Royal Crush Necklace

If the colors of Pamela Froman’s jewelry look intense, your eyes are not deceiving you. An award-winning designer, Ms. Froman has been concocting her own alloys to get to the exact tones of gold that she is after, with intriguing and captivating results. 

By way of background, twenty-four karat gold is pure gold (.999% pure). Eighteen karat gold is made up of 18 parts gold and 6 parts of other metals. So, 18K gold is 75% pure. When you buy 18K white gold you are actually getting 18 parts pure gold and six parts nickel or palladium. White gold is usually rhodium-plated to get the white color we are all used to seeing. Most 18K yellow gold is 18 parts pure gold with a mix of copper and silver. If you have ever seen 18K green gold, you know that it is yellow gold with a green undertone. This is achieved by mixing 18 parts gold and 6 parts silver. Rose or pink gold is a mix of gold, copper and sometimes silver. Ms. Froman has been mixing up her own special combinations of these alloys for her jewelry. On to our interview with Ms. Froman.

Q. When and why did you start making alloys rather than just using the standards that are available?

PF: When I was designing my initial collection in 2006, I had a vision of my stacking rings in a rainbow of colors – I even had black in there, but people did not understand it at the time, so I took it out.

Q. What is your process for this doing this kind of inventing?

PF: I was working with my jeweler and we became “alloy chefs.” He had an alloy recipe book, and we played with the different ingredients until we got the look I wanted.

Q. What are you looking for when you create a new alloy?

PF: It is important to me that my pink and yellow gold colors are very warm, because these warmer shades tend to look better on many people’s skin tones, and I want my jewelry to be wearable.

I wanted to make sure that there was a big difference between yellow gold and green gold and, as I worked with the colors, I realized that I liked certain combinations better than others: especially, pink and white and green.  I felt that using green gold in this combination, which later became my Crushed Melange Collection, gave the pieces a more pastel look, and I really liked that.

Later, I decided that I wanted to combine the colors to create a more subtle gradient look, much like the textile dip-dye technique called “ombre.” So, I combined similar colors within each piece to create my Warm Ombre Collection, which consists of pink and yellow gold. I also created a Cool Ombre Collection which has white and green and  yellow and 22K yellow gold in a single piece.

Q. Do you get inspiration for a color or color combos from particular sources?

PF: Not specifically.  I’m always thinking about what I want to design next, and the color of the metals I use in the design is just as important as the color of the stones… sometimes more so, as my multi-color gold pieces are usually set with colorless diamonds. 

Of course, when I use colored stones, the color of the gem directs me to whichever color of gold looks best.  Sometimes, more than one color of gold looks good with a stone, and then I have to choose between what is commonly more accepted (yellow gold) and what would be different, fun, or innovative (pink gold, or pink and yellow.)

I also love contrasts, like you can see in my Harlequin Crush Collection, which combines a warm 22K (alloyed to be a richer pinky-yellow gold) and a cool rhodium-plated 18K white.

Q. Is there anything else you want to tell us about the process of making alloys or the end product?

PF: It took a while to get the pink just right, because I don’t like the bluish hue that a lot of pink golds have. I prefer a more peachy tone.

I have found that my Warm Ombre (pink + yellow) pieces are more readily accepted by jewelry collectors than plain pink pieces, because it is easier to mix the Ombre pieces into an all-yellow collection. Collectors can slowly bring more pink into their jewelry wardrobe.

Q. What awards have you won based on making your own alloys?

PF: I don’t know if the awards were based on making my own alloys, or more on how I mixed the different colors together in a design.  My multi-color designs have won: Town & Country’s Couture Design Award for Best of Gold, the AGTA Spectrum Consumer’s Choice Award for Daywear, Couture Design Award for Best of Bridal, and MJSA’s Vision Award, 1^st Place in Gold Distinction, to name a few.

We wish Ms Froman much success in her continued experimentation with colors of gold. Her designs are capturing not only awards, but also the collective imagination of thousands of people who follow jewelry developments. We wish you all the best, Pamela!

-CJDG Editorial Team

Pamela Froman Fine Jewelry 
Contact: Jilienne Hart
http://www.pamelafroman.com
jilienne@pamelafroman.com
323-954-7436
6139 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90048