Tattoo Simplicity: jewelry

Fine jewelry is made from precious metals and stones and is worn as a way to show off a person's beauty and status. Costume jewelry can be made from a variety of materials such as paste, plastic, glass and non-precious metals. Over the past few decades, jewelry designers have been expanding their horizons by creating jewelry pieces that use bizarre and creepy materials.

Bling that Bites: Human Teeth Jewelry
Ever wondered what the tooth fairy does with all those teeth? Polly van der Glas creates jewelry using real human teeth, positioning the teeth in such a way that they seem to be set in the metal the same way they had once been set in gums, in someone's mouth.

Above: Human teeth make an unusual addition to body jewelry. [source]

Roadkill Rings are a Creative use of Crushed Critters
April Hale uses road kill as a material for her creepy creations. After sketching the dead animals, Hale skins and cleans the bodies and then creates jewelry out of the fur. Each piece of jewelry is designed to best show off the color and texture of the roadkill's fur.

Above: April Hale shows off her furry creations. The rings are made from the skins of animals killed in road accidents. [source]

Hair-Raising Jewelry
Kerry Howley uses human hair to create patterned necklaces. Instead of creating individual loops to create a chain, Howley has instead designed lace-like human hair jewelry. The jewelry range is called attraction/aversion. The artist claims that she wanted to make people feel both attraction and aversion simultaneously, which is why she has used discarded human hair in a decorative manner.

Above: One of Kerry Howley's human hair jewelry creations. [source]

Decorated Maquech Beetles are Living Jewelry

Some Mexican jewelry designers are continuing the tradition of decorating maquech beetles with precious metals and gems. The beetles are then worn as a living brooch, tethered to a person's clothing with a short leash that is also made of a precious metal such as gold or silver.

Above: A maquech beetle decorated with gold and precious stones. The beetles are very docile, making them ideal subjects for living jewelry. [source]

Lending a Hand: the Barbie Bracelet

Margaux Lange creates jewelry out of dolls, namely Barbie dolls. She hacks the dolls into bits, and then re-uses the parts for her creations. Hands, mouths, eyes, even the body parts find a place in Lange's jewelry creations.

Above: A Margaux Lange creation that uses several Barbie hands for decoration. [source]

A Squeaky Taxidermy Pendant

Taxidermy jewelry is becoming more and more popular. Whether the creatures used are insects, sea animals, mammals or birds, taxidermy jewelry is fascinatingly macabre. The eyes of taxidermy creatures are generally replaced with glass, but for taxidermy jewerly, the eyes can also be replaced with semi-precious stones or gems.

Above: This mouse head taxidermy pendant is completed with black decorations that highlight the white fur of the dead mouse. [source]

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Preserved for eternity, live flowers can be worn to create a fun flash of color to celebrate spring or brighten up a winter wardrobe.

Flowers make lovely yet fleeting gifts. A bouquet of roses is considered to be a romantic gesture, but the flowers eventually fade and die. Jewelry designers have incorporated flowers into jewelry design for centuries, but these pieces lack the intricate detail and colors of a real, natural flower.

Above: A real flower preserved to retain its color and shape.

Jewelers have now discovered new ways to keep a flower blooming, by carefully preserving the flower and coating it in resin. This hard, shiny coating of resin both protects the flower while preserving the shape and color of the delicate petals. Because of this technique, a romantic gift of flowers can be treasured for many years. As a Valentine’s Day or wedding anniversary gift, real flower jewelry is a long-lasting, unique and memorable present. The symbolism of specific flowers means that a gift of flower jewelry can have a much deeper, more personal meaning than that of a gift of a live flower arrangement.

Real flower jewelry available online at HanamiUSA
The following real flower jewelry pieces by Hanami use whole flowers and individual flower petals. The flowers or petals need to be almost identical in nature to create a matching pair of earrings.

Real flower jewelry available online at RoyalPrincess
RoyalPrincess sells beautiful real flower jewelry that is perfect for brides and bridesmaids, or even a symbolic wedding gift. This jewelry designers incorporates sterling silver, pearls and gold into the artworks, so that the flowers can bloom eternally in style.