Hot Pick: Lark and Lotus Damballah Necklace

I'm a Voodoo Child baby, I don't take no for an answer.
(Jimi Hendrix)

Because snakes know how to shed skins, and redirect their cause, slithering covertly to strike when the moment is just right. And so one must tread carefully and not believe every skillful twist of the tongue.

The Damballah necklace from designer Suzannah Murray's Lark and Lotus line is a spirited homage to the mighty serpent, flaunting an uncoiled 14k gold pendant, textured and set with a deep garnet stone.

To purchase, visit the Lark and Lotus Web site.

Danielle Pittman

Yes, a soft-spoken demeanor often does belie a tough-as-nails interior, but it's not as if being disingenuous is on the agenda. Some people just subscribe to the belief that if you want to rule the world, an iron fist in a velvet glove is a more palatable approach. Determination after all, doesn't come in just one aggressive flavor.

Designer Danielle Pittman has an appreciation for nice girls that say please and thank you, but insightfully recognizes that it doesn't mean they are relinquishing anything, not even close. Her pieces are simultaneously tough and pretty, influenced by nature's sturdier creations, such as pinecones, hickory, and sand dollars. Even delicate petals are translated into robust forms, appearing hearty and twisted. The honeycomb selections, necklace pendants and earrings mingling enamel with gold, are stalwart pieces, worthy of attention.

To browse styles, visit the designer's Web site. To purchase, shop Bird in Brooklyn.

Brilliant Everyday: Jacquie Aiche Evil Eye Necklace

The Brilliant Everyday series spotlights jewelry pieces perfect for everyday wear.

Oh yeah, the Evil Eye, the ultimate good luck charm, staring back at the world to ward off pesky devilish spirits. Is there a better choice for an everyday piece than one guaranteed to keep you out of harm’s way? We think not. And this gold vermeil rendition from Jacquie Aiche is divine, encrusted with sparkling stones and dangling from a perfect 18” length.

Available at Madison Los Angeles.

In the mood to splurge? Check out the diamond and sapphire version at Kate Boutique.

Mifflin Jewelry

You grew up a long time ago, swapping Bukowski for Philip Roth, eliminating cigarette breakfasts, and eradicating whiskey shots from your Saturday night activities. And so when you buy jewelry, you’re no longer in the mood for trendy knock-offs from Urban Outfitters. Instead you opt for distinct pieces that elevate your wardrobe without defining it entirely.

For her Mifflin Jewelry line, Brooklyn designer Staci Leatherland avoids large scale pieces in favor of adult selections that are whittled down to promote a solitary statement. The Lost Time necklace (above right) flaunts a barren clock disk in sterling silver, with another version dangling the pendant cracked in half. A series of gold-plated necklaces and rings boast single coins embossed with Pomona, the Roman goddess of the gardens. Antique buttons, cast in silver, swing alone from thin bangle bracelets and chains.

To view styles and browse a store list visit the designer’s Web site.

Nugaard Designs

You've always instinctively recognized that living life to the fullest doesn't necessarily translate to packing in as much activity into a day as humanly possible. That's just running (run, run, run), and to you, a busy life is a blurred one. You'd much rather take your time, enjoy the journey, and dismiss the never-ending checklist that can clog the mind and soul. Yes, taking time to stop and smell the flowers isn't a cliché, but a way of life...a healthy, full, rewarding one at that.

Nugaard Designs keeps you connected to the world outside, blending nature's creations into their jewelry designs. The brainchild of Erica Pacey and Alessandra Feio, the line plays with the fusion of recycled metal and earthy elements, dipping bamboo bangles in silver, and coating dehydrated leaves with gold for dangled earrings and pendants. The selections from their Camp collection are inspired, sprucing up gold jewelry with golden grass from the northwest of Brazil, such as a cuff bracelet with a circular centerpiece.

Available at Nimli. For more information, visit the designer’s Web site.

Brilliant Everyday: Wendy Nichol Bolt & Pearl Necklace

The Brilliant Everyday series spotlights jewelry pieces perfect for everyday wear.

Wendy Nichol, who typically incorporates exotic skins into her jewelry designs, recently launched a collection of minimalist pieces that are light and feminine, but pack a tough-girl punch. Her Sandra necklace, which dangles a black pearl with a gold vermeil hardware nut on a 14k gold chain, is stunning. Day or night, summer or winter…it works.

Available at Bird.

Hot Pick: Ant Earrings From Jezebel

As far as insect jewelry goes, the usual suspects generally appear…spiders, scorpions, beetles, and flies. So hats off to Jezebel for choosing the entirely underrated ant as the focal point, an ego-less bug who understands that seemingly impossible feats can be accomplished by being the consummate team player. The stud earrings are crafted from 14k rose gold.

Available at Catbird.

Natural Historie

Color is derived from nature after all…iridescent puddles following torrential rains to fading sun-streaked skies smeared with blending hues. And no matter how many acrylic paint tubes you empty onto a canvas, or recreate graphically on a computer screen, artificial color is always going to be second best. Which may answer our fascination with geodes, always romancing us with beguiling shapes, fascinating textures, and alluring colors.

Jenny Vorwaller is a painter and a photographer, but first and foremost, she is a world traveler. And along the way, as she explores exotic locales, she collects arousing elements, such as colorful geodes from Uruguay, and incorporates them into beautiful jewelry designs for her Natural Historie line.

The sliced geodes are electroplated in silver or gold and then hung in different arrangements, some with faceted crystal beads hung in the cavity, others with pearls dangling on either side. Each geode is one-of-a-kind, boasting its very own color palette of rippling bands and interior bursting crystals, and is hung from a 14k gold chain.

To view styles and purchase, visit the online shop SuperMarketHQ. To learn more about the Natural Historie collection, visit the designer’s Web site.

Elisa Solomon Jewelry

Reinvention is a wonder to behold. Someone, not just anyone, sees beyond the expected and boldly rearranges what everyone else saw as expected and true. Philippe Starck interpreting the martini glass as a chair or Hendrix transforming Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower from an obscure acoustical ditty to a Hall of Fame guitar assault. Of course, retranslating is not the hard part. The magic trick is to astutely preserve the critical elements, and alter the ones that could survive a creative shake-up.

By taking gemstones, and smashing them to pieces, designer Elisa Solomon presents an intriguing reinvention of the traditional jewel pendant necklace. Sparkling rubies, brown diamonds, emeralds, sapphire, and earthy turquoise, are cracked into small nuggets and then encased within a glass frame, presenting a shaking visual, much like a tipping sand hourglass, except bolder and chunkier. The “shake” pendants are then hung from 14k solid yellow gold chains.

To view styles and a store list, visit the designer’s Web site.

Pamela Love

You’re the playful chick in the corner that people seek out at parties, and not because you’re always equipped with a great, not good, dirty joke. It’s because you never bore anyone with self-serving tales of how yoga changed your life, or worse yet, how you avoided a wait list and scored some item that you and the rest of the country, spotted on some trendy actress. But you can however, thoroughly analyze Donnie Darko, down a shot of Jack without wincing, and do a spot-on impersonation of Darby Crash. And as if that’s not reason enough, well, you’re scorching hot too, all dolled up in a nerdy Isabel Marant button-down shirt, crisp Built By Wendy jeans, and your wicked cool Pamela Love talon cuff.

Gold-plated cuff bracelet with three talon claws wrapping around the wrist, the piece is part of an artistic collection from designer Pamela Law filled with beloved objects that explore the darker side of nature…bird cranium pendants, deer tooth necklaces and menacing scorpion rings. But like any great love affair she doesn’t linger on the underbelly entirely, serving up sparkling rings flaunting peacocks, rams and dainty bear heads.

Available online at Cabinets of Curiosities.