In 2012, after my memoir, MY CHARMED LIFE was published by NAL/PENGUIN, I decided to launch a new jewelry collection based on my belief that every piece of jewelry has a past, present and future and each has a story to tell. The provenance and/or designer, how you received and how your wear the piece and the generations to whom you will pass it along are all part of the enchanting tales we relate when talking about our jewelry.

The pieces in the ESTATE OF GRACE collection already have a past—they are refashioned from authentic antique Victorian, art nouveau and art deco stickpins and brooches into a collection of one-of-a-kind pendants, bracelets and rings with original accents and details.

The collection is inspired by my passion for jewelry that has history and character. I have gathered and re-interpreted magical treasures and trinkets with symbolic motifs and messages. In the present, each of these pieces can be completely personalized and take on different meanings, depending upon the woman who wears them.

While writing “MY CHARMED LIFE”, I realized that so many of my most significant moments were defined by various pieces of jewelry—pieces that represented both of my parents’ and my own romantic relationships, my superstitions, and the jewelry that that connected the maternal side of my family, including a brooch that was handed down and changed through four generations.

It is this belief and my affinity for antique and period pieces that led me back into designing a jewelry collection. The stick and hatpins and brooches of bygone eras were often designed with intriguing romantic, lucky and/or sentimental motifs, but are not very wearable in their original forms. I set out to re-style these ‘lost finds’ into contemporary, meaningful and fashionable pieces with presence that will translate into the present day.

To uncover this trove of buried treasures, I had a great time scouring antique markets throughout the country as well as Paris, London and Rome. After hunting and gathering the original pieces, I began adding elements such as asymmetrically placed opaque and colored diamonds and diamond beads, combined blackened silver chain with gold, and finishing each style with an unexpected and sometimes hidden or secret touch.

My background as designer and owner of my collection in the ‘90’s—Bethany B—as well as my experience as a jewelry writer, editor…and collector… provides me with the passion to create this collection, which hopefully will hit a responsive chord with women who are looking for something that will be unique to their own beliefs and styles—pieces they will pass along—giving them their future…. and a brand new story to tell.