Behind The Jewels

It’s the sum of materials, time, and care that goes into manufacturing our designs that makes them luxurious.

Since 2008, we’ve been creating statement accessories that are inspired by travel, artisanal crafts, fine art, and architecture.

Lizzie Fortunato designs are made between our NYC studio and various vendors internationally (from Italy to Thailand to China and many places in between), allowing us to work with expert artisans who specialize in different materials and techniques the world over. We are deeply focused on intentional production: sourcing limited edition, natural, and recycled materials from around the globe, as much as possible and never overproducing.

Our Materials

We design statement jewelry in 24k gold-plated brass and sterling silver, as well as 14k-gold fine jewelry with semi-precious and precious stones.

With the help of skilled artisans and vendors around the globe, we source materials that are often limited edition, handmade, or recycled.

Our signature mixed-medium designs are often comprised of many different materials.

Our glass pieces are produced by an artisan in upstate New York, who heats rods of glass in a 2,000 degree flame and molds them by hand into our designs.

Flame-worked Glass

We use both non-stabilized and stabilized turquoise pendants, cabochons, and beads in our designs. The beads come from mines in Mexico and the American Southwest, and include strands from the now shuttered Sleeping Beauty mine, which yields rich, saturated blue turquoise.

Turquoise

Our pearls are never glass or synthetic. We use predominantly farmed, freshwater pearls, which are harvested in mussel shells. Large, irregularly-shaped baroque pearls feature prominently in our designs which showcase the organic nature of natural pearls.

Freshwater Pearl

Unlike freshwater pearls, which can be drilled into beads, mother-of-pearl (technically "nacre") refers to the iridescent, inner shell layer of mollusks, which we use for pearl cabochons and pendants.

Mother-Of-Pearl

These beads are handcrafted by the Krobo Tribe in Ghana, using recycled glass fused in clay molds. Created with care, these fair trade beads are more than just accessories– they represent a commitment to sustainability and cultural preservation.

Recycled Glass Beads

Our 14k gold pieces are solid gold, meaning that they are not plated. 24k gold is "pure gold", whereas 14k gold is 58.33% pure, with the balance composed of alloys. The benefit to 14k is that the alloys make it hard and durable, making our solid 14k gold pieces both valuable and lasting.

14K Gold

The gemstones in our collection include precious stones (diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires) as well as semiprecious stones (aquamarine, garnet, tanzanite, tourmaline, turquoise...) The four "precious" gemstones are categorized as such due to their historic value and rarity, but all gemstones are rough minerals that have been cut and polished to use for adornment.

Gemstones

We use whitewood and robles wood in our designs. Whitewood beads come from wild mamalis trees in the Philippines, and are naturally off-white in color. Robles wood, a tropical tree, features medium-brown, lightweight, sturdy wood with visible natural grain, giving the beads character.

Wood

Jewelry Care

Our Makers

Many of our pieces are assembled right here under our roof in SoHo, NY.

Within our NYC studio, we employ a small but mighty team of expert jewelry-makers to carefully assemble our pieces. We’re proud that most of these makers are women who work both from our space and from their homes so they can simultaneously look after kids, care for their families, and make living wages.