In January of 2011, designer Katrina LaPenne left her five-year career with the renowned Manhattan goldsmiths Reinstein Ross to follow her dream of launching her own namesake brand. The company would not only be built on her foundation as a studied jeweler, but would maintain her strong ideals as a designer – she would develop one of a kind pieces that were built completely from scratch, creating each and every detail by hand and offering her customers true heirloom pieces that would stand the test of time.
From her earliest childhood memories Katrina always knew she was meant to create beautiful things. After earning her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Jewelry & Light Metals from the Rhode Island School Of Design, she returned to her native Brooklyn to join the New York City jewelry community. While working as a goldsmith at Reinstein Ross, LaPenne was simultaneously commissioned to produce several runway collections for designer Charles Nolan. During this same time, she began to construct her own metal art collection as a personal side project. After her Silver Claw Earring was featured as one of “500 Earrings” in the Lark Book series on contemporary jewelry artists, the designer decided to launch her own collection and dedicate herself full time to her jewelry line.
Inspired by nature’s magnificence, ancient artifacts and exotic decorative objects, LaPenne has developed a series of collections including detailed jewels that range from everyday styles like scaled serpents and ornately engraved pendants to statement-making pieces like brushed Egyptian hoops and oversized talons. The designer spends countless hours using fine hand-instruments to develop each each creation, meticulously carving out of wax or fabricating out of metal, before making a casting mold. She then uses these molds to duplicate each style in a variety of precious and semi-precious stones and metals. Katrina goes even further to produce her Old World Diamonds collection for which each pendant, ring and earring is fabricated by hand, surrounding each individual stone in its own custom 14K Gold setting
Katrina has vowed to keep her company as socially and environmentally conscious as possible, using recycled metals from both Hoover & Strong, which produces 100% recycled metals and reclaimed diamonds, as well as responsible casting companies. All of her diamonds are either repurposed/ recycled diamonds or purchased from suppliers who comply with the Kimberly process and standards.