Though its website has been down for a week, Christie’s proceeded with its jewelry and watch auctions on May 13-14, bringing in nearly $80 million.
Feel-Good Friday: A Generous Donation, Sealed with a Cuff
Kate Lacroix wanted to donate one of her kidneys to a friend in need. She wasn’t a match, but that didn’t stop her from giving.
Boulder, Colo.--It started out as a very big favor to an old, and very dear, friend.
Boulder, Colorado resident Kate Lacroix, 43, recently was looking to reconnect with her college friend Masa Holle and went to the first place people generally do today when looking to track down old friends--Facebook.
The first thing she found there wasn’t a personal page but a support page called “A Kidney for Masa.”
Via the social media site, Lacroix found out that Holle, whom she hadn’t seen in seven years, was experiencing kidney failure and in need of a donor. So she stepped forward and offered to donate one of hers.
While that might seem like an outsized offer for a friend, Lacroix explained that Holle was more than just a friend--she was a licensed therapist who helped her cope after an attack in college left her traumatized. Because of this she “absolutely” did not hesitant to volunteer as a donor.
Lacroix quickly found out through a simple blood test that she was not a match for Holle, but that there is a program called the paired exchange that would allow her to donate a kidney to someone with whom she is a match.
And while this might seem like a really outsized offer for someone you don’t know at all, it wasn’t a difficult decision for Lacroix. She has a kind spirit, and giving comes naturally to her.
She saw getting involved in organ donation as, for lack of a better term, her “thing,” her way of contributing in a culture where everybody excels.
“Everybody in Boulder does something--they climb 14’ers (14,000-foot mountains) or they do Ironmans. But I’ve never really found, like, a ‘thing,’” Lacroix says. “I’m just a generalist. But, for some reason, organ donation seemed like the easiest thing in the world.”
Before they put her under for surgery to remove her kidney, Lacroix said a thought popped into her head: she would need a medic alert bracelet now.
By the time she woke up, she had determined that the piece needed to be fine jewelry, the most chic-looking medic alert bracelet she could get, and turned to the man who did her wedding ring to create it--Boulder-based jewelry designer Todd Reed.
She and Reed sat down at a coffee shop. She talked. He listened and sketched.
The result was signature Reed--a sterling silver with patina cuff with five pentagon-shaped raw emeralds (Lacroix is a May baby) in
Kintsukuroi is the method of repairing broken pottery using a lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum.
Lacroix said she has always loved the idea behind this ancient art form--that things can become more valuable when they are broken, more beautiful when they are used--and thought it a fitting addition to her bracelet.
On the bottom of the cuff, there’s the medic alert symbol (pictured above). On the inside of the cuff, the words “kidney donor” will be engraved.
Lacroix said when she chose to donate a kidney, she made the choice not to get to know the person who received it, but has ended up finding out some information anyway. Her organ went to someone in Ohio who had been waiting eight years for a match.
Since then, she’s signed up to donate a piece of her liver to a child in need via a pioneering program underway at the Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora.
And her friend Holle ended up finding a match as well.
“It’s so beautiful to me,” she said, tearing up. “It warms my heart. I cannot express the existential process.
“It’s given me such confidence to say, ‘If (I never do) anything else in my life, I am good for life (because of this offering).”
The Latest
Despite the absence of “The Allnatt,” Sotheby’s Geneva jewelry auction totaled $34 million, with 90 percent of lots sold.
Lilian Raji gives advice to designers on how to make the most of great publicity opportunities.
Despite the rising prices, consumers continue to seek out the precious metal.
The mining company wants to divest its 70 percent holding in the Mothae Diamond Mine in an effort to streamline its portfolio.
Why do so many jewelers keep lines that are not selling? Peter Smith thinks the answer lies in these two behavioral principles.
The “Argyle Phoenix” sold for more than $4 million at the auction house’s second jewels sale.
Tradeshow risks are real. Get tips to protect yourself before, during and after and gain safety and security awareness for your business.
The annual list recognizes young professionals making an impact in jewelry retail.
While overall sales were sluggish, the retailer said its non-bridal fine jewelry was a popular choice for Valentine’s Day.
The mining giant also wants to offload its platinum business as part of an overhaul designed to “unlock significant value.”
Christie's is selling one of the diamonds, moving forward with its Geneva jewelry auction despite the cyberattack that took down its website.
The ad aims to position platinum jewelry as ideal for everyday wear.
Retailers can customize and print the appraisal brochures from their store.
The move follows a price-drop test run in Q4 and comes with the addition of a “quality assurance card” from GIA for some loose diamonds.
The site has been down since Thursday evening, just ahead of its spring auctions.
The late former U.S. Secretary’s collection went for quadruple the sale’s pre-sale estimate.
Kimberly Adams Russell is taking over the role from her father, David Adams, marking the third generation to hold the title.
As a token of womanhood, this necklace depicts when Venus was born from the sea.
The deal gives the retailer control over the distribution of Roberto Coin jewelry in the U.S., Canada, Caribbean, and Central America.
Show your mother some love with a piece of fine jewelry.
The company’s Easton location will remain open.
Brian D. Fleming of Carla Corporation was elected to serve a one-year term in the role.
Sponsored by the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show
Tobak, author of “Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History,” shares how the exhibition came to be, and the pieces people may be surprised to see.
Stars adorned themselves in emeralds, platinum, and myriad bird motifs, writes Associate Editor Natalie Francisco.
M.S. Rau is set to open a seasonal gallery in the high-end resort town early next month.