Au Natural

Couldn't choose my top pick, so here's a little Smorgasbord of my fav necklaces from Nallik. The designs are made of natural materials including semi-precious stones, found objects, and metals.

Available (in New York) at Catbird, Werk, and Urban Alchemist

Learn Your ABC's

Why not sport your initials? This weekend, I just nabbed a letter necklace from Kris Nations. I am embarrassed to say, that I also wear a "n" earring stud as well ... Maybe, I've gone a little overboard. Above is a little sample of jewelry designers who make some awesome letter pendants.

Available at (From top to bottom) Carla Caruso, Catbird, and Kris Nations

Pinpoint

Things have been kinda crazed the past few weeks, so unfortunately, I have neglected to post any new jewelry finds.

A month or so back, a friend asked if I knew of any designers creating brooches. I went on a search and found the brooch or "pin" has sadly descended into extinction. My grandmother's coats and sweaters were always adorned with a beautiful or whimsical brooch, but nowadays, you rarely see people donning them. However, I did just come across this bronzed lotus brooch by St. Erasmus. What appealed about this one is its amorphous shape and materials. It looks like molten rock at first glance or meshed stones. The pin is actually acrylic flowers covered in crochet and topped with Swarovski crystals.

Available at BHLDN

Sky Scrapers

A little architectural influence ... these earrings are named after famous New York skyscrapers, Chrysler and Empire State.

Available at Jené DeSpain

Arrow heads

This pair of earrings look like something that has been excavated from an archeological dig.

Available at Maslo Design

Wrap it Up

I tend to not be a huge fan of leather wrap bracelets, but this silver mirrored one caught my eye .... it's a little mod, and a touch of space age glam.

Available at Clare Vivier

Redefining the Necklace

This necklace-meets-scarf from Saako Design is the perfect way to dress up a basic tank or tee. Plus, love that they are made locally in Barcelona.

Available at Saako Design

A Peace Treaty

These two pieces come from a company called A Peace Treaty, which masterfully marries design with social action. The necklace is part of the Sunari Collection and the earring are from the Thar Collection.

To find out more about A Peace Treaty (check out the rockin' scarves too!), visit A Peace Treaty

Roped

I had to include a photo from Mimi Jung's lookbook to show the incredible scale of her designs. During a visit to Hong Kong, Jung discovered these beautiful flat agate stone slabs and brought them home to Brooklyn. All of Jung's pieces are set in crochet and then encircled with rope.

Available at Brook & Lyn

Cupid's Arrow

Sometimes it is hard to choose just one piece of jewelry from the ocean of options, so this time I chose two ... This great cuff bracelet and sleeping beauty ring.



Available at Eddera

Jewelry for Japan: Splurge for a Good Cause

Two very talented jewelry designers, Alexis Bittar and Wendy Mink, are raising money for those who've been affected by the devastation of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. I hope to see more designers and stores follow their lead and lend a helping hand to the people in Japan.

For more information, visit Wendy Mink and Alexis Bittar

Snatch one of Bittar's Liquid Rhodium Lava Rings or Wendy Mink's Black Onyx Earrings ... here's a preview:

Enveloped

The delicately placed diamonds almost look like dew on a leaf or blade of grass. Unfortunately, the name of this designer isn't present on the website, but you can find the necklace below ...

Available at Michele Varian

Available at

In Flight

These gold wings with diamonds are wonderfully delicate, yet complex.

Available at Becca Straus

Slithering Adornment

From Top to Bottom: Pave Eternity Snake Necklace by J.Lingnau; Snake Drop Earrings by Eddera; Black Mamba Pendant Necklace by Ileana Makri; Gold Serpentine Necklace by Yayoi Forest; Serpent Studs by St. Kilda; Serpent Chandelier Earrings by Fallon; Serpent Hoops by Alkemie; Diamond Snake Ring by Doyle & Doyle; Brass Snake Ring by Aesa; Sterling Silver Wrap Snake Bangle by Elma Blint

A Modern Locket

bario-neal makes custom jewelry, and in this case, a customer brought them a seed pod, which they cast in gold and split in half to make a locket. If you have any keepsakes you want to personalize, this is one way of doing it ...

bario-neal's packaging in itself is worth the splurge ... all their baubles come in 100% recycled glass bottles & muslin bags. Oh, yeah, the jewelry is eco-friendly, to boot.

Available at bario-neal

Molten Rock

Looks like something excavated from the earth ....

Available at Andy Lifschutz

Diamond Tentacles

Available at Liaung-Chung Yen

Hoopin'

Elma Blint updates the classic hoops with clusters of peridot.

Available at Elma Blint

French Cut

This might not be from an independent designer, but Erie Basin is a treasure-trove of beautiful vintage jewelry. Here you can find an early 1900's French platinum filigree cluster ring with European cut diamonds.

Available at Erie Basin

New Symbols

Aesa's bronze form pendant with freshwater pearls.

Available at Aesa

Crossing Ring

Available at Rebecca Overmann

Modern Heirloom

Jaw dropping sapphire cluster earrings ...

Available at Conroy & Wilcox

Brass & Suede

Something Grecian about this Vanessa Mooney bracelet-cum-necklace.

Available at Vanessa Mooney

Tribal Glam

A little Art Deco, a splash of tribalism and a lot of glitz.

Available at Giles & Brother

Clawed

These aren't your run-of-the-mill diamond studs ... Lauren Wolf's earrings, like most of her jewelry, have a little raw elegance.

Available at Lauren Wolf

Shake, Shake, Shake

Maybe this just satisfies my love for anything sparkly ... Renee Lewis' 18k white gold gold and clear crystal pendant is filled with opal, diamond, aquamarine, and turquoise.

Available at Barneys