces passed down with love but no clear home.
And instead of letting those pieces sit in a drawer, they’re asking the right question:
“Can we turn this into something I’ll actually wear?”
The answer is almost always yes.
This stunning blue sapphire was originally set in a classic estate piece. It found new life in a bold, architectural men’s band. Same stone. Same story. Completely reimagined.
That’s the beauty of fine jewelry. The sentiment doesn’t have to live in the setting. It can live in the stone.
If you’ve inherited a piece and aren’t sure what to do with it, we’d love to talk through the possibilities. Repurposing heirloom stones into wearable, meaningful jewelry for men is one of our favorite things to do. And it’s one of the most underutilized conversations in this industry.
The legacy doesn’t have to stay in the drawer.
💍 DM us or visit our website to learn more about Spoleto Designs.
www.spoletodesigns.com

There’s a reason some pieces sell quickly and others don’t.

It’s not always about the jewelry itself.

It’s about where it’s placed and who it’s in front of.

Fine jewelry doesn’t live in one market. It moves across several.

Auction
Retail
Private

Understanding that is where things start to shift.

Most Women Have Jewelry They Never Wear

Not because it isn’t valuable.
Not because it isn’t beautiful.

But because it no longer fits who they are.

What usually ends up in that category:

• inherited pieces that were never their style
• gifts tied to a past relationship or phase of life
• pieces that feel too formal or outdated
• things that “should” be worn, but never are

So they sit.

In a drawer. In a safe. In a box.

Untouched for years.

Here’s the question most people avoid:

If you wouldn’t choose it today, why are you keeping it?

Sometimes the answer is sentimental.
Sometimes it’s uncertainty.
Sometimes it’s just that no one has taken the time to evaluate it.

But there are always options.

Keep it.
Redesign it.
Pass it on.
Sell it thoughtfully.

What matters is that it’s a decision, not default.

Question:
What’s one piece you own that you haven’t worn in years, but still haven’t decided what to do with?

She never meant to sell it.

The ring came into her life in Florence, sometime in the late 1970s. Not in a boutique but through a private introduction arranged over a long lunch that turned into dinner. He was older, charming, and very careful about what he revealed. The stone, he told her, had been recut from something far older. “It has already lived several lives,” he said. “Now it’s yours.”

It was too large, too bold, and entirely impractical.

Which is exactly why she said yes.

She wore it sparingly at first, only at night, only in cities where no one knew her. Paris. Milan. New York once, briefly. It became her signal piece. The thing people remembered, even if they couldn’t quite remember her name.

Over time, it shifted from indulgence to armor.

There was a marriage somewhere in the middle of all this. Quiet, strategic, short-lived. The ring never came off, even when the rest of her life changed around it. Especially then.

People assumed it was a gift from a husband.

It wasn’t.

It was the one thing she chose entirely for herself.

Years later, it sat in a safe more often than on her hand. Not because she loved it less, but because she understood exactly what it did when she walked into a room wearing it. It drew attention. Questions. Assumptions.

And she had become more careful by then.

When it finally surfaced again, it wasn’t in a dramatic moment. No scandal. No crisis. Just a quiet decision. A letting go of things that belonged to a different version of her life. She didn’t negotiate hard. That’s how you know it mattered.

She simply said, “It’s time for someone else to have their turn with it.”

And just like that, the ring began its next life.

Day two of the show and it is a scorcher 🥵

Steady traffic, great conversations, and some fun finds along the way.

Check out these locations thehallesatroundtop
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to get a glimpse of the incredible specialty vendors here. There are so many… literally miles and miles of them.

I added a few photos of a couple of my favorite discoveries. IYKYK. 🥂

legacysaintjewelry Spoleto Designs

💚 MAY GIRLS… this one’s for you. 💚

Emerald — the birthstone of May — has always symbolized renewal, wisdom, and enduring love. And honestly? There is nothing quite like that saturated, impossible-to-ignore green against yellow gold.

These emerald and diamond tennis bracelets are now available for pre-order.

From classic alternating emerald and diamond styles to bold oval cuts and vibrant gemstone stacks, each piece is designed to layer beautifully or stand confidently on its own. Wear one for subtle elegance… or five because restraint is overrated.

✨ 14k gold
✨ Natural emeralds
✨ Diamond accents
✨ Designed for stacking or statement wear

If you’re celebrating a May birthday, marking a milestone, or simply collecting pieces that feel powerful and timeless — this is your moment.

Pre-order now. Limited production.
DM for pricing and details. 💚

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Spoleto Designs
Estate • Fine • One-of-a-Kind