No guest this time. I'm opening my own jewelry box to share the pieces I wear when I vote and the women who made that vote possible.

Jewelry has always sent signals, from a professional pin to a class ring, and some of the most meaningful pieces I own are tied to the long fight for the right to vote. I share the peridot and amethyst pendant I had made in 2020 for the centennial of the 19th Amendment, and why I chose to leave the diamond off. I bring out my replica of the Jailed for Freedom pin, designed by Nina Allender for the suffragists who were jailed after picketing the White House in 1917. And I finally introduce Clasps, the iPhone app Ross and I built so collectors can keep the stories behind every piece. In this episode I talk about the colors linked to the suffrage movement, campaign buttons going back to George Washington, a VOTE necklace that is now on order, and why one tiny heart on a padlock means so much to me.

In this episode

• 00:04 Welcome to What A Gem
• 00:27 A floral beaded set in green, white, and violet, and why there's no guest today
• 01:13 Safety pin flags for the 1976 bicentennial, peace signs, and painted flag earrings
• 01:57 Jewelry that signals membership, from professional pins to class rings
• 02:37 Green, white, and violet and the women's suffrage movement
• 03:37 Key dates on the road to the 19th Amendment
• 04:21 My 2020 centennial pendant and the stone I chose to leave out
• 05:29 The VOTE necklace now on order
• 05:57 Campaign buttons from George Washington to McKinley and Bryan, plus a Pat for First Lady find
• 07:25 The Jailed for Freedom pin and the Silent Sentinels
• 08:56 Searching for suffragette jewelry today
• 09:19 Introducing Clasps, the app Ross and I built for jewelry collectors
• 12:10 Be educated and vote
• 12:24 Thanks for listening

Find Clasps:

Website: https://clasps.app

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clasps/id6808417815

Follow What A Gem

New episodes every other week. If you enjoyed this one, follow the show so you never miss an episode, and leave a quick review to help other jewelry lovers find us.

Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/033EEG7wBiuaCEyJcmRMQO

Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@PodcastWhatAGem

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I met Zanny at the Fort Worth art festival, then spent months watching her set sapphires into molten gold on Instagram, and I had to know how she does it.

Zanny Cox is the goldsmith and weaver behind Estudio Zanny, working out of an artist studio in East Austin. Her work draws on her Mexican, Kickapoo, and Irish heritage and on a lifelong love of ancient history, so her pieces have the organic shapes and molten textures of something unearthed. She makes bespoke fine jewelry and talismans in solid gold and silver, often mixing the two, and she builds everything heavy enough to wear on a river float. Her great grandfather was a gem dealer, she still hammers on his anvil, and she works with stones and rough inherited from his collection. She has also spent six years teaching herself to set diamonds and sapphires directly into molten gold. In this episode we talk about how that molten setting works, why gold is so well behaved at the bench, what the Mohs scale means for everyday wear, and why heirloom jewelry belongs on your body, not in a box.

In this episode
00:04 Welcome to What A Gem
00:30 Lois's jewelry: a fabric necklace from the Craft Guild of Dallas and blue glass earrings
01:30 Meet Zanny, the story behind the name, and a studio in East Austin
02:59 A gem dealer great grandfather, an amethyst pendant, and learning at naptime
05:26 Why gold is well behaved, and her mixed metal chain
07:18 Ancient history as inspiration, and jewelry you can wear off a waterfall
09:42 Hammering near a gemstone: won't it scratch?
10:50 The Mohs scale, why opals stay out of her rings, and the molten setting
15:22 Where her stones come from, including a cutter in Utah
16:41 The Tucson Gem Show and why you need more than a week
18:55 Take a class and see jewelry differently
21:10 Canopy, first Saturday open studios, and the Austin art scene
23:29 The Austin Studio Tour, and why the city needs one big art show
24:47 Her first major juried show as an emerging artist
26:32 Art isn't meant to be experienced through a screen
28:30 Saving for heirloom pieces and remaking grandma's ring
31:01 Use the good dishes, wear the good jewelry
32:22 Working with fire in an Austin summer
34:38 The physical side of goldsmithing, from grain to anvil
36:25 Shop safety and the hidden hazards of making jewelry
38:11 Where to find Zanny
39:48 Thanks for listening

Find Zanny and Estudio Zanny:
Website: https://estudiozanny.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estudiozanny

Follow What A Gem
New episodes every other week. If you enjoyed this one, follow the show so you never miss an episode, and leave a quick review to help other jewelry lovers find us.

Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/033EEG7wBiuaCEyJcmRMQO
Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@PodcastWhatAGem
Instagram: instagram.com/PodcastWhatAGem
Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576520276933

Made to Be Worn

I kept seeing The Jewels Jar's pearls and claw earrings on Instagram, and I wanted to know how a mother in Dubai and a daughter in San Francisco are building a brand made to be worn every single day.

Tania Valrani spent five years as a software engineer before she quit to help her mom, Mamta Valrani, grow The Jewels Jar, the fashion jewelry brand Mamta started in Dubai in 2017. Mamta is a certified gemologist and a former abstract painter, and she still designs every piece herself, bringing that trained eye to romantic, vintage inspired jewelry built around pearls and the highest grade cubic zirconia. Tania leads the US side from San Francisco, where pieces sell online for $80 to $200. Everything is meant to leave the jewelry box, with extra thick plating and simple care habits that keep a piece looking good for years. In this episode we talk about what cubic zirconia is and why you should always get a diamond certified, how the same earrings are office wear in Dubai and wedding wear in the US, the hand chain trend, and what it takes to turn a company that sells jewelry into a jewelry brand.

In this episode

00:04 Welcome to What A Gem

00:30 Lois's jewelry stories, including a blue topaz necklace that came out of a lonely Christmas Eve and earrings from a shop on a bridge in Bath

02:22 Meet Tania and The Jewels Jar, the family brand her mom started in Dubai

02:50 Growing up surrounded by traditional Indian jewelry, and why it did not feel wearable to her

04:04 Stainless steel, sterling silver, plated brass, and how extra thick plating makes a piece last

05:29 Keep the perfume and lotion away: care advice for almost any jewelry

05:45 What cubic zirconia actually is, and why you should always get a diamond certified

07:14 The claw earrings, and the pearl line that made the brand take off

08:35 The Orchid Bloom earrings: office wear in Dubai, special occasion wear in the US

09:40 How shoppers in the US and the Middle East buy differently

10:30 Gifting, bridesmaids, and a customer who wore her pearl earrings down the aisle

11:05 Mamta's path from abstract painter to jewelry designer

11:53 Four collections a year and something new every month

13:00 Hand chains, explained

14:19 Where to buy, from thejewelsjar.com to the Abu Dhabi airport to Bloomingdale's

15:15 Why Tania left her corporate job to work with her mom

16:43 Star signs, younger sisters, and who shapes the designs

17:45 The dream: a tennis partnership at an accessible price point

18:41 Going from a company that sells jewelry to a jewelry brand

19:56 Where to find The Jewels Jar

20:24 The elevator pitch: soft, romantic, and made to be worn

21:53 A discount code for What A Gem listeners

22:21 Thanks for listening

Find Tania and The Jewels Jar:

Website: https://thejewelsjar.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejewelsjar

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thejewelsjar

Listener offer: use code WHATAGEM20 for 20 percent off your order at thejewelsjar.com

Follow What A Gem

New episodes every other week. If you enjoyed this one, follow the show so you never miss an episode, and leave a quick review to help other jewelry lovers find us.

Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/033EEG7wBiuaCEyJcmRMQO

Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@PodcastWhatAGem

Instagram: instagram.com/PodcastWhatAGem

Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576520276933