stack some sugar on me

so remember in yesterday's conversation with jen rosenthal, i raved about her stacking rings? well, one of them (the one with the citrine) was from italian jeweler pomellato which i learned from jen was the originator of the style popularly attributed to paloma picasso's tiffany "sugar stacks" collection (tiffany collection pictured above and below).

well, i did my research on pomellato, and decided that theirs are definitely my preference, because there are so many varieties of the same general concept, so it makes the idea of the stacking ring come to life. with each new occasion, you can add a piece that truly revolutionizes the set you already have.

so here is the pomellato luna collection, with cabochons (rounded stones) just like the tiffany one. even though they're very similar, i love the roundness of the pomellato ones.

here are some stacked, so you get the idea:

i really love the style jen was wearing which was the nudo -- faceted rather than rounded on top, as pictured here:

but THEN, here are some other styles pomellato makes that can be easily stacked with the solid ones.

these are like big chunks of candy!
another thought i couldn't help but have... as w magazine asked in an article last year, "who says engagement rings have to be colorless solitares?" i actually love the idea of getting a totally showstopping ring like one of these with a proposal and then adding to it for the wedding, maybe adding another when you have a baby, etc. for a non-traditional wedding set, i totally love this.

and i totally love this:

how about THAT for an engagement ring?

and how about THIS for a non-traditional wedding band?

in my internet searching, i found other "pomellato-style" and "sugar stack-style" rings at a full range of prices, many of them very nice. here are just a few.

from ylang 23:


from overstock silver: from shop bop:

from net-a-porter
from coach:

the point this really all drove home for me is that everything is a "copy" of something else in some way...and there's really no way to avoid that, so just wear what you like and don't worry about it. it reminds me of the scene in the devil wears prada when meryl streep schools ann hathaway on how the color blue she was carelessly wearing actually came from somewhere:

...but what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, oscar de la renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. and then I think it was yves st laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? ... and then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. however, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. from a pile of stuff.

yikes.

but interesting and true. it just shows what a waste of time it is to try and avoid trends or "cheap" versions of things...it's all about buying and wearing things that make you happy and feel good...regardless of how many versions of it there are or how many other people have it.

often, when something really different becomes ubiquitous, i find it kind of depressing, but what's nice about the fact that what was at one point a novel concept has become somewhat mainstream here is that you can try out the look and dip your toe in without spending a fortune. maybe right now, you can afford two $40 "sugar stack-inspired" rings to get started, and down the road, you might find yourself adding a citrine or moonstone and diamond to your stack. life is long, might as well get started!

photos from www.tiffany.com, www.kaboodle.com, www.pomellato.com, www.jewelry-weblog.com, www.weddingbee.com, www.shopstyle.com