Katy Briscoe ’82 doesn’t want you to see her jewelry first, but rather the women wearing it.

Her one-of-a-kind pieces fetch from $1,000 to $50,000 from clients hailing from New York to California.

“A good piece of jewelry should make a woman’s soul soar,” said Briscoe, who lives in Houston with her 6-year-old son, Dillon. “It’s a form of self-expression; when a woman walks into a room, you should see her first and the jewelry second.”

Briscoe launched her own collection at a breast cancer benefit in 1997, but her jewelry days started at TCU, when she worked for a local jeweler while taking night classes. With an eye for antiqued- highlighted gold, Briscoe uses colorful stones (like ice-blue aquamarines), bright gems and even old coins.

She also is a fan of religious imagery found on many antique coins. (Briscoe, at right, sports a faceted aquamarine beaded necklace with trillion-cut aquamarine and blue Tahitian pearl drop; 18-carat gold tourmaline and carved aquamarine earrings; and an 18K column and Laura bracelets.)

“I don’t sell jewelry just to sell it,” she said. “I look for the right design for a person; when the jewelry is right, it raises the countenance of a person.”