Bejeweled

ELLE Belgique, April 2012 starring Chloe Lecareux

I’m not a jewelry person.

I notoriously gesticulate—I talk with my hands to make up for what I lack in volume and projection—which immediately rules out any prospect of jangling arm adornments. “Arm parties” just aren’t my cup of tea — I prefer something a little more exclusive—and the fact that it’s ridiculously difficult and expensive to find anything that fits my teeny hands rules most jewelry out of the equation. The fact of the matter is simple: jewels are neither writing nor salsa friendly, so seeing as I spend my time doing both, no pretty bangles, pendants, or rings for me.

And while I love the idea of bare skin—especially in summertime when we’re allowed (if not encouraged to) expose more skin everywhere — there’s something to be said about how stunning jewels look against a bronzed canvas. Less clothes means more tabula rasa from which you can display dazzling adornments. Semi-precious gemstones or a delicate chain laced across glowing collarbones? A large but thin silver hoop hanging from your ears from behind beach hair? The thought alone has me lusting for a collection of Maria Black, Monica Vinader, and Lara Bohinc jewels.

Unfortunately, few designers (with the aforementioned in the mix) are able to genuinely capture the spirit of summer. Only unique, local talent can do so with utmost authenticity, so I’m counting down the days until I can travel the world to pick up beautiful chains and magical gemstones in a rainbow array of amethyst, lapis lazuli, moonstone, rose quartz, and turquoise from which to remember each trip by. Oh, to jet-set to exotic Caribbean islands, Ibiza, Bali, Hawaii… any place where I could live in a bikini and neck full of gorgeous one-offs handmade in small boutiques.

So until then (note to self: renew passport ASAP!), I’ll gladly start my collection with these beauties and save them for an occasion where I’m not writing, dancing, or gesticulating wildly:

1. Korcula ‘Laura Rose’ Gold Ring. I fell in love with Korcula years ago when I was a baby blogger; you can only imagine my excitement when the gorgeous (and equally chic) Lindley gifted me with her iconic rose gold ‘Laura’ ring. It stayed glued on my fingers until that fateful night out when it slipped off my fingers and tumbled into the darkness after too much dancing. Needless to say, I was devastated and have been meaning to replace it.

2. Monica Vinader Baja Square Ring. Disclaimer: I want everything Monica Vinader makes. Everything. Rose gold and grey agate? Perfection in every which way.

3. Monica Vinader Riva Gold Ingot Pendant. Just imagine how stunning this would look on a delicate, barely-there chain against tanned skin, framing the decolletage. It’s alluring as is with a simple, sheer tee: imagine just how seductive—killer may be the better word here—it would be with a plunging v-neck gown. (A personal style tip: no matter how expensive, thick, chunky gold jewelry will always look costume-y at best, and tacky at worst (this just could be me, though). I’m a firm believer that gold looks most exquisite when delicate and minimal, it shows off the metal much better.)

4. Lara Bohinc Platinum Lunar Eclipse Necklace. Before I drool all over my keyboard, can I just say that this is it? It’s everything, and more. It’s Barbarella in Ibiza or Morocco. A little mod, but undeniably exotic. It’s a contemporary Bohinc classic realized in a stunning platinum snake chain that wraps in two trajectories around the neck, and overlapping in halos at the collarbone. One day she’ll be mine. One day.

5. Lara Bohinc Saturn Earrings. These are the earring equivalent to the Lunar Eclipse necklace. I’m an earring girl through and through—he bigger the better, always—and this has my heart. It’s divine: unapologetically bold and consummately feminine, describes the website, and those descriptors couldn’t be more perfect. I adore how other-worldly yet aquatic it looks; the snake chains just oozes fluidity as it cascades in strips resembling the trail left behind by a shooting star…

6. Lara Bohinc Tatjana Hoop Earrings. In my mind, certain things are designed specifically to be worn in gold or rose gold: this is it. I love silver, but the Tatjana just begs to be worn all summer long in a rich gold or unexpected rose gold against browned skin and dark hair. I can already picture it with a palette of white linens: open blouses and floaty Spanish dresses for day, and a cropped tank with high-waist, wide-leg trousers for night (plus a swipe of Armour’s Nina gloss).

7. Maria Black Monocle Ring. Minimalism at its finest. This would look beautiful as a first knuckle or pointer ring; it’s also the only design that I think is versatile enough to be worn all-year round. And while gold is an obvious choice, I’m mesmerized by the oxidized version. It’s kind of rock, a little goth, and unconventional given the usual proclivity towards silver or gold.

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