Olive Jade Apatite Briolette Earrings by Calico Juno Designs, $38
With a BFA from York College of PA and an MFA in painting and sculpture, Bonnie Riconda packs an impressive background in the arts.
With no experience in jewelry creation, but with a love of jewelry and a passion for using her hands, she started experimenting with gemstones and wires with supplies purchased from a local store. Many trials and errors later, a collection of 30 original designs was born, and so was Calico Juno Designs.
Today, Bonnie's collection boasts over 450 designs and is carried by retailers nationwide.
Her love of brilliant colors in combination with precious and semi-precious gemstones, austrian crystals, freshwater pearls, and other stones create a palette that is fresh, airy, modern, stylish, and surprisingly affordable. Surprising, because Bonnie's jewelry is 100% handcrafted. She wraps all gemstones and beads by hand, makes her own hoops and french wires, and uses no fabricated parts.
Her designs have been featured in Instyle, Glamour, Marie Claire, Lucky, Modern Bride, and many other top fashion magazines. Her jewelry has been worn by celebrities such as Eva Langoria, Dylan Lauren, Kathy Lee Gifford and various MTV and VH1 VJs.
The earring we received retails for $38. It has baby hoops made from 14k gold-fill, about an inch long. Dangling from the hoop is an apatite briolette and an olive jade leaf that is about 1 1/2 inches long.
As to the coloration and the perceived size, this is a piece that when seen in person, is exactly as it appears in the photo. It's just as I imagined and expected it to be. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that the leaf isn't flat. You can see the swells by the way the light illuminates the peaks and valleys of the leaf. It adds such a nice dimension especially when light catches the leaf as it dangles above your shoulders.
As tiny as the apatite briolette is, it adds so much brilliance and a certain sophistication to the earring. It is removable and you can take it out of the hoop for a different look.
One thing I recommend is wearing the earring with ear lifts. It's not that heavy, but if you wear it like I do (i.e. day into night), it's so much more comfortable to wear it with some earring support.
This design seems so understated but yet so chic. The use of the leaf is so unexpected and the swells on it show utmost attention to detail, one that's not expected for a piece of jewelry that only costs $38. Unlike most fashion jewelry, you won't see a copy of this hanging in the display window of every other store in the mall. It's a well-crafted, unique piece that'll set you apart. It makes simple outfits stand out.
For a special occasion, pair it up with a dress like this double v-neck shine dress by Phoebe Couture, for a simply fabulous look!
Reviewer: Brown Eyes
