Bazaar-prized bling-bling

Have you ever coveted someone else’s eye-catching jewelry – or what is known as "bling-bling" to the hip-hop crowd – to the point that you wanted to ask them to take it off so you could try it on yourself? That’s how I felt when meeting Camille Lontok for the first time. Her earrings and bracelets just looked so yummy: candy-colored briolettes (pineapple-shaped, multi-faceted stones) dangling from delicate strands of white gold. Turns out the 33-year-old jewelry-maker had them specially made from her own design. And I’m not the first one who’s ever drooled over one of her creations.

Originally a retailer by trade, Lontok designed jewelry strictly as a hobby. But when customers started approaching her at bazaars, where she’d help her husband hawk watches, bags and caps at their stall Clockworks, a lightbulb went on. "Buyers would come up to me and ask, ‘Where’d you get your necklace?’," Camille recalls the first piece she designed – a flat, round, black onyx disc on a leather strap sprinkled with diamonds. "That’s when I found out I could carry accessories, too."

She started experimenting with Korean silver, mixing and matching stones to make her jewelry look different. Then, while surfing trendy websites like NeimanMarcus.com, she saw that "semi-precious stones were coming back." That, plus her observation that there wasn’t much jewelry in Manila in the gray zone between expensive and cheap, fueled the birth of her company, Metals & Stones. Her first "babies" – or should I say, baubles – were charm bracelets, all 10 of which promptly sold out when she offered them at a bazaar. Not one to rest on her laurels, Lontok set about making her jewelry even more affordable – by stringing them herself instead of having a supplier do it. "Some of my friends are biyaheras (frequent travelers), so I’d ask them to get stones for me," she says, "or if they knew someone who imports from India, Bangkok, China and Korea."

Her resulting jewelry collection, which includes new trinkets every month, consists of deliciously wearable necklaces, bracelets, watches, and now earrings for women who, like Lontok, are a little bit conservative, and a little bit rock-and-roll (at heart). There are the bold statement-makers: Necklaces with chunky geometric pendants or a row of tooth-like ocean jaspers that a character like Samantha from Sex and the City would wear. Then there are discreetly feminine pieces that a character like Charlotte would wear: Pastel-colored necklaces and bracelets formed with whimsically shaped beads – from tiny flowers to butterflies to chess pieces – all liberally sprinkled with authentic Swarovski crystals, a favorite of hers. ("I don’t mix in cheap materials like plastics, metal spacers or German ‘Swarovskis’ but the real Austrian stuff.") It’s jewelry for women who like to stand out in a quiet, tasteful way; it’s bling-bling for those who like to wear a little bling every day but can’t afford the accompanying high prices. Lontok’s bracelets cost between P400 and P1,000, necklaces P800 to P3,500, and watches P800 to P2,500.

"Some people make jewelry that’s really pang-artista, really bulky and exotic, but I try to suit the personality of my clients," says the decidedly low-key designer, who’s currently struggling with the style dilemmas of being a pregnant, first-time mother herself. "My clients will ask me, ‘Kaya ko bang suotin ‘yan? (Can I carry that off?)’, so I try to make wearable pieces."

Lontok’s baubles are also one-of-a-kind and therefore, special. Although beads and stones are normally bought at a volume that forces most jewelers to make many copies of one design, Camille insists on making just one, like a haute couturier. If a client begs for a necklace like the one she saw Kris Aquino wear on TV, or gems similar to the ones a rival customer just walked away with, Lontok will cheerfully oblige, but has to ask the owner first for permission to duplicate the design.

Next in line for Camille? "I’m not into expanding, I just want to keep making value-for-money investment pieces for as long as possible."

"Affordable investment jewelry" is apparently not an oxymoron in Lontok’s world. Not bad for a former hobbyist with an undeniable affinity for the (semi-) precious things in life.

Jewelry available year-round at Clockworks, The Fort bazaar at NBC Tent, Fort Bonifacio; and Underground, an accessories store located at the lower level of Goldcrest in Makati. Wholesale buyers are also welcome. Call 643-8838 or (0917)528-1380.