This designer’s modern-meets-vintage-inspired bridal pieces embrace new traditions.
Whether you are in the market for a bridal ring or simply scanning Instagram for designers who are thinking out of the box, it’s time to familiarize yourself with Michelle Berlinger, designer of Berlinger Jewelry. Her mosaic-inspired diamond rings are eye-arresting in their poetic compositions and distinctive aesthetic. Blending artistry, captivating designs and wearability, her pieces are both an homage to the ring silhouettes of the Art Deco era and custom designs that distinguish Berlinger Jewelry from other bridal collections.
“When customers discover Berlinger, the first thing I often hear is, ‘I’ve scoured the internet and never seen anything like this,’ which is the reaction every designer hopes to achieve with their creations. I am humbled, and yet I work on these intricate designs until the multi-cuts of stones fit into the patterns to create each artistic montage, which is different from the next,” the designer says. Her rings are “geared to consumers who have graduated from the typical solitaire brilliant cut and want a piece that feels as artful as it is practical,” she notes. Here Berlinger discusses her process, signature style and take on bridal jewelry in today’s market.
When did you start creating jewelry, and what were the first rings you made?
I went to Dartmouth College undergrad where the school has a full working metalsmithing studio. I was taken under the wing of a fabulous art jeweler named Jeff Georgantes and got to learn every aspect of the manufacturing process. I lived in that studio for most of my college career and ended up doing a senior thesis about feminism in the jewelry industry. At that point, I had started making engagement and wedding rings for friends and professors, and realized I was most interested in working in the bridal industry, building lasting symbols for people, which they could wear now and pass on to the next generation. The first engagement rings I made were for a couple of grad students. They were proposing to each other, so I actually made both a men’s and women’s engagement ring, The woman’s ring was a 1-carat round brilliant in a diamond–shaped setting with milgrain and the man’s was a half-round band with different patterns of jade inlaid into the ring. It’s funny, even though this was over 10 years ago, this feels very in line with my current modern-meets-vintage-inspired style.
How do you define your signature style?
The Berlinger signature style is a synthesis of Art Deco flourishes with modern materials. My signature collection, Diamond Mosaic, takes different diamond shapes and creates unique patterns around different center-stone options. My goal is to create jewelry that felt as dazzling and intricate as any vintage piece, but that is not fragile as pieces that could be 80 to 100 years old. They are more secure and comfortable to wear every day. Most of the rings in the collection which include other styles give a nod to antique and vintage designs but always with a thoroughly modern sensibility. The range of style is quite wide since I often customize every design and take on almost every single custom project. This lends itself to more and more ideas, and really gets the design ball rolling in many directions. It’s both challenging and fun to work this way.
Why is Art Deco one of your biggest influences?
Art Deco jewelry feels like it offers the best range of shapes, pattern, color, and texture to pull design elements from and transform into new work. It’s so dynamic; it can be colorful or all white, it can be platinum or yellow gold. As a designer, I feel like I need to juggle all of these different elements to envision something that feels truly unique and eye-catching. I often see pieces in archives or in vintage stores and wish I could change elements in them to make them feel modern, approachable and more versatile. This is how many of my design ideas are created. It’s decorative but can be pared down without losing its essence.
How are you changing the codes and interpreting these influences within your own aesthetic?
I’d like to think I’m helping to redefine the code of what an engagement ring should be. I started the company with the hopes of extending the engagement ring tradition to all people, not just women, throwing traditional sensibilities out the window, and designing something new. I’ve always thought jewelry was a social object we could use to empower consumers, and I believe redefining some of the stricter gender codes in the industry to be more inclusive using design would accomplish that. Do you need to wear a wedding band on the same side of your hand? No! Do you need the metal colors to match on your rings? No! Do you need your ring to look like everyone else’s? No! I love telling customers, it’s their symbol, their love story, their style; they can do whatever they want to! I also love encouraging women to propose, encouraging men to wear engagement rings, designing things that appeal to all across the gender-identity spectrum, and in general, redefining the norms for engagement-ring traditions in the bridal industry. Lastly, a lot of people are surprised when they find out that most of our rings can start at around $4,000, which feels like a way more approachable budget for millennials. You get a big-diamond look without having to spend a lot of money.
What are your most iconic creations?
Diamond Mosaic feels like the most iconic creation; it is the reason most people discover and go with Berlinger and feels like it’s genuine and authentic to my aesthetic. Specifically, the round shape rose-cut diamond mosaic ring, which perfectly marries vintage and modern style, as well as the emerald-cut diamond mosaic ring. Both are fabulous platforms for customization. Our turquoise and diamond Art Deco Five Diamond Ring is another iconic Berlinger ring — the confluence of colors, bright white diamonds on bright blue really makes you stop and look.
In your opinion, how has the bridal sector evolved?
Now more than ever, people really want to be a part of the process of designing and defining their own ring. Women feel more comfortable being involved in the process of their own engagement. It’s less of a surprise and more of a collective decision, which is in keeping with my feelings of jewelry as empowerment. I also think consumers like being connected to a designer or a brand. Adding an extra layer of connectivity goes a long way in the ring design and purchasing process. It helps that my clients like to work one-on-one with me as a designer, and when I bring them into the decision-making process it makes their ring feel extra special.
You also create men’s jewelry: Is demand growing?
Just as women are breaking boundaries in bridal-jewelry traditions, a lot of men are beginning to think more outside of the box with their choice of wedding band. I’ve noticed men wanting wedding bands that feel bespoke and decorative, something with character and design rather than plain or muted styles. Similarly, a lot of men are really drawn to the Art Deco design era. It was an era that offered an array of diamond rings for men, and I think it’s having a renaissance today with millennials. Most of the men’s rings I design and sell have diamonds, rubies or emeralds, and often engraving as well. I have noticed an uptick in demand in the last three years in men’s engagement rings. This feels like a remarkable step in a changing narrative around gender, equality and inclusion.
Main image: Designer Michelle Berlinger. Photo: Michelle Berlinger.
