How can luxury jewelry be made of plastic? Apart from the usual gamut of gold, silver and diamonds, we have seen pearl jewelry, bronze jewelry, even armor jewelry. But plastic luxury jewelry is something else altogether.
Berlin artist Denise Julia Reyton creates plastic jewelry, which is probably unlike anything you have ever seen before. Reyton uses a process she calls “material painting” while combining a range of objects of daily use with semi precious stones.
Reyton’s new series is thus aptly named “Precious Plastic”. The designer is not trying to give competition to Chanel jewelry here. She is simply creating a range of statement pieces for fashionistas that are bold enough to team their Diane von Furstenburg dresses and Christian Louboutin shoes or Dolce and Gabbana outfits with colorful plastic jewelry.
Through her “material painting” process, Reyton puts together regular and valuable objects. The everyday objects that she uses could range from family keepsakes to travel souvenirs to childhood mementos. The resultant is these brightly colored creations. In Reyton’s words, she “draws” with stones and chains, putting together various materials and colors to create “a whole new creature”.
She combines all these varied items, and finally casts them in silicon, a process that brings a “decorative equality” to all the ingredients. Thus, a beaded chain from childhood suddenly acquires the same stature as an amethyst stone. This is an intriguing art and Reyton describes her “Precious Plastic” pieces as “poems for the body”. I am not too sure how many jewelry loving women will dare to wear these pieces. But those who do will surely make a fashion statement of their own.
