Jet Set Candy has landed at Parkers, the perfect destination for a line of jewelry that’s all about travel and is featured in Vanity Fair’s hot gifts guide this month.

By Janice Llanes Fabry

Jet Set Candy has landed at Parkers, the perfect destination for a line of jewelry that’s all about travel and is featured in Vanity Fair’s hot gifts guide this month. Designer Nicole Parker King’s innovative keepsakes celebrate her love of travel, a passion she shares with big sister Catherine Parker, who happens to be the Purchase Street shop’s owner.

Their fervor for global exploration was fueled early on. As Catherine said, “We traveled with our parents. My mother always said the world is the best classroom.”

For her part, Nicole has visited 47 countries and six continents. Having moved back to New York from India, where her Australian diplomat husband Chris King was posted for three years, she launched Jet Set Candy only a few months ago, and it has taken off.

“It’s all about collecting your adventures. Our jewelry is stylish and playful, yet nostalgic and classic,” said Nicole, whose pieces are destination-specific collectibles. The line has 50 destinations, representing 33 countries and counting.

Sterling silver and gold vermeil charms for necklaces and bracelets are the heart of the Jet Set collection. They include clever luggage tags with IATA codes (the international airline and airport identifications) and whimsical pieces with moving parts. A prop plane replica, for example, features a moving propeller and wheels that spin.

Nicole seems to be single-handedly reinventing the souvenir, which is actually what she set out to do. In 2006, while vacationing in Sri Lanka, she searched far and wide for something to bring home that would do her trip justice.  

“I didn’t want a kitschy souvenir,” she recalled. “It dawned on me there should be a brand that focuses exclusively on a souvenir that’s a conversation piece, that allows you to remember your travels and show them off.”

Formerly a creative director at L’Oreal, Nicole decided to give her concept due diligence. She left her job and moved with her husband to India. “There, I had the time to teach myself jewelry design, working with jewelers and craftsmen. I learned all about casting, stamping, and laser etching,” explained Nicole, a graphic designer by training.

Her love of miniatures and collectibles, as well as travel, is behind the jet setter’s jewelry line. Every design detail is carefully considered. Nicole’s special touch extends to her blog, logo, website, and packaging, which provides travel quotes, luggage tags, and map-themed tissue paper.

As for the jewelry, they’re all memory pieces offering a little surprise. A myriad of destination-specific movables includes: NYC’s Chrysler building with a key to the city and a two-tone taxi cab with spinning wheels; a Hamptons windmill with tiny sails; a Las Vegas poker chips holder; a Dubai Khanjar sheath with removable dagger; an Italian Vespa with spinning wheels and a diamond headlight; and a Singapore chili crab with chopsticks.

Double-sided spinner charms offer a wheel with options, covering where one is heading, staying, shopping or, in the case of the Caribbean charm, what vessels one might take to get there. Nicole even serves up cocktail shaker charms, from NYC’s classic Manhattan to Brazil’s caipirinha. She also beckons travelers to remember their ocean-filled exploits with destination surfboards that have miniature fins.
Jet Set Candy cuffs feature travel quotes and pendants offer intricate patterns. While the Indian pendant boasts the Taj Mahal, sacred cows, and bindis, the Parisian presents a kaleidoscope with the Eiffel Tower, fleur-de-lis, croissants, and French poodles.

Since Nicole’s move back to the States this summer, thanks to her husband’s new position at the United Nations, it has been a whirlwind for her business. Bloomingdale’s has picked it up for its trunk shows in Manhattan, Santa Monica, and Miami. Here in Westchester, the brand is exclusive to Parkers. If a particular piece is not available, the shop will have it within a day.

“We love that the line makes really great gifts and keepsakes that will endure as long as your travel memories,” noted Nicole. “I love jewelry that has meaning, and what’s more meaningful than collecting your adventures?”

To see the line for yourself, stop by Parkers. For more information, visit www.myjetsetcandy.com.