Unhada Archives

A lunar lovely from Unhada for eclipse Monday.

August 21, 2017

You’re not tired of seeing moon-themed things yet today, are you? Because trust me, you’re going to want to see this one.

This Unhada’s exquisitely lovely moon in chains pendant, from her brand new Moonceros collection. It’s a simple design, but there’s something so irresistibly elegant about the slender crescent moon caught up in its delicate web of gold chains.

I’ve loved this little moon from afar ever since I first saw it on Unhada’s Instagram, but now that I’ve met it in person I’ve utterly lost my heart to it.

As if the piece itself weren’t romantic enough, wait until you hear the story behind it. Here’s the designer’s inspiration, in her own words:

The story goes…

An evil power puts the moon in chains.

The creatures under the sea must live in darkness, void of life. The creatures will do anything to see the light but most of them remain still and silent.

Except a narwhal that swims for days looking for a glimpse of light. Finally after days he discovers a magical jeweled cave protected by a giant gold sea knot. He hesitates but then swims closer. As he proceeds, he begins to see his reflection but realizes it is another narwhal. Completely black. The narwhal realizes he is starting at his twin, yet purely evil. He must confront the creature to get into the cave.

What the narwhal doesn’t know is that a white swan has set upon the same quest above the sea to unlock the chains of the moon. And what they both do not know is that they must unlock their piece of the puzzle at the same exact moment.

The swan floats through the water in the darkness looking for any clues to brightness. He sees a flash of light and quickly backtracks. He realizes it is a pearl. Not just any pearl, the most beautiful pearl he is ever seen. In fact he is not sure he has ever seen anything like it. He begins to pick it up as the narwhal begins to charge towards the evil lurking in front of the cave. The narwhal swims to the sea knot and touches it with his long nose. It falls to the ground. The swan holds the pearl in it’s feathers and a burst of light appears. The chains loudly fall from the moon sounding like an explosion on Earth to the bottom of the sea floor. The creatures can rejoice below and above the sea. All is peaceful now and there is light. Good has prevailed (for now)…”

You already know I love Unhada’s dreamy designs and fairy tale inspirations, and this gorgeous necklace is another wonderful example. Simple and simply perfect!

All images via Unhada.

Fairy tale design for a modern world: Unhada jewelry.

April 25, 2016

One of the coolest things about my jewelry blogging career is the way that it’s expanded my horizons: I can love jewelry now that I wouldn’t previously have understood. This open-mindedness has brought me the opportunity to appreciate brands that I wouldn’t have glanced twice at four years ago.

Unhada jewelry is not one of those brands.

Unhada’s aesthetic connects directly to my inherent sense of beauty: I would have loved these designs when I was 8, 18, or 28 and I’m pretty sure I’ll still love them when I’m 83. I was drawn to these pieces the moment I saw them, and I the more I see, the stronger that feeling is. The lines, the textures, the colors – they’re irresistible to me.

Within seconds of meeting the fabulous Jocelyn Prestia – the lady behind Unhada jewelry‘s loveliness – I immediately understood why her work spoke to me so strongly.

Let’s let Jocelyn introduce herself.

“I come from a creative family and took to writing growing up. I also felt like I suffered from an imagination too large for a human being. I dreamt up islands, worlds, fairy tales, and realized a part of me really believed in them. […]

Fast forward and I start to realize my love of antique jewelry. I began to attend a lot of the antique shows and try to learn how to ultimately open up an antique jewelry shop because I was so inspired by the Doyle sisters on so many levels. However, I realized that there weren’t many people like the Doyle girls (as I call them) who had an educational background to truly understand what they were selling so I decided to study gemology.

I’d always dreamed of being an expat and loved the city of Bangkok so my husband and I decided on a whim to move there so I could study at the GIA. Living in Bangkok opened a door to a magic world where I learned so much by being surrounded by a huge colored gem market.”

2015 gift guide: $3,000 – $7,000.

November 17, 2015

Hello again, my dears! Let’s continue our glorious climb up the wide world of jewelry – all gifts waiting to delight, weather give to others or oneself (because #treatyoself).Here’s what we’ve covered already, in case you’re craving a recap: jewelry under $100; $100 – $200; $200 – $350; $350 – $500, $500 – $1,000, and $1,000 – $3,000.