ModernJeweler.com |

While there are some folks—not here of course—who think fine jewelry is a frivolous thing, for others, a bracelet may be a matter of life and death. Millions of Americans should wear medical identification bracelets to alert medical personnel of a condition should they ever be injured or unconscious. But for the fashion-conscious consumer, most of these medical ID bracelets—made in base metal, steel, or 14k gold—are a bitter pill to swallow.

Enter Jewels et Jim, a collaboration of two fine jewelry insiders who have come up with a collection of 18k gold, diamond, and gemstone medical alert jewelry that you might want to wear even if you don't have a medical condition.

One of the collaborators is Julia Van Hees-Aidner, a former marketing and public relations consultant for brands such as Chopard, Roberto Coin, de Grisogono, and Charriol. She got the idea for the new collection when a friend's daughter, diagnosed with epilepsy, didn't want to wear her medical bracelet because it was "so ugly," says Hees-Aidner, who herself is allergic to various medications and suffers from Lupus. "But after talking to just about everyone I knew in the industry and speaking to retailers, I realized there wasn't an attractive answer," she says.

She went to her friend, James DiGironimo of James Martin Ltd., and they devised the line. The collection includes women's, children's, and men's styles in 18k yellow or white gold. The IDs come in several shapes, some with inlaid stones such as tiger's eye, mother-of-pearl, onyx, lapis, and turquoise. They feature the caduceus, the international medical symbol, in gold or in diamond pavé. The charms can added to charm bracelets, straps, worn on necklaces, or can even be attached to bracelets and watch straps with a special clip.

Retailing for $1,000 to $6,000, the Jewels et Jim medical collection will premiere at select Neiman-Marcus stores this fall and at Geary's Beverly Hills. According to Mary Connor of Geary's, the collection is already eagerly awaited for by some of her clients. "The ones we noticed wearing the traditional medical IDs were particularly excited. This is one of the most innovative and fresh concepts we have seen in fine jewelry. Jewels et Jim has done their homework on this one."

Medical ID bracelets are recommended for people with food or drug allergies; heart patients; diabetes; Alzheimer's; conditions requiring blood thinners; pulmonary conditions; those taking multiple medicines; rare diseases; epilepsy/seizures; hearing, sight, or mental impairments; transplant patients; clinical trial participants; special needs children; and those with stroke risk. — Jeff Prine