A Custom Suite of Charms
Earlier this year, I added second and third lobe piercings and my first cartilage piercing to my ears, and since then… I’ve been obsessed with ear stacks and ear curations. This has also led me down a path to a new love for jewelry in general, but this post is just about charms!
I’ve always loved the way charms and chains have looked on the ears, but I was scared of the pain–I honestly don’t know why I was THAT scared. I finally decided to do it and walked-in to a local (reputable!) piercing studio and had my second and third lobes done on both ears and an upper helix piercing on my right ear. After getting those piercings and having very little pain–and a very uneventful healing process (which isn’t complete)–I subsequently had several more piercings added since then. I’m currently on a self-imposed piercing ban until 2024!
For my birthday/wedding anniversary, I commissioned two, custom charms with Earth’s Treasury, which is the company that redesigned my wedding ring set as well as created my pendant to commemorate Magellan after he passed (using the diamond solitaire from my original engagement ring). I wanted one charm that played off of Magellan’s pendant, while the other was based on a stunning magenta-purple sapphire I fell in love with.
The first charm features a 0.53 ct. Colombian emerald in an emerald cut complemented by a 0.79 ct. tanzanite (Magellan’s birthstone) in a “Helena” cut and a 0.12 ct. blue sapphire in a trillion cut all set with classic prongs. There are two smaller diamonds in bezel settings to tie the three larger stones together, and everything was done in 14K yellow gold.
I love the cascading effect and how the different shapes and cuts reflect light. I also tend to gravitate to this color palette. This one is particularly lovely as both an earring charm but also as a necklace charm! While one of the larger charms, it doesn’t feel particularly heft on my ear. I usually put it on a plain gold huggie or a diamond-pave huggie in my first lobe.
The second charm features an unheated, purple sapphire in a Serendipity cut with a crescent of diamond melee stones. Everything is set with classic prong settings in 14K yellow gold. She is petite but impactful with that vivid magenta-purple!
One of the reasons I love working with Earth’s Treasury is the quality of their stones and that extends to even smaller, melee diamonds. It can be difficult to find the clarity and color of smaller diamonds at retailers, so I appreciate the transparency of Earth’s Treasury. They’re also one of the best sources for sapphires in general, which are great, durable stones for everyday applications and come in a variety of colors. Lauryn, who is their jewelry designer, always gets my vision and never makes me feel rushed or that I’m driving her up the wall with tweaks. It is such a comfort knowing that she has an eye on every stone going into a piece and that I’ll never be disappointed by the ones used.
After these two charms arrived, I was so impressed that when I saw some gorgeous daith jewelry, I was inspired to get the “look” but in charms. I don’t have a daith piercing, am not entirely sure I have the anatomy for it, but I have a conch piercing in each ear and some pretty stellar pieces in them… so daith feels a ways away, if at all. These are my Christmas presents, which did arrive a bit early but who am I to say no?
The third charm in my suite of charms features vivid tsavorites complemented by lighter blue and vivid purple stones and heavier gold work. I wanted something more geometric with the use of bezels and prongs. There are two, square tsavorites (0.43 ct. total weight) set in a more bezel-like setting with pyramid-like spikes coming off of the sides. Between the pyramids, there are blue and purple color-treated diamonds that surround the tsavorites.
I wasn’t overly familiar with tsavorite as a stone until I started perusing threadless ends (for my ears) and saw it used by different brands. Shocking no one, I love a good green, whether that be emerald, tsavorite, or chrysoprase (also a new-to-me stone I fell in love with while starting to curate my ears!). Tsavorite is such a vivid and impactful stone; it has so much brightness, sparkle, and depth.
My fourth charm is different take on something more defined, geometric, and utilizing bezel settings. I have a lot of cooler-toned charms, so I wanted something warmer and more sunset-inspired in color scheme.
This is also a narrower, but longer, charm. It features two, princess cut Montana sapphires and two, straight baguette Madagascar sapphires complemented by five small, round diamonds in-between. I love this one as both an earring charm as well as a necklace charm!
As always, Lauryn and Earth’s Treasury did a fantastic job taking a mish-mash of inspiration and guidelines and creating pieces that I love dearly and wear often. I love that they’re versatile enough to work as earring charms as well as pendants, so I can get even more use out of them.
Christine, these are *gorgeous.* I also have gotten back into my ear decor in the past couple of years! For me, it was all about the discovery of flatback/nap earrings. I didn’t know they existed, so I set out on a quest for stainless steel flatbacks that I could put in and forget about for weeks at a time. Amazon actually has some cheaper ones that have worked well, though I’ve also purchased some of the pricier versions you see on Instagram. I love them because I’m “decorated” without having to put forth any effort. I also sometimes wear a stainless steel necklace that I don’t have to take off, either, so I am put together even in my pajamas!
It is nice to have most of the jewelry in my ears be kind of set it and forget it. I love that they are “decorated” without having to work at it, too! 🙂
These are really lovely, Christine! I love that they can all be used in more than one way. I’ve always been fascinated by gems and geology. It’s a growing interest of mine and I hope to take classes one day soon to learn more!
Ooh, that should be interesting to learn about! 🙂
You have always had exquisite taste in jewelry, Christine. I started following and buying pieces from the Etsy store you mentioned many, many years ago. I haven’t visited that shop in awhile so will be certain to check out this seller, as well.
A lot of the world’s sapphires are mined here in Montana.
Thank you, Deborah!
Wow! These are all BEAUTIFUL!!! I LOVE the colors and the innovative designs. I really love etsy for this kind of thing too. I love the ideas you showed and it’s so neat to hear about your other passions! These are so pretty and fun to look at and plan out ideas!
They came out so well! Lauryn is great at capturing my blurry visions, LOL.
Etsy is an awesome place for sure!
These are absolutely gorgeous! I have 14 ear piercings, and I can’t afford any custom jewelry, but I do love Buddha Jewelry pieces! I got my first charm last year, a little blue Topaz gem in a bezel setting. I adore all the rich colors you chose.
I haven’t had any custom threadless ends, just the charms, so most of my threadless ends are from brands. Buddha Jewelry has SO many stunning pieces. I love Junipurr for their more affordable price point (relative to other brands). M.ush.room is great for more kitschy ends – like my Halloween and a couple Christmas ones are from them. Hialeah and Tish Lyon have some more affordable chains/charms!
These are all beautiful pieces wow!!! This was really interesting to read through – I honestly never give much thought to my jewelry -though I do love what I love.
Thank you, Zia!
I love your piercings! These charms are beautiful. All the colored stones look dazzling worn together like you’re doing. 💙💚💛💜❤️
Thank you, Rachel!
These are beautiful! I also jumped into piercing my ears earlier this year. I started with 2nd lobes and a helix on each side-not easy to sleep with 😅. I will definitely check out Earth’s Treasury as I add more piercings and upgrade my stainless steel pieces to gold. I love hearing more about your interests outside of makeup!!
For threadless ends in general, I highly recommend Three Moons Body Shop – they carry a lot of reputable brands and have frequent sales. They also have lower prices on some brands than I’ve found elsewhere. I’ve purchased probably 70% of mine from there!
Have you gotten one of those piercing pillows with the hole in the middle? Thankfully, I mostly sleep on my back so it hasn’t been too bad!
Thank you, I’ll be sure to check out Three Moons! I do have a pillow like that and it helps a lot, but those first couple weeks were still rough since they were easy to bump. Being a back-sleeper would certainly make the healing process easier 😄
I love them, especially the crescent one. I wouldn’t have guessed they have such gorgeous designs ! And as a graduate in engineering and geology, I am VERY PICKY with my stones so I understand very well that need for tracability
The crescent one came out SO SO SO well.
One of the frustrating parts about stones, especially outside of something like diamonds that has a lot of defined gradings (the 4Cs and whatnot), it can be hard to know whether you’re getting what you’re paying for in other gemstones! Traceability and ethical sourcing is also ideal.
Wow, the charms are gorgeous! They will be lovely in your ears. Earrings are my Kryptonite. I have let some of my piercings go redundant, but I love earrings that dangle, and I have grown to like them more. How lovely they are! Beautiful stones. really lovely and unique settings.
Thank you, Elizabeth! 🙂
I LOVE THIS!!! I need to find a system like this in costume jewelry. Anyone ever seen anything like this before?
One type that’s pretty easy to find in an assortment of price points are birthstone charms – so just single stones set into a metal! These are a great way to start 🙂
So imaginative, fun and beautiful. I seem to recall seeing the crescent earlier. I loved it then and love it now. The ring you wear is a beauty as well. As I love purple, the purple sapphire with the diamond edge really speaks to me.
I have all of three piercings, one in my left lobe and two in the right. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I do love the piercings you have Christine, well placed, it looks so cohesive, something the can easily be more or less cohesive just using more or less colours.
I was also remained about the wonderful palettes you made with SG, lovely jewel tones!
Thank you for sharing this. I had a lot of fun reading and I did drool a bit over the charms.
Thank you, Helene! 🙂
These are so pretty! I’m a chicken so I’ve never gotten anything but my lobes pierced, which were done when I was a baby, but I’ve always liked the look of upper helix piercings. Maybe one day I’ll do it, but in the meantime, I just love looking at jewelry haha.
That was me! The piercing part was really not bad at all. I don’t find much pain during the healing process unless you really knock against the piercing!
Christine, as much as I miss the makeup reviews, I LOVE THIS. I would be happy as a clam to see more jewelry posts!
Duly noted 🙂
And good, haha! I am in my gold era.
Very lovely! Colorful and sparkly!