Kria Bones Up On Jewelry Design, Vertebrae Necklaces and More

kria, n (sterna paradisaea) migrates farther than any other bird and in known for ferocious protection of breeding grounds.

Kria jewelry is a collection of femur bones, wing bones, caudal vertebrae, branches and twigs cast in 14k yellow gold or sterling silver. Necklaces on rope chains or leather, bracelets and rings, some embedded with diamonds, others with pearls, are all delicately rendered as miniature and elegant wearable pieces.



I'm going to show you the pieces in gold, but keep in mind, many of these are available in sterling silver, too.

Some of the necklaces:




Gold vertebrae necklace and bracelet on leather:

Gold bone and branch rings:

gold branch bangle bracelet:

Gold bone and branch earrings:


The inspiration for Kria appeared on a black lava beach in eastern Iceland in the summer of 2006 when Johanna Methusalemsdottir found a skeleton of the bird by the same name nestled in the sand. The birth of her second daughter, Lóla Salvör came soon after as did the birth of the Kria collection and both are growing.

Kria was officially founded in 2007 while Johanna was experimenting with the re-contextualization of elements of the natural world through jewelry. In an effort to integrate the shapes of organic objects such as bones and branches with the shapes of the human body, she began a fresh illumination of the grace of evolutionary design with the Kria collection.


Johanna Methusalemsdottir (above) originally left Reykjavik, Iceland for New York City in 1988 and worked her way into the world of fashion with Me & Ro jewelry as their first employee before she took time off to give birth to her first daughter, Lóla Salvör. Later she became a press officer and a fashion media liaison for Patrick Cox, a manager of a retro-couture showroom, and finally a stylist working with magazines including Crash, British GQ Style, Nylon, Fade, Black, In Style, Oyster, Blast, Trace, Beaux Arts, Black Book, Sportswear International, Clear, Composite, Seventeen, as well as for national television advertising.

ALL ITEMS COME IN A HAND PRINTED EGG SHAPED LEATHER POUCH WITH A POST CARD.

Kria Jewelry is all handmade and produced in New York City. You can purchase her jewelry and other cool Iceland based design items at Icelandic Market

Royal Asscher's Stars Of Africa, 18k And Diamond Snowglobe Rings

I promise this is the last snow dome-related post until next holiday season, but I simply couldn't ignore these. These unbelievable lust-worthy 18k gold and real floating diamond rings work like little snowdomes! By Royal Asscher, the collection is for their fundraising initiative Stars Of Africa.



The Stars of Africa by Royal Asscher™ jewelry collection was launched in November. The project’s name represents the largest diamond ever found, at 3,105 carats, which the Asscher family cut in 1908.

This collection of 18 rings is distinguished by floating diamonds, which are encased in a fluid-filled sapphire dome that allows them to fall freely.



The result of floating diamonds is that the stones emit light, fire and beauty as they move, similar to twinkling stars, according to the designers. The ring collection is available in white, yellow and rose gold in two sizes, with retail prices ranging from $4,950 to $7,900.



Lita Asscher, shown above, first introduced the Star of Africa program in New York during November of 2008. A year later, she explained that in partnering with charities and businesses, she could show the industry how it can have a positive impact on Africa, particularly Sierra Leone, which she visited in 2008. Asscher came away with a strong belief in "diamonds for development" and that became the main goal of the Star of Africa initiative. A portion of each ring purchase goes back to Africa.




To enquire about purchasing contact starsofafrica@royalasscher.com

Love Diamonds?

Check out this post on the biggest diamonds ever found.

A Mountain of Gold, Literally. Ginza Tanaka Creates Solid Gold Mt. Fuji

Made of 3 kg (6.6 lbs) of gold, the 6 cm (2.3 inch) high reproduction of Japan's sacred dormant volcano was made by jewelers Tanaka Kikinzoku of Ginza Tanaka and put on display on Tuesday, the day before it goes on sale in Tokyo.



And despite the steep price tag, which comes as Japan's economy tries to stave off another slide into recession, the upmarket jeweler believes there will be buyers.

"We tried to make something that can be enjoyed as an art work as well as a valuable asset with this golden Mount Fuji. It is also a subject that has a special meaning to Japanese people," Naoto Mizuki, general manager of the Ginza-based company told Reuters.




Mount Fuji (above) at 3,776 meters (12,388 ft) is Japan's highest mountain. It is believed to be sacred and is seen as a symbol of good luck, especially for the New Year period.

Mizuki said he believed the gold mountain would also hold a special appeal for investors looking to put their money into safe-haven commodities after plunges on the stock market and in real estate.



"The price of gold is rising dramatically, and the economic crisis forces capital to move from paper assets, which are losing their charm, to material assets," Mizuki said.

Gold prices hit a record high of $1,226.10 per ounce earlier this month.

Mizuki said the design costs of the replica were kept down to about 15 percent of total costs -- a marginal amount compared to the usual 50 percent designers' fees -- to increase the product's investment appeal.

Tanaka Kikinzoku has two Mount Fuji's in stock and more will be made as orders are received.


above: Ayako Kikuchi, a public relations officer of precious metals and jewelry shop Ginza Tanaka shows off the company's gold handiwork of Mount Fuji during its press preview in a Tokyo hotel on December 15, 2009.

Ginza Tanaka will sell the 22-centimetre wide and 6-centimetre-high 3-kilogram gold Mount Fuji model from December 16 this year with the price of 11.73 million yen ($132 000 USD) with the gold price currently at 3,400 yen per gram. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA

images via Ginza Tanaka and Akihabara news
info via Reuters and brought to my attention via Bornrich

Pure Gold Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Ginza Tanaka jewelers make many wild things in all gold from bathing suits to pagodas. And last month launched a sold gold Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in in celebration of the release of the “Snow White Diamond Collection” in Blu-ray this month.



The pure gold “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” figurines took for 15 artisans, around 1.6 kg. pure gold and 6 months to sculpt this precious piece which already ranks as first of its kind in the World. Worth 30 million yen, it is not for sale, but is to be displayed in Ginza Tanaka headquarters and has been scheduled to travel to Nagoya, Sendai and Fukuoka branches of Tanaka until December 25 of this year.