Good morning,
Today I want to tell you the story of how I acquired my first – and only – piece of Iradj Moini jewelry.
Iradj Moini has been designing jewelry in New York since 1989. He designed jewelry for Oscar de la Renta and is respected worldwide for his “imaginative and visionary” designs. [iradjmoini.com]
Each piece is hand-made and inspired to tell a story because each woman has such a presence, you want to cherish that and glorify her. – Iradj
www.iradjmoini.com
Iradj’s designs use semi-precious stones and vintage Czechoslovakian stones set in brass and plated with 18K gold or platinum. Each piece is individually hand-made and one-of-a-kind.
Madeleine Albright’s book Read My Pins Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box: New York, NY. HarperCollins, 2009, introduction by David Revere McFadden inspired me to acquire an Iradj Moini pin. A full-page photo of an adorable Iradj bug pin is featured on page 114 of her book accompanied by a photo of Ms. Albright wearing the pin. The amusing caption reads:
Perhaps it is my imagination, but this pin always seems to end the day higher on my jacket than where it began.
Albright, p. 115
From the moment I read that caption, and saw the photo of the pin, I knew I was going to try to acquire an Iradj Moini bug pin to perhaps mysteriously “crawl” up my shoulder!
I patiently searched the online auctions for an Iradj bug pin that fit my budget. It took me two years to finally acquire the darling Iradj bug pin shown below at a price I was willing to pay.
As you can see, she is an adorable ladybug pin with green stone wings, an amber flawed emerald rhinestone head, high-domed ruby flawed emerald rhinestone eyes, and prong-set crystal rhinestones. She is gold plated over brass with the characteristic Iradj hand-twisted wire details, including a lovely base of rhinestones.
Iradj Moini’s designs are distinctive and original. They are beautifully made with quality materials. My ladybug hasn’t crawled up my shoulder – yet – but I’m willing to wait. Maybe it will happen in another two years!
Happy Collecting!
Love,
Julie