Golden Ice Earrings by Laidback Lux, $65
Originally from Washington State, Tiffanie Peters left for California after gratudating from high school to pursue her design education. After studying at the Academy of Art, Brooks College, and Pasadena CC, she settled in Long Beach and started honing in on her design aesthetics.
In 2004, she launched the Laidback Lux label with the design philosophy that jewelry should be perpetually chic, it should not go in and out of style.
Her love of jewelry is rooted from her grandmother who used to drag her to estate jewelry stores. Ironic that these trips that used to bore her, will eventually stir her to start her own line.
Growing up in Washington ingrained a deep appreciation of all things natural, and a desire to use gemstones that bring the Washington countryside to mind. At first, California did not rouse much inspiration until her mom, who is an avid gardener, opened her eyes to the beauty of the flowers in her new surroundings, on one of her summer visits. With this revelation, Tiffanie's senses tapped into the wild flowers that sprout naturally in Southern California, and provided a new, fresh, and colorful palette for her collection.
We received the Golden Ice from Laidback Lux's earring collection. It is made of a faceted oval and smooth pear-shaped rutilated quartz and 14k gold fill wire. It retails for $65.
Immediately, I was impressed with the little touches in the packaging - from the matte gold hand stamping of a tree branch with clusters of leaves on the box, to more of the same gold stamping on the handmade earring card.
I imagine that for this creation, the designer may have been inspired by the peaceful tranquility of snow melting in Washington's countryside. The pureness of the white snow cascading down and blending into the dirt on the ground.
To me it evoked a feeling of receiving something that's been sitting in my grandmother's jewelry box for years, like I was receiving an heirloom, something that was handed-down. The rutilated quartz has a glassy, but not glossy luster. It is opaque in parts and more transparent in others. It has a very antique feel to it, yet the structure is so modern. The combination of the two is what makes the earring so classically chic and unpretentiously beautiful.
It is also very comfortable to wear. I thought it may stretch my ear out, with 4 quartz dangling at a length of 2 1/4 inches. The best test would be to wear it all day without any earring support to see how it feels. I fully expected my ears to hurt after a while but surprisingly, that didn't happen at all. I wore them all day Saturday, at least 10 hours straight, with no earring support, no pain, and no sagging earlobes.
But what I love the most about this piece is that it goes with everything. With the quartz being colorless, you can pull anything out of your closet, and the earring will be a perfect accessory to it. On top of that, rutilated quartz is said to slow down the aging process and help strengthen the immune system. I'm thinking I'll wear mine everyday!
For a head-turning look, wear it with this Wilshire Dress by Trina Turk and this peep-toe Boalinda Pump by Stuart Weitzman.
Reviewer: Brown Eyes
