Go Getter…Not Gold Digger

Au79 Jewelry Line Launches at Setai

By Amanda Del Duca

Here’s a jewelry line for those motivated young professionals who are ready to make a big splash in the real world. Local jewelry designer Lauren Monteagudo’s new line is as sexy and hot as the launch party she hosted for her Au79 brand at the Setai Hotel in South Beach.

The trendy affair had a fab crowd of roughly 300 chic and sophisticated fashion conscious professionals who sipped on Xante, a pear infused cognac, and mingled while body painted models in nothing but Au79 jewelry danced on platforms in the water.

The name Au79 was inspired by Monteagudo’s desire for trendy, cocktail jewelry that is both affordable and valuable. With quality in mind, Monteagudo picked the periodic table of elements symbol and atomic number for gold as the namesake.

Each piece in the “Opportunist Collection” is 14K and available in white, yellow and rose gold. Monteagudo created the collection with a certain type of customer in mind – the opportunist.

“A true opportunist achieves her own goals and enjoys the finer things in life,” said Monteagudo. “This brand can be worn by all women who know the value of themselves and know that nothing but the best is the only option.”

One of the most unique aspects of the collection is the brands signature symbol, the shovel. Monteagudo chose the shovel as an effort to turn around the negative “gold digger” stereotype that is sometimes attributed to women who get what they want.

“It’s a symbol for women who work hard and who aren’t afraid to get their own hands dirty to dig up what they want,” she said. “Au79 is for the go-getter not the gold-digger.”