Best known for her stunning Etruscan and Neoclassical intaglios and gemstone pendants, link bracelets and gold cocktail rings, Elizabeth Locke is also an avid collector of decorative arts and antiques.
Elizabeth Locke didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a national magazine writer, a world-famous jeweler, a world-famous world traveler, or an accomplished historian. She didn’t imagine having an iconic home in a small South Carolina coastal town or hosting 1,000 visitors on Halloween night. She didn’t dream of owning a farm in Virginia and raising Angus cattle. It never occurred to her that she would achieve incredible success in business.
But, alas, all these non-dreams came true. Today Elizabeth Locke is a world famous jewelry brand.
The Elizabeth Locke Jewels brand is judged by museum collections, exclusive accounts at Neiman Marcus, inquiries from the nation’s top jewelry stores and a constant stream of national accolades and media attention. The jewelry line specializes in one-of-a-kind, handcrafted pieces so exquisite that the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts wrote a book about its collection of antique micromosaics. Its stores in Boise, Virginia, and Manhattan receive rave reviews for their atmosphere and design.
Locke grew up in Staunton, Virginia, the daughter of college English professor Mary Baldwin. Her father wrote a textbook that went through 15 editions, allowing the family to travel to ancient ruins around the world every summer. It was on these travels that Elizabeth first saw 18th and 19th century micromosaics, miniature scenes created by laying tiny glass tiles onto a prepared adhesive surface.
