Cathy Waterman
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE
Pomegranate ruby and diamond pendant with chain, $11,965. Blue topaz and diamond lace arabesque earrings, $9,570. Fine rustic diamond ring, $19,360. Waterman in her office.
“All of a sudden I started drawing jewels, and they looked like nothing anybody was making—they looked medieval, with turrets and lace, like really refined, beautiful buried treasure,” says Cathy Waterman from the pink dragon-covered couch in her hidden-away studio on Los Angeles’ Westside of how she began designing jewelry some 25 years ago. Inspiration has never been a problem for the L.A. native, who feels compelled to make beautiful things not in the name of building a brand but for a personal connection: “It’s like this well that goes down to the bottom of the earth.” Her creations are influenced by everything from stories of the Byzantine era (she studied history before getting her law degree) to the ferocity of nature to the depths of her imagination. “I see jewels in my dreams—things that actually don’t exist. And then I make them appear,” says the fine jeweler, who works at a large hand-hammered iron desk surrounded by collections of curiosities that hold special meaning to her: carved wood, tramp art, Austrian art-nouveau pieces and photographs. The first thing Waterman ever made was a pair of 22-karat-gold tassel earrings with diamonds and tiny Japanese cultured pearls. “As a girl I rode horses and I always wore a cowboy jacket with fringe,” says the CFDA member, whose talismanic jewels are worn by First Lady Michelle Obama and Julia Louis-Dreyfus on “Veep.” Tassels and fringe became common themes, alongside signatures including thorns, lace and leaves. Her diamond-encrusted Love ring is iconic, and her engagement and wedding rings are imbued with much love as well. The self-described hippie has always used recycled metals and ethically sourced stones, but she’s just as likely to incorporate elements like fossilized pinecones, sand dollars or something she happens upon while walking in the forest. And though Waterman is constantly imagining and making jewelry, she wears little herself. Meaningful charms—a locket, a child engraved with her kids’ names and a juggler—hang around her neck on leather. The designer’s intricate, whimsical jewelry is clearly labeled at Barneys New York (its Manhattan store was the first to buy her entire collection in 1990), but it’s not necessary. Everything she creates is instantly identifiable thanks to her distinctive aesthetic, from the fourth-century sword–inspired flatware, handmade sterling-silver candle holders and yellow porcelain dinnerware in her home collection to the beautiful burl-wood salad bowls and wooden tables she recently started making. “I don’t have a lot of interest in repetition,” says Waterman. “But I like that [my work] is recognizable to people who don’t even know me. It’s about that gasp—it makes me really happy to take their breath away.” cathywaterman.com. —Kathryn Romeyn
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RING AND BRACELET: COURTESY OF CATHY WATERMAN. HAIR: ALEJANDRA MARTINEZ. MAKEUP: MIA YANG USING NARS
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