The Love of Beautiful Objects

When I was younger, richer, and always trying to prove something, I would buy my wife jewelry for every special occasion...birthday, holidays, birth of our kids, or just because. Truth is, I love jewelry design, and from the time I lived in Florence, Italy, and window shopped daily on the Ponte Vecchio, or searched for engagement rings (before the internet and before my wife was ready to say yes), I was not shy to walk into jewelry stores, ask questions, become educated, and eventually buy something I really loved. I must be doing something right because my wife still loves everything I have ever bought her and wears it regularly.

Perhaps one of my favorites is a stunning pair of earrings hand made by Michael Good I found at Elleard Heffern Fine Jewelers in Clayton. They are finely made of yellow gold, sculpted into two loops of varying thickness, and hang perfectly because of their balance and lightweight construction. The designer used a technique whereby sheet metal is formed directly with a hammer on a snake-like stake. A flat sheet of metal is shaped by stretching its edges and compressing the center so that the surface develops two curves at right angles to each other. The pattern of the sheet plays a major role in the final form that will be achieved. However, many different forms can be made from the same pattern.

In someways they remind me of a cross between a Calder mobile and a Bernar Venet sculpture.But this story isn’t about me or what I bought, it’s about Elleard Heffern, which has been in business since 1913, and its current patriarch, Kit Heffern, who is celebrating his 50th anniversary at the store which bears his family's name. Despite my opinion on longevity in the publishers letter, Elleard Heffern (the store) is the perfect example of focusing on their knitting, loving what they do, not getting sidetracked by the competition, and foregoing meteoric growth for deep relationships with designers, manufacturers, gem cutters, employees, and principally clients and their heirs.

Today, the discreet, private, gallery-like showroom is on the first floor of the Hanley Corporate Tower (101 S. Hanley Rd.) in Clayton where generations of notable St. Louisans have shopped for jewels which are passed down to future generations. Designed by famed architect Ted Christner 1990 and updated in 2003 by Sasha Malinich, the jewelry studio is intimate, private, and a beautifully designed masterpiece that perfectly complements the showcases, the clientele, and the designers who have been working closely with a Heffern family member for 109 years. If that’s not longevity, I don’t know what is.

Find out more about Heffern's storied past, thriving present, and bright future here: https://issuu.com/sophisticatedliving/docs/slsl_m-j_2022/s/15505651