Hope Necklace by Lexi Lu Designs, $108
Designer sisters Allison Leigh Roden and Melissa Gayle Mastrolia, the women behind Lexi Lu Designs, desired to embrace life’s miracles and turn them into fulfilling realities. This desire was the inspiration behind the Lexi Lu jewelry line.
One sister – Allison, had a passion for vintage clothes and jewelry, and wanted to bring new life to long forgotten treasures. Becoming a new mom changed her priorities and perspective. She needed a way to provide a stable future for her daughter and to achieve a life-long dream. With her training from the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, she had the necessary skills to forecast and design trends, and was poised to take the next step.
The other sister – Melissa, made various gifts, ranging from mini ornaments to elaborate murals, for friends and family using semi-precious stones, filigrees, and shells.
Melissa’s fine arts talent together with Allison’s sense of style enabled this dynamic duo to create Lexi Lu, unique custom-made jewelry with an extensive array of designs to compliment the individual style of every woman.
Lexi Lu, named after Allison’s baby girl, Alexandra Luisa hopes to inspire other women to embrace their inner spirits. Attached to every hand-crafted Lexi Lu necklace and bracelet is a garnet charm, which represents the month Allison's daughter was born.
Lexi Lu has been featured on Lucky, People, American Idol, Access Hollywood, Extra, ET, Live with Regis and Kelly, Flip This House, Fox News and many more.
We received the limited edition Hope necklace from them. It is a gold filled hand hammered oval pendant featuring a teardrop carnelian briolette, hanging from a 15” to 17” adjustable gold chain. Jordin Sparks, the new American Idol, sported this necklace on one of their shows.
The gold version is also available with a smoky quartz briolette and retails for $108. The sterling silver version is available with rose quartz briolette, black onyx briolette, turquoise briolette, and mother of pearl briolette. It retails for $98.
The Hope necklace benefits Katherine McPhee’s outreach, 50% of the proceeds goes to the Lollipop Theater Network. Lollipop arranges private screenings of newly released movies for children suffering from debilitating illnesses. These children are usually confined to hospitals or other secluded environments preventing them from going to movie theaters.
This is such a beautiful piece. It’s large enough to be noticed, but small enough to appear understated. It has classic styling that exudes refinement, sophistication, and elegance. Effortless is how I can best describe it. It sums up the beauty of the piece in its simplicity.
I was invited to an after-dinner wine and dessert party and I wore the necklace with a V-neck tunic like this babydoll by Julie’s Closet. I didn’t wear any other pieces of jewelry so it was my sole accessory. It stands pretty well on its own as I received many admiring comments on it. Of course as soon as I mention that both Katherine and Jordin have worn this necklace, I get even more attention on it and twice the number of compliments!
Whether you like to wear jewelry that has been seen on celebrities or not, what’s important to remember about the Hope necklace is that 50% of its proceeds are donated to the Lollipop Theater, showing movies to children confined in hospitals. Another way to look at it is that you’re only spending half on the necklace because the other half, you can think of as your contribution towards a good cause. Doesn’t this make you want to buy one in every color?
Reviewer: Chic Techie
