If there is an occasion that deserves bringing out the most special pieces, that is your wedding day. Getting dressed as a bride goes far beyond choosing the perfect dress: accessories also play a crucial role in ensuring that day you look as you always dreamed. In recent years, a trend has entered the scene that has crept into many weddings and has shown to be able to make a difference in a bridal look. We are talking about vintage jewelry.
Marisa Hernández is creative director and CEO of eme Jewels, a 100% artisanal Spanish jewelry brand that, in addition to designing and creating unique pieces meant for eternity, also dedicates itself to restoring vintage jewelry in which they try to capture the brand’s identity without altering its original essence. She, who has been at the helm of this business for so long, acknowledges that the trend of vintage jewelry has been creeping timidly into bridal styling, especially among those brides who pursue a more romantic and special result.
But what explains this boom? According to Marisa, what these jewels have that is special is that they surround them with a aura of mystery and history that makes wearing them on your wedding day increase the symbolism that the story continues. In a sense, the brides who opt for these past accessories commit to continuing to be part of their legacy, this time including them in a new love story. Moreover, as the expert notes, their aesthetics are very special and have an unmistakable artisanal stamp, something that always adds to these occasions.
To tell the truth, brides wearing antique jewelry is a very common practice; only until now the most common practice was turning to the family jeweler to perpetuate the tradition for another generation. ‘The original idea was to rescue that jewelry you always saw in your grandmother or mother, or that jewelry that has passed through three or four generations of the family at weddings and special moments,’ Marisa tells us, who also clarifies that it is something that ‘continues to prevail’.
Vintage jewelry, however, is designed for those women who want to participate in a story perhaps less close, but also for those who do not have that family tradition or who ‘do not see in their grandmother’s earrings the magic and/or special beauty they want to wear in their wedding look’, as the CEO of eme Jewels clarifies. For my taste, both options have a unique charm and both transport us to another moment in history, bringing with them symbolism and a message of continuity and romance,
What are the favorite vintage jewelry pieces and how to wear them at a wedding
For the expert there’s no doubt: the two major favorites within this trend are earrings and brooches, which is what brides expect to find when they decide to embrace this trend. However, she also notes that rings are the main protagonists when it is not the brides who seek antique jewelry. As for how to wear them, the advice is simple: Make sure the overall look makes sense, that is, see what fits well with the dress, the hairstyle and other jewelry or accessories. It does not mean that we cannot mix different styles, simply you have to weigh the details.
As expected, the success of vintage jewelry has also sparked interest in other profiles such as event guests. For Marisa there is no problem at all with them also wearing these jewels; in fact, she argues that «A wedding is the best moment to wear any piece we like and take the opportunity to bring out of the jewelry box those that ‘scare us the most’». Along these lines, the CEO and creative director makes clear her stance: «Jewels are there to accompany us, not to be kept in a drawer waiting for a special event or moment because, on occasions, that moment never comes. We must live life day by day and let our jewels participate in it with more naturalness».
Marisa Hernández, Creative Director and CEO of eme Jewels
The beauty of vintage jewelry: the power of storytelling
Part of the charm of vintage jewelry lies in the fact that these pieces are not the only ones that tell stories; they can also be the excuse to narrate dreamlike tales, and Marisa, thanks to her profession, has witnessed some of them. «I especially fondly remember transforming a family bracelet of white gold and diamonds into a bridal tiara, creating in our workshop a structure to wear it and dismantle it afterward at the wedding. I also remember a bride in love with a pair of earrings from our vintage collection and her fiancé traveled from Seville especially to get them, because he said that ‘either he would marry with those earrings or he wouldn’t marry at all.’»
For Marisa, «Working with vintage jewelry is to have a piece of history in your hands, a treasure from another time that bears the genuine artisanal mark and that now must be restored with a lot of care and patience, by other hands and in another era, but respecting the artisanal tradition equally». She also adds: «At the same time, it demands respect, it is a great responsibility to make modifications to pieces with so much history and such value for their wearer. Sometimes the value is only monetary, but many times there is also sentimental value, and that is something no money can buy».
Beyond all the historical or emotional value that one of these pieces may have, there is an aspect that cannot be overlooked: tradition. And as popular wisdom marks, brides should wear in their outfits something blue, something new, something borrowed and something old. Does this trend meet that last requirement? «Without a doubt», says Marisa, «An antique jewel can be (and often is) that ‘something old’». Simply (the brides) should ask themselves: Am I buying a real antique jewel or am I buying a piece from a young brand that designs inspired by antique jewelry?
