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Time stamp: Etten Eller jewelry delivers understated elegance

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Designer Tini Bloom’s 2-year-old jewelry line Etten Eller is a study in contrasts. The L.A native and Brooklyn resident crafts delicate “pearls” from nickel-plated brass and strings thin brass “sequins” onto Japanese cotton, creating necklaces and bracelets that are at once understated and industrial-looking.

Bloom began her line by salvaging old pocket watch parts and repurposing the dainty but detailed mechanisms into jewelry. She still produces her pocket watch collection, but is recently more focused on the strong and modern pieces such as the thick nickel-plated discs strung together on a gold chain, which has an almost tribal feel and looks great when layered with similar but smaller necklaces.

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Time still plays a huge part of Bloom’s collection, even though pocket watches are no longer the focus. The designer names each piece with a date that marks a significant moment in history. 03 16 1972 is the date John Lennon and Yoko Ono were served deportation papers, as well as the name of a gold chain necklace with small silver springs. And 07 06 1610 is a necklace of hefty silver discs strung onto Japanese cotton, as well as when Galileo officially reported the discovery of moons around Jupiter.

“I like how jewelry can mark time,” Bloom said during a visit to the L.A. Times offices this week. Speaking of time, she has a long history with a few other successful fashion designers/L.A natives. Bloom introduced Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock of Vena Cava at her 16th birthday party shortly before the two departed for New York to attend Parsons. The three are still great friends and talk about collaborating in the near future. “I watched them start their line together in Brooklyn,” Bloom said. “I find it exciting to share with people what’s possible and I got to see how to [start a line] through watching Sophie and Lisa. That was really inspiring.”

Etten Eller jewelry ranges from $250 to $350 and is available at Barneys Co-op and Creatures of Comfort.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

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