Crystal Visions And Style Healing — This Season’s Jewelry Takes A Mystical Tone With Raw Quartz And Amethyst Stones
Forget sexual healing — it’s time for some crystal healing. This season’s wanderlust-stricken fashions are complemented not by vampy stiletto heels, dominatrix-worthy leather harnesses or spike-covered golden body chains, but by mystical jewelry pieces centered on raw crystals that feel like they were plucked from the earth and re-envisioned as modern-day amulets.
Metaphysical health practitioners, shamans, psychics, diviners, and spiritual coaches have long argued that crystals can serve as energy conduits, transmitting healing vibrations to different chakras and protecting people from negative energy. Clear quartzes, for instance, are believed to be the most powerful crystals, both reenergizing and cleaning the mind and body. Rose quartzes, meanwhile, are allegedly most effective when used on the fourth chakra (the heart chakra) and can help to inspire self-love, soothe lingering heartaches, rekindle an existing romance, and generally inspire piece of mind and all-encompassing love. Amethysts possess mainly mental benefits, helping wearers become more in tune with their own intuitive instincts and psychic abilities, enhancing the memory, and blocking sources of stress and depression. Those looking to kick off 2015 with a clean aura, then, may want to skip the sage-burning rituals and try a more fashionable approach involving crystal healing.
Think chakras, energy vortexes, and crystal vibrations are ludicrous concepts invented by loopy hippies? Well, then consider the aesthetic benefits of these jewelry pieces — after all, even skeptics like myself can’t deny the beauty of these crystalline wonders or how strongly they remind us of the treasures found in nature.
BCP Jewelry Assyle Silvr Necklace, $90. Available at BCPjewelry.com
I’ve been obsessed with Barbara Pellegrino’s jewelry since I saw MAC makeup artist Tiffany Johnston backstage during New York Fashion Week last September wearing some of Pellegrino’s striking pieces. This one-of-a-kind necklace is a perfect example of the magic Pellegrino works with her pieces, which incorporate crystals mined in Brazil. This necklace features a hexagonal clear quartz pendant measuring 3 1/2 inches in length and 1/2 inches in width, its top ridge featuring a silver-plated bar. Designed to hang down to the collarbone, the double point quartz stone hangs from a 17″-long silver-plated rolo chain. According to Pellegrino, quartz promotes personal harmony and brings balance to its bearer — and who among us doesn’t need more balance?
8 Other Reasons Crystal Hoop Earrings, $23.50. Available at NastyGal.com
These 8 Other Reasons earrings feature elongated, cylindrical, amethyst-colored crystal stones with faceted sides and spiked points. These purple stones are positioned horizontally and threaded through gold-toned bolts which are, in turn, propped atop open-center golden hoops measuring 1.25″ in diameter.
Mikal Winn Smokey Quartz Cuff, $228. Available at FreePeople.com
Crafted by Ohio-born jewelry designer Mikal Winn in his studio, located within the California Mojave Desert, this adjustable cuff is made of brass and features two smokey quartz crystals along the front, as well as soldered, silver-toned ball studs along the bars on the eye-shaped front and atop the metal bar running across the the two crystals. A single round Swarovski crystal, meanwhile, is propped atop the two smokey quartz stones, as if it were the pupil within the eye shape created, the quartz stones functioning as the iris. The rough edges, dents, small nicks and cracks of each crystal —and the mismatched quality of each pairing — make the cuff feel all the more connected to the Earth, as if it had been barely touched or manipulated by the human hand, thereby allowing these stones to shine of their own accord.
Torchlight Jewelry Eclipse Earrings, $115. Available at TorchlightJewelry.com
The icy blue dress Queen Elsa of Arendelle donned in Disney’s frozen can’t out-cool the aqua-colored crystals dangling from these earrings. Handmade in Los Angeles using recycled metal, these 1.5″-long earrings feature 18k gold-plated metal strips shaped into crescent moons and given a Southwestern flavor via a hammered texture. Measuring .75 inches from one end to the next, each moon-shaped earring can eclipse all style rivals thanks to the crystalline, mermaid-worthy blue quartz stone dangling from its center, which itself features a spiked tip reminiscent of a stalactite structure.
Stella & Dot Aria Pendant Necklace, $98. Available at StellaDot.com
Rather than mixing and matching the dainty chains in your jewelry box, fretting over their respective lengths and fussing over how to achieve a multi-layered effect, eliminate all the guesswork from the equation with this two-piece Stella & Dot necklace necklace set. Both gold-plated chains feature 2.5″-long crackled quartz stones, but one of the strands is significantly shorter, measuring 18.5″ in length), whereas the other measures 27″ in length, allowing for a more dramatic and staggered, ladder-like, layered look.
House of Harlow Chrysalis Ring, $58. Available at Shopbop.com
Boho babe Nicole Richie knows how to make earthy look edgy. This gold-toned ring from her House of Harlow 1960 line is a perfect example, as it features two smokey quartz stones for a free-spirited and mystical energy, but it also incorporates very architectural elements like hexagonal-shaped rings that surround these stones and Art Deco touches like blackened ridges encrusted with clear crystals.
Ali NY Urban Amulet Amethyst Necklace, $170. Available at MaxandChloe.com
Amethysts have been revered since antiquity — not only for their beauty but for their purported ability to fend off evil and offer both physical and spiritual protection to those who wore them. In fact, medieval European soldiers were known to wear amethyst amulets in battle, believing the stones would prevent them from panicking, keep them calm amidst chaos, and accelerate any healing process that followed a skirmish. Since love — and often life — is itself a battlefield, score some protection of your very own by scooping up this Ali NY necklace, which features a 24″-long, blackened rolo chain with a matte finish and a super-sized amethyst pendant (measuring 3″ x 1 3/4″ inches) with rough edges and a virginal, untouched, just-extracted-from the-mine feel.
Amber Sceats Crystal Stud Earrings, $129. Available at RevolveClothing.com
If statement necklaces are too showy for you, try experimenting with the crystal trend with dainty stud earrings like these from Amber Sceats. Measuring 1″ in width, each earring features an elongated, cylindrical clear quartz crystal stone with two pointed ends, wrapped along the center by a rose-gold plated ring.
Love + Leather Crystal Disco Necklace, $99.99. Available at UrbanOutfitters.com
Ante up with this witchin’ Western-flavored necklace, which feels like a nod to saddle-loving spiritual healers and esoteric cowgirls. The 38″-long necklace features a gold-toned snake chain wrapped in soft braided leather along each side, with knots and fringe punctuating the corral-ready feel. Three tiers made of raw brass, meanwhile, are accentuated with clear quartz crystals to give the design a mysterious, enigmatic, gypsy-like feel.
Vanessa Mooney Supernova Collection The Purple Haze Earrings, $281. Available at VanessaMooney.com
Part of Vanessa Mooney’s collaboration with For Love and Lemons, these earrings incorporate a special type of rainbow quartz stone — titanium flame aura — that is naturally blessed with a hologram-worthy iridescence. According to crystal energy experts, the titanium flame aura quartz stimulates the auric field, patching up any holes within one’s aura with the corresponding color and acting as a prism for energy emanating from the soul. Because of these properties, this stone is believed to encourage communication, meditation, introspection, clairvoyance, and intuition. From an aesthetic POV, each 1.5″-long, rough-cut, caged quartz stone proves hypnotic inside the clutches of the high-polish brass prongs, its luminosity and rainbow-like colors proving nothing short of beguiling.
Nest Quartz and Druzy Agate Statement Necklace, $395. Available at SaksFifthAvenue.com
These clear quartz baguettes resemble the spiky shards that constitute the Fortress of Solitude’s exterior (said to be made of a Kryptonian crystalline material called sunstone), so there’s no doubt as to why you’ll feel like Superwoman when wearing this 19″-long statement necklace. The luxurious piece features spiked quartz stones strung along a silk cord then embellished along one side with a cloudy druzy agate stone encircled in 22k gold-plated metal.
Crystal Cactus Dragon Rose Quartz Bird Pendant, $36. Available at CrystalCactus.com
Known as the “love stone,” rose quartz is believed to emit vibrations of unconditional love, solidarity, compassion, and affectionate warmth, resonating within the heart chakra and in turn emitting that energy to those closest to the bearer. To try a little tenderness, rock this rose quartz pendant, which features a sterling silver dragon wrapped around its perimeter and a 16″ sterling silver chain.
Nissa Jewelry Desert Wanderer Earrings, $24. Available at NissaJewelry.com
To give any look — a printed maxi dress, a denim T-shirt with black pants, a vintage rock ‘n’ roll tee with jeans, or an LBD — a Bohemian attitude, accessorize with these limited-edition, gold-plated Nissa Jewelry dangle earrings, featuring open circle frames adorned with rough, amorphous, lumpy quartz stone charms. Ring-like, gold-toned and clear beads frame the larger quartz stones, making each open ring shape a bit more dynamic and adding to the harmonic contrast in proportions and textures.
Ayaka Nishi Coral Necklace, $550. Available at AHAlife.com
When Earth and Water coincide, the result can be fire (in the figurative sense, of course!). When you behold this sculptural necklace crafted by Ayaka Nishi, you’ll be drawn to the bronze coral branches along the upper portion of the necklace, which spread along either side of the collarbone area, then your gaze will move down to the slightly gothic draped oxidized chains and finally sparkle at the sight of the natural quartz stones and fresh water pearls dangling within this tangled web of chain strands. The freshwater pearls emphasize the aquatic motif created by the coral theme and remind us of the wonders lying at the bottom of the ocean, while the clear quartz stones pay homage to the treasures found deep in the earth. Measuring 16″ in width and 7″ in length, this necklace will cover practically your entire torso, making it a truly striking piece on every front.
Seraphine Designs Tangerine Quartz and Raw Pyrite Choker, $295. Available at SeraphineDesigns.com
If you’re a Project Runway fanatic, you might remember the stunning pyrite and agate choker that Amanda Valentine wore during the latest Project Runway season, when she was the runner-up to New Zealand transplant Sean Kelly. If, like me, you were mesmerized by the necklace, then you’ll be pleased to know that we tracked down the source of her lovely trinket: Seraphine Designs. The company specializes in pieces with raw stones and crystals mined primarily in Brazil and Peru — among them green malachite, fluorite, teal agate, golden pyrite, and amethyst. Launched by Nashville, Tennessee native Brooke Seraphine, the brand’s mission is to create pieces that underline the beauty found in nature through the use of raw stones that haven’t been tirelessly polished, faceted, buffed, and sculpted but which simply bask in the limelight of their own intrinsic wondrousness. This particular choker captures the brand’s aesthetic by combining an uncut tangerine quartz from Brazil with a glittery Peruvian pyrite stone, each punctuating one tip of the open-ended, wire choker.
