About the Founder

Calms Jewelry was founded by Jennifer O’Brien in New York City, inspired by her lifelong fascination with antique heirlooms, nautical symbolism, and art deco architecture. Born in Manhattan, Jennifer was shaped by the rhythm of New York and summers spent along the water from Cape Cod to Martha’s Vineyard. Based in Brooklyn, she remains deeply rooted in the city, designing and overseeing all jewelry production locally in NYC’s historic diamond district. 

From an early age, her mother took her hunting for vintage costume jewelry at estate and garage sales long before it was fashionable. Jennifer was training her eye to recognize designers and eras by studying hallmarks and construction, often surprising seasoned antique dealers with her knowledge. A $1 Weiss brooch layered in rhinestones remains a memorable and defining early influence. Its dimensional construction still informs her modern diamond designs.

By age ten, she was sketching her own jewelry designs in a blue beaded notebook. Later, she took classes at FIT to learn fashion design, never forgetting to create matching accessories for each look. Many years later, her first paid photography job compensated her not in cash, but in a gold anchor necklace. At the time, it felt monumental. Looking back, it feels symbolic.

Cameras and anchors became recurring personal symbols for memory and grounding, perspective and stability. 

After decades of collecting vintage costume jewelry and years refining her own fine jewelry collection, Jennifer began designing what she could not find. She focused on modern heirlooms shaped by antique influence and architectural form, created for everyday wear.

Calms reflects her belief that jewelry should carry weight in material, meaning, and memory.