Erica Courtney: Drop Dead Gorgeous Jewels

There is one word, which I feel best describes Erica Courtney’s jewellery – seductive. It was fascinating to watch how visitors were drawn to Erica’s showcase at the Couture Show. Rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces teased viewers with the brilliance of precious stones, gems allured with their juicy shades and the openwork of decorative elements was truly fascinating. It so happens that I too fell under the spell of Erica Courtney’s pieces and have been finding it impossible to forget the rainbow of rare and unusual gemstones set in jewellery by this American designer.

Erica Courtney’s jewels have been spotted on many Hollywood celebrities, including Uma Thurman, Jessica Alba and Faune Chambers. Having started her career almost 30 years ago, Erica’s first design experience was decorating sunglasses with Swarovski crystals from broken jewellery. Sparkling accessories turned out to be of great interest to others and Erica was garnered a lot of complements. That’s what prompted Erica’s mum to say that her daughter was a jewellery designer.

For a while, Erica sold sunglasses in a multi-brand retailer, when, just for pleasure, she embellished her watch with Swarovski crystals. The result caused a furore and orders started rapidly coming in. Eventually, Erica sold not just dozens, but hundreds of models with rhinestones. A little later, she started making fashion jewellery. After moving to Los Angeles, Erica tried designing silver jewellery. Although her jewellery price tag went up from $5 to a couple of hundred dollars, she felt that her jewellery became more valuable and more important to its owners. Gradually, having nourished her love for precious metals and gemstones, Erica began creating fine jewels that were the foundation of her ‘Drop Dear Gorgeous’ pieces. During my chat with Erica at the Couture Show, I found out a lot about her love for fine gems. Here are a few questions that I asked…

…Fire Opal because there’s so much mystery and electricity in a beautiful fire opal. Each opal is absolutely one of a kind and each tells its own story…some are shy and some just are an explosion of personality and brilliance. You just never know what tales they tell.

…my 50 cts natural colour Mozambique Tourmaline. It absolutely glows…it’s to die for.

…brilliance, colour and their personal seduction. If they can’t seduce me from across the room, I don’t want it.

….Csarite – a true one-of-a-kind gemstone at an affordable price that goes with everything in the jewellery and fashion wardrobe.