Meditation, yin yoga, deep breathing, positive visualizations—we love every type of relaxation technique, but for a speedy destress, gazing into the colorful scenes in these beautiful Venyx pendants is an easy favorite. Designer Eugenie Niarchos is known for her fantastical, transporting jewelry (take a look back at her Una Rainbow Fish and Starfish rings) so these paradisiac scenes are not much of a departure, though they do offer one.
Each pendant frames a scene illustrated in Intarsia stone—Intarsia is a term used to describe a combo of stone and wood that has been cut and shaped to form a pictorial or geometric design. Niarchos encountered the design while scouring the gem show circuit. “I found something truly enchanting about it,” she says. “Intarsia is a mesmerizing technique, which creates something beautifully unique and dreamlike. It’s also futuristic, much like my brand’s ethos, in a way.” Most of the designs are set in 18-karat gold and many boast luminous accents like moonstones and akoya keshi pearls, to colored sapphires, tsavorites, amethysts and rhodolites. “I love how precious gemstones are inlayed to create beautiful landscape patterns,” Niarchos also notes that she connected with the elemental representations in each design; in most pieces, all four of the earth’s elements are spoken for—hills curve up through blue sky to frame a sun setting over a placid body of water.
From left: Moonscape, Earthscape and Sunscape pendants. ACCOOPER NEG & PRINT
“This collection was inspired by my passion and interest in the ancient world and with the ancient Egyptian’s concept and symbolism of the four elements,” Niarchos explains. “They believed that in order to reach the sacred or even a basic understanding of the sacred, one had to master and fully understand the four elements, as they are the building blocks of human nature.”
Lucky for all of us, these designs create a look that is easy to master. “I love layering them with a really chunky gold chain combining a playful mixture of colors and chain lengths,” says Niarchos. “But these Intarsia pendants are really bold, stand-out pieces, so wearing them singularly can also look amazing.”
