Unique Artisan Jewelry Inspired by the Ancient Greeks: A Burst of Colorful Rings and Pendants

Just about a year ago, I decided finally to learn to speak Greek. I say finally because I grew up in a house where my grandfather and his fellow ex-pat villagers spoke Greek. But beyond the basic 'hi, how are you?' I never learned to speak the language of my ancestors. Oh, how I wish I had.

The more I learned, the more I dove into the culture itself which, of course, brought me to Hellenic Jewelry. Shocker, I know!

The ancient craftsmanship and design was amazing. And incredibly inspirational.

It was a style I had always loved without really knowing its origin.

Opulent, overstated, gold pieces with lots of embellishment and with the colorful rings that I love. Embellishment that leaned to granulation balls, triangles, circles created from twisted wire....everything with flourish and a lot of soul. Incredible artisan jewelry.

I don't even know that I made a conscious decision to do an artisan jewelry collection based on the colorful rings and other unique jewelry worn by the ancient Greek goddesses. My collection of colorful rings and pendants just flowed without me thinking about it.

It came from the soul.

And it was certainly the most fun I've ever had creating a full collection.The rings and pendants I created include colorful tourmalines, rubies, emeralds, diamonds and aquamarines as both center stones anchoring the pieces and as a sprinkling of sparkle.

The "Hellenic Collection" includes sterling silver with solid 18k gold bezels and Hellenic inspired accents. Most exciting is this is the first time I've dipped my toes (and jewelry pieces!) into using Gold Vermeil.

I loved the look of the ancient jewelry that was pretty much all crafted in gold, but I wanted to make the cost of my pieces more accessible than they would be had I opted to create in all solid gold.

I loved the vermeil pieces!

As artisan jewelers, we talk a lot about our inspiration. Often, we have to search and struggle for it. This collection helped me realize that true inspiration settles in your soul and just happens. No intellectual conversations with yourself necessary.

I often say that my jewelry is about soul not symmetry. I think I must have picked that up from my grandfather and his Greek 'village' of friends that visited my childhood home.

Sometimes it's just in the blood.

I hope you enjoy what I consider my most personal collection. Click here if you'd like to check out how I created jewelry for our modern goddesses. Enjoy!