Piece of the Week: Marla Aaron’s American Lock

Anyone who knows Marla Aaron knows she is an exceptionally thoughtful designer, so it comes as little surprise that her lock that’s an ode to Americana has a story.

She originally hatched plans for the piece in 2016, with visions of the lock’s closure rendered in blue sapphire pavé, with white diamonds signifying the stars of the American flag. She thought she would send it as a gift to the first female president of the United States.

When Hillary Clinton lost the election to Donald Trump, she abandoned the idea. This year, however, Aaron had a change of heart.

“A few months ago I said to myself that I was being ridiculous,” the designer explained in an e-mail, “that it was going to be a beautiful lock and we should make it.

“But I thought we should change the closure and have the closure be lapis and cachalong (a form of opal) stars, and the lapis should be set in a haphazard, almost broken, fashion, because we are not perfect; there are cracks in the glittery surface of our beloved ‘American Dream.’ But it is still beautiful, and it is still our story.”

The 18-karat gold lock with lapis lazuli, cachalong, ruby and diamond, strung on a 36-inch undyed Mediterranean coral beaded necklace (pictured below), is available through inquiry on Aaron’s website. The lock is priced at $20,000 and necklace at $8,000.