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!
Custom Pendant
Custom Pendant
Custom Pendant + Wedding Set
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.
Charm #1: Emerald, tanzanite, and sapphire
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.
Charm #2: Sapphire and diamonds
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?
Charm #3: Tsavorites and color-treated diamonds
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.
Charm #4: Montana and Madagascar sapphires
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.
