Rising Star

Pamela Froman - As Individual As Her Designs

“I believe that individuality is the true source of beauty,” says Pamela Froman, whose goal is to create unique works of art that will be worn, not locked away in a safe.

By Cynthia Unninayar

Pamela Froman is as passionate about her designs as she is about her design philosophy: “Each piece of my jewelry is an individual expression from my soul. My mission is to create collectible jewelry that is as hip as it is timeless, so that it can be passed down and appreciated for generations. I believe the more a piece is worn, the more it takes on the personality of the wearer.”

Pamela’s designs are mostly one-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces, and unique handmade chains, created from platinum, 22K gold, or a combination of 18K yellow, pink, green, and white gold. She hand-selects all diamonds and gemstones to get the highest quality. By combining them with different colors of metal, she creates distinctive and contemporary pieces that “can be worn with designer jeans on the weekend, or a designer gown on the red carpet,” she adds. Each item is handcrafted and no two are identical, even if they are similar in design.

"I love irregular surfaces, so most of my collection is textured with a special hand-hammering technique I call ‘Crushed.’ Combined with a satin finish, this crushed texture gives a much softer, more natural feel to the metal.” One of her other favorite design elements is the scroll. “It’s a very organic, feminine shape, and I love the way it flows,” she says.

Pamela began making jewelry as gifts for friends while attending FIT in NYC in Fashion Design. They were such a hit that she created a small collection to sell at craft shows and street fairs. During one of these shows, a large costume jewelry company approached her to design for them. “I took this as a sign,” she muses, “and decided to change my major to Jewelry Design.”

On the advice of her professor, she moved to Paris, where she stayed three years and designed high-fashion jewelry collections for Courreges, Cacharel, Carita, and Guy Larouche. These pieces were used for both their branded jewelry lines, as well as for accessories on the runway.

After returning to the U.S., Pamela started a Directional Resourcing business. “I wrote extensive jewelry color and trend reports with detailed drawings, based on my observations at trade shows, as well as stores in the U.S., Paris, San Tropez, London, Milan, and Basel,” she explains. During this time, she was also head designer at Keyes Jewelers, where she designed for Valentino, Natori, Joan Collins Collection, and private labels.

"While I enjoyed the challenge of designing for established labels, I wasn’t able to fully express my personal definition of exceptional jewelry,” she adds. So, in 2003, she began work on what would become her signature line, the “Pamela Froman Fine Jewelry Collection,” officially launched January of 2004. Today, she is certainly one of the brightest Rising Stars in the world of fine jewelry.

www.pamelafroman.com