[click "Play" to hear Ashley Deppen talk about Cynthia Vincent's designs] Last week it was cashmere queen Minnie Rose. This week for Fashion Friday, Telluride's Two Skirts is focusing on accessories by Los Angeles designer Cynthia Vincent: her 2011 line of Spring shoes...
In January, you Goats (Capricorn, December 22 – January 19) and Water Bearers (Aquarius, January 20 – February 18) follow Cynthia Zehm's weekly column in Telluride Inside... and Out, Alacazem, to find out what life has in store. For sure, what's in store at Telluride's Dolce is the birthstone of the month: garnet.
The name "garnet" appears to have originated with the Latin "granatum malum," which means "pomegranate," the bush that produces the fruit with seeds the color of the stone. Jewelry made with garnet has been found in burial sites as early as the Bronze Age (3000 BC), when the stone was also used as an abrasive.
Editor's note: The astrological signs of October are Libra (September 23 –October 22) and Scorpio (October 23 – November 21). For what's happening in the stars, see Cynthia Zehm's weekly Alacazem. But celestial bodies are not all that shines: the birthstone of the month is opal. To romance the stone, see Telluride Inside... and Out's newest monthly column, Birthstones, from Dolce.
It is altogether fitting and proper that our birthstone column launches with a riff on opals because Dolce's owner and Telluride local Beau Staley has a personal history with the stone.
In 1989, Beau spent his summer break from college working for Nagalle Designs, a company founded and run by Dolce artist, sculptor James Vilona and once a dominant force in inlaid jewelry manufacturing. Nagalle built its fine reputation on its designs incorporating the coveted Australian opal. Beau wound up taking over Nagalle from James so that James could work full time on his art. By the time Beau sold Nagalle hinself, he had built a reputation as a power player in the wholesale marketing of this precious stone.
