THE HOURGLASS

Lina Noel studied art and design in high school and college, but it wasn’t until she got engaged that she made her first piece of jewelry. “My family is extremely eccentric, and I’m used to crazy stories,” Noel says of her Eastern European relatives. “When I got engaged, my mom said, ‘I have smuggled four diamonds into America. Me and Gloria, we swallowed them. But we got into trouble twice. We have only two left over. I will give you one stone.’ That’s how my family works.”

A family friend known only as Andy the Jeweler suggested to Noel that she make her own ring. Having grown up with art and antique dealers for parents, jewelry design came naturally to Noel. “I grew up with a mom who would spend hours teaching me what a real diamond is and how to tell what a fake pearl is rather than teach me how to cook pasta properly,” she says. “So I know how tell you if something’s a real pearl, but I don’t necessarily know how to boil water.” After making her first own engagement ring, Noel designed five more pieces of jewelry. Those designs led to commissions, and soon her eponymous line of jewelry was born.

For Whisper Editions, Lina Noel has designed a one-of-a-kind Double Nugget Ring. Using a combination of bronze, brass, and an alloy that lends the shine of gold, Noel makes each piece by hand, using only sculpture tools and no drills. The ring is completely adjustable — an homage, Noel says, to “the ever-changing size of our fingers.” For the two nuggets, one large and one small, Noel took inspiration from the tiny boulders she spotted in the Grand Canyon. “I approach designing jewelry wanting to make things that when you put them on, they give you power,” Noel says. “The way high heels give you power.”