Hello everyone, welcome to “Tea & Gemstones,” I’m your host, Jen.
Today I am launching a feature I am calling “Jewelry You Should Know About”- I am going to highlight a designer or a shop you may not know was out there in the world. For this maiden exploration, I wanted to feature a shop close to my heart- The Golden Bear.
The shop’s iconic motif is a semi-abstract image of a bear- set in profile upon all fours, a gentle sloping line from nose to tail, like the fin of a classic sports car- It is an incredibly distinctive shape, done by no one else in this style.
Per the Golden Bear website, “out distinctive little bruin was recognized as The Symbol of the Vail Valley Visitors from all over the world take home our Golden Bear as an endearing reminder of our beautiful alpine village.” So each Golden Bear is created through the ancient process of lost-wax casting. Lost-wax casting is a way old school way to make jewelry, just about the oldest there is. The oldest known example of lost-wax casting ever found is over 6,000 years old.
Here’s the CliffsNotes version of how it works in today’s time: A wax model is carved and then covered in a plastic mold. The wax is melted and the space that is now empty is filled with a molten precious metal, usually gold or silver. When the plastic mold is removed, the precious metal piece is revealed and hand polished. For 45 years, the Golden Bear used the lost-wax method as the execution of their designs- designs that creatively interpreted their iconic bear symbol into countless ornamental motifs.
A cluster of hollow silver bear outlines form a pendant- from a distance appearing as lacework, their true individual silhouettes a treat given to those allowed close to the wearer’s chest. Bears adorn rings, bands cut both slim and wide. Minuscule 14k gold ear studs come in graduating sizes, titled ‘baby’, ‘petite’ & ‘tiny’- only 1/8 of an inch wide- can glint on your ear lobes.
The bears can be covered in pave diamonds- black or pure white- cut into reliefs on smooth bangles, or dangle from huggie hoops. One highlight of the Golden Bear for me is their broad use of mixing metals in one jewelry piece. I am forever campaigning for more mixed metal jewelry to exist in the world- that is using yellow, silver, rose and black metals all together. The Golden Bear does metal mixing expertly. They have more two-tone jewelry pieces than I have ever seen in any store’s repertoire. One oft-used style is to apply 14k yellow gold bears onto sterling silver designs to really make the color contrast pop and the bear stands out. I love how they incorporated oxidized sterling silver, which means it is a deep black color. This is a more unusual metal choice but the beautiful bears in bright yellow or white gold really shine against the black background.
The most iconic and classic jewelry collection the Golden Bear makes is their Mama Bear necklace. Full disclosure- I received a 14k gold one as my push present when I gave birth to my daughter. This necklace featured the bear design at the end of a 28 inch continuous chain. There is no clasp, no latch- it’s just a smooth never ending chain. I love, love, love this. I hate when my necklaces get turned around and the clasp is showing in the front. I don’t know about yall- but when I was in high school, if you ever saw someone’s necklace with the clasp showing you said “someone is thinking about you!” and pointed it out to them. I remember my friend Tiffy doing that to me all the time. But that never happens with the Mama bear, it is always perfect. The necklace’s bear can be done in so many different ways- all the precious metals of course, but also stone versions in black onyx, turquoise, mother of pearl and lapis. You can even get versions covered in pave diamonds. It is such a classic piece of jewelry available in so many different versions that you feel like you belong to the tribe, but you can exercise some individual personalization and choice too. When you receive your Mama bear necklace, there is a card enclosed with the packaging that tells you your bear should be worn pointing to your heart.
I really admire the way The Golden Bear has this core identity to their brand since they were founded in 1975, but they have never ever let it go stale. They keep reinventing new ways to use their bear design that continue to feel so fresh and creative, yet like instant classic pieces. They have a great catalog they send out multiple times a year- whenever I get mine I save it to read leisurely after my daughter goes to bed, it’s almost like a mini-art exhibition between the pages.
The Golden Bear is on Instagram, @theGoldenBearVail and they have a great website, thegoldenbear.com, where you can browse and request one of their amazing catalogs. I thought the Golden Bear flies under a lot of people’s jewelry store radars, I hope you’ve had your interest peaked and you’ll check them out.
I hope the Golden Bear doesn’t mind being my first JUSKA… jewelry you should know about. I’m hoping JUSKA is an acronym that can catch on, people sharing fun designs and stores other people might not know about. If you have an idea for a future JUSKA, please message me on Instagram, at Tea and Gemstones.
That’s all for this episode, please check our show notes the link to our blog for a transcript of today’s show and the bibliography notes. Our theme song is Sunrise Expedition by Joseph McDade. Okay, till next time, Stay sparkly.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Thoury M, Mille B, Séverin-Fabiani T, Robbiola L, Réfrégiers M, Jarrige JF, Bertrand L. High spatial dynamics-photoluminescence imaging reveals the metallurgy of the earliest lost-wax cast object. Nat Commun. 2016 Nov 15;7:13356. doi: 10.1038/ncomms13356. PMID: 27843139; PMCID: PMC5116070.
The Golden Bear. “The Golden Bear || The Symbol of Vail Valley.” The Golden Bear, thegoldenbear.com. Accessed 6 Sept. 2021.
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