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J. Hannah is a brand after my own heart, and the founder, Jess Hannah Revesz, is a kindred spirit. She has been described as a minimalist, chic fashionista but when I read her interviews, I see her as more of a muted, sophisticated, ethereal soul practicing restrained maximalism through intentional design choices – and it translates well to her jewelry line.
Growing up, my mother, who was a fashionista in the truest sense of the word, would always describe my style as “old age”. Despite her efforts to mold me into someone who loved diamonds, glitter and glam, my calling remained with materials that portrayed their travels through time – like iron that rusts, silver that dulls, and linens that yellow. So it only makes sense that I fell in love with a jewelry line that mimics vintage styles using 100% recycled materials of the finest quality – the epitome of making something new of old. In fact, 100% of J. Hannah’s cast gold and diamonds are recycled.
When Jess began her company, she was herself making each and every piece. As the company grew, she has maintained that level of sustainability. It goes beyond sourcing truly good materials, although she does that too. Her efforts extend throughout the entire company, from employment to packaging. All employees are guaranteed a fair wage and good working environments. The packaging remains as plastic free as possible. And the products? Well, they remain hand-made.
The collection of jewelry contains styles you would have found in your grandmother’s vanity drawer. Signet rings and hoop earrings dot the online catalog, with modern takes on pendants and lockets mixed in for good measure. Despite the vintage inspiration, the pieces have been updated for the modern woman. This pivot ring, for example, which mimics a fidget spinner, helpful during high anxiety days filled with plenty of work and daily goings-on. Or this Objet Pendant, reminiscent of lockets that used to hold your loved one’s photo or note, but can now be used to hold a back-up hair tie, an Advil, a CBD mint, or a special quartz talisman. My absolute favorite, though, is this niche ring – the perfect be-all, end-all wedding ring for life. Speaking of wedding rings, Hannah recently co-founded a company solely focused on matrimony, called Ceremony.
Far from simply having good, clean, modern design, part of what caught my attention was J. Hannah’s consideration for even the minutest of details. I found it endearing that the company released their own nail polish to fully capture the overall esthetics. In other words, “Why stop at the jewelry itself?” With playful names such as Patina and Eames, the polish collection really pays homage to things of the past, while introducing an application for this generation of young women. They are pleasingly unexpected shades that my mother would never approve of, that which resembles the color of mold and miso soup (Miso, by the way, is my favorite hue). But they are colors that are true to me, each once matching my jewelry. J. Hannah’s big picture mindfulness coupled with extreme scrutiny of the little things that add to the whole is a mirroring of the way I myself approach the world.
Lastly, I would like to leave you with J. Hannah’s words about owning jewelry, in general.
“Never taken off” is how we want our customers to wear their jewelry, but it’s also a context for their purchase. We do not expect people to be able to afford our jewelry on a whim—it’s a luxury product. We see a lot of language used in our industry that tells women “this product will empower you” or “you need and deserve this,” as though jewelers are providing something necessary or benevolent, which is such a fiction. Jewelry is extra, it’s fun. It’s special and rare and expensive and hopefully something the customer will deeply consider as a special purchase that will last them a lifetime. We envision our customer as someone who saves up for that perfect piece of jewelry they’ve wanted for so long, or to commemorate a major life event. Hopefully they will pass it down one day as an heirloom. This feels closer to reality, which is important when we are continually exposed to entire Instagram feeds that promote excess as the norm. The prevalence of fast fashion works against us in so many ways and everything comes back to sustainability. Trend-based shopping is a wasteful pursuit. If the consumer started thinking about their purchases from a cost per wear perspective, it could change the whole design industry.
-J. Hannah in an interview with Forbes magazine
J. Hannah’s jewelry is far from cheap. It is actually very expensive. But the price reflects quality, as well as a way of living. It accounts for the difficulty in finding sustainable materials, as well as providing well for those who make our stuff. It is meant to change your spending habit, as well as the way you view the fashion industry. Not everyone can go out and buy themselves a J. Hannah ring, just because. Nobody, in my opinion, should. Restraining ourselves from whimsical purchasing of products will rewire our brains to not satisfy our wants so immediately, as well as build a higher sense of value for what we do spend money on. I am all for it.
