There’s jewelry you save for occasions, and then there’s jewelry that becomes part of your actual life. The kind you wear into the ocean, on road trips, at dinner with wet hair after a river swim, layered over sun-kissed skin and never really taken off. Jill Platner makes the second kind.
Working from her Crosby Street studio in SoHo since the early ’90s, Jill creates sculptural jewelry that feels deeply connected to movement, nature, and the body. Raised between the coastlines and woods of New England, she grew up surrounded by weather, texture, driftwood, rope, water, and salt air—and you can still feel all of it in her work. Every clasp, curve, knot, and silver form feels organic, almost unearthed rather than manufactured.
Her SoHo studio is part workshop, part sculpture space, part living archive of decades spent making by hand. Housed in a historic cast-iron building, the loft was personally renovated by Jill and still carries the energy of old downtown New York artist spaces—creative, imperfect, soulful, and alive. Jewelry is made there slowly and intentionally by a small team of artisans, with every piece touched by hand.
Before you even know the story behind the jewelry, you can feel it in the materials. Jill’s signature woven cord isn’t just beautiful—it’s built for real life. Using ultra-durable Tenara cord originally designed for sailing, her pieces resist saltwater, UV rays, and wear from the elements. As a surfer herself, Jill wanted jewelry that could move with the body and keep up with adventure. Swim in it. Sweat in it. Sleep in it. Live in it.
And somehow, despite their durability, the pieces still feel incredibly sensual and refined. Sculptural silver hooks wrap around handwoven cords like small wearable objects collected from another world. Ancient and futuristic at the same time. Jewelry that feels protective, grounding, and playful all at once.
Beyond jewelry, Jill is also an accomplished sculptor, creating larger-scale works that echo the same flowing forms and tension found in her wearable pieces. You can see the sculptor’s hand in everything she touches—an understanding of weight, line, balance, and negative space that gives her jewelry its unmistakable presence.
At Chemistry, we love jewelry that invites you to participate in it—not just wear it. Jill Platner’s work feels made for people who collect experiences alongside beautiful things. Pieces that become markers of summers, travels, relationships, rituals, and versions of yourself you want to remember. Quiet luxury with a little saltwater in its hair.
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