The last time you put gum in your hair, it took your mother half an hour and a jar of peanut butter to get it out. But Debbie Tuch, creator of Glitterlimes, has made gum, candy, and all kinds of fruit the most happening things to wear.
Debbie's unique jewelry line began in 1996, when Debbie spread a glittered resin over dried slices of lime. The unique results quickly caught the eye of San Francisco residents, and Debbie took a break from making fine jewelry to experiment with other kinds of fruit. Before too long, the proceeds from Debbie's little "experiment" were paying her rent, and Debbie was flying from coast to coast to spread the good news that was glitterlimes.

Unlike a ruby or agate, Debbie's "jewels" are one of a kind. Natural variations in fruit make each organic piece more unique than any diamond. In addition she glitters all kinds of candy and treats you don't usually wear–at least not on purpose. Glitterlimes' beauty startles as much through its revelation of the beauty in everyday objects as through Debbie's skill. But if the transformation of candy into "jewels" seems magical, the glitterlimes mythology takes the element of mystery to a whole new level.

These limes have a life and a story all their own. On Debbie's website, where people exchange glitterlime stories, one fan wrote that he used the word "glitterlimes" to describe anything magical, mystical, or marvelous. Glitterlimes do seem to turn up in the strangest places, including the cover of Time magazine, when Venus Williams wore them in the 2001 US Open.

Making you wonder how such a small company has managed to attract the attention of people from so many different walks of life.

The answer must be in the attention-grabbing limes themselves, or in Debbie Tuch, who seems to feel a genuine responsibility to "bring glitter to the masses." One thing is certain: The glitterlimes family extends further than anyone knows.

In 1996, following her BFA in Jewelry and Light Metals at the Rhode Island School of Design, Debbie Tuch created Glitterlimes at DB Works; her San Francisco- based jewelry design studio.

Known for her clean design of contemporary hand fabricated jewelry, Tuch says her work with precious metals is "reminiscent of what you might find in a fairy tale set in the future." For Glitterlimes, she pursues her long fascination with both the natural and the fantastic by transforming actual slices of dried fruit, as well as her favorite candy, gum and snacks into wearable jewels. Some of the fruits she dries include, every citrus imaginable (3 types of limes, lemons, oranges, blood oranges, pumellos) and other exotic fruits such as, kiwano melon, lotus root, starfruit and persimmons. Every piece is sealed with a self-made glitter resin. Tuch fully preserves the natural structure of the fruit, then adds an exciting glow to both decorate and reinforce it. She continues to spread glitter all around the world, from The East to the West, over to Japan, and back again to Canada.