Jill Alberts

Biography

To most young women, “vintage” means your grandmother’s old jewelry box or a worn out pair of Levi’s. To jewelry designer Jill Alberts, it has always represented a fashionable lifestyle and a world of creative possibilities. “Everything old is new again,” says Alberts, “if you know how to make it work in your world.” With a successful company under her belt, she decidedly knows how to make it work by designing modern day jewelry from pieces dating back from the elegant 1800’s and the decadent art deco era through the fabulous ’50’s and ’60’s up to the glam ’80’s.

Alberts discerningly collects everything from turn-of-the-century lockets, pendants, pins and shoe buckles to hand-painted spiritual Buddha’s and Italian mosaic pieces from the 1800’s, and possesses the rare ability to incorporate them into her modern urban lifestyle. For her signature collection, she uses pendants from all eras and revamps the total design to mesh with the latest trends. “If I feel a certain color is going to be outstanding for a season, it will be incorporated into the design’s frame or chain, so that the vintage treasure will remain the centerpiece without looking dated,” says Alberts. To this end, an antique bar pin might be hung from a delicate chain of rose quartz, 80’s inspired gold mesh woven into a ’20’s style tassel necklace, or a glittery rhinestone brooch fastened on a pearl-strung choker. Paired with jeans or gown, the look becomes past meets present glamour.