Debra Navarro Jewelry is honored to be the recipient of many amazing awards including, INSTORE's Best Colored Stone Jewelry (Under $10,000), The Cindy Edelstein Memorial Emerging Designer Award, and the JCK Tucson 2019 Design Challenge Industry Choice Award.

Live from Tucson, Ariz.: Debra Navarro’s Watu Jewelry Is Gorgeous and Gives Back

Tucson, Ariz. Feb. 4, 2020. Jewelry designer Debra Navarro unveiled a trio of new additions to her Watu jewelry collection at The Select Show, which took place at the Westin La Paloma, Feb. 2–3. (She is now moving on to exhibit at JCK Tucson, Feb. 5–8; find her at booth DC17.)

Watu features rough gems from East African gem miners that are hand-chosen by the Wichita, Kan., resident. All stones are set in 18k recycled gold, and five percent of each Watu purchase benefits Gem Legacy, a nonprofit that facilitates vocational training and education in East African mining communities.

Watu is Swahili for “people,” and for Navarro specifically, it is those people in East African mining communities in places like Kenya that have touched her life through firsthand visits. So she named Watu jewelry for them, and many of the rough, unfaceted gems feature a Tenda cut or a flat facet that means “doing good to someone.”

Additions to Watu include a unisex lapel pin, pendants with colored stone accents instead of natural-color diamond ones to further enhance gemmy centers, and a massive showstopper bracelet.

All styles in Watu aim to remind wearers that gemstones do good for many around the world. “Consumers can take part in changing people’s lives,” Navarro explains.

Lapel pin in 18k recycled yellow gold with tourmalines, $3,850; email debra@debranavarro.com for purchase.

Pendant necklace in 18k recycled yellow gold with pink spinel and pink and colorless diamonds, $4,815; email debra@debranavarro.com for purchase.

Bracelet in 18k recycled yellow gold with scapolite, green garnet, spessartite garnet, pink spinel, and aquamarine.

by Jenifer Hebner

(http://jenniferheebner.com/debra-navarros-watu-jewelry-is-gorgeous-and-gives-back/  )