Betina Goldstein's Vintage Rolex Watch Holds A Special Meaning

Journey With Jewels is our series that explores one’s relationship with jewelry beyond adornments — as a force to transform, empower, and even draw on energy from the past. From perennial favorites to vintage heirlooms, the meanings we attach to these decorative objects range and reveal more than our styling preferences. This edition is with the talented nail artist Betina Goldstein.

You may have stumbled across nail artist Betina Goldstein’s work while scrolling through your Instagram feed, on the cover of your favorite fashion magazine, or while watching the award shows on television. The celebrity and editorial manicurist, whose designs range from crystal-embellished French tips to Katsushika Hokusai-like painted waves, amassed a loyal following both on and off the screen, making her one of the most sought-after professionals in the field.

The Chanel nail artist established a niche for herself in the maximal world of nail art, delicately balancing creativity and restraint through her signature negative-space nail designs showcased on her Instagram account, @betina_goldstein. Almost as notable as her nails in each post are the eclectic stack of rings on Goldstein’s hand. “I always want it to complement me and not overpower me,” says Goldstein to TZR when explaining her philosophy on wearing jewelry. Almost all the rings she wears are from her own line of jewelry, Doublemoss, a brand she founded in 2019, plus an enviable mix of Chanel fine jewelry, Cartier, and Loren Stewart.

The Los Angeles-based artist’s love for jewelry began at an early age when she and her family would make visits every summer to Antwerp, Belgium, the diamond capital of the world, and visit the Antwerp Diamond Museum. “Back in the day, you could watch the gem cutter meticulously cut the diamonds; it was fascinating,” Goldstein remembers. Another source of inspiration for her affinity for jewels — her grandmother. “When she would travel with my grandfather, they would travel to China and all these places, and she would have the most incredible rings that were enamel and hand-painted. I was always looking at all of the things she would wear and she would have all these bangles, like jade.”

Growing up in an environment exposed to international travel and cultural visits to the museums, her favorites being the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London and the Mignone Hall of Gems and Minerals at the Natural History Museum in New York City, the jewelry enthusiast decided to speak about one that was most close to her heart — a vintage yellow gold and stainless steel Rolex watch handed down to her from her mother, who received the gift on her quinceñera from her parents. The heirloom was purchased in Switzerland in 1963 and reminds Goldstein of the steadfast, supportive figure in her life who always cheered her on no matter what: “You can do it Betina, you can do it.”