Coral inspired rings, earrings and bracelets from St Lucia, where reefs cover most of a World Heritage sea
Why should coral stay on the reef and not on your wrist?
Real coral jewellery is a dead animal sold as a souvenir. I don’t care how pretty it is.
Coral is alive. A reef is millions of tiny animals building limestone homes over centuries, and Caribbean reefs are under pressure from heat, disease and pollution. Pulling a branch off to make earrings is the opposite of loving the sea.
So here’s the alternative I’ll actually stand behind: coral inspired jewellery. The branching, open shape of the reef, cast in metal. Anitanja Lawaetz designs hers in St Lucia, the ocean and coral collection is made by hand by artisans in Bali, and every piece ships from the UK. Nothing is taken from the water.
Why are Caribbean coral reefs in trouble?
Caribbean coral reefs are in trouble because disease, pollution, overfishing and warming seas have cut coral cover by more than half since the 1970s, according to a 2014 IUCN report, and elkhorn coral, once one of the reef builders of the region, is now listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Heat is the big one. When the water stays too warm for too long, corals expel the algae that feed them and turn white. That’s coral bleaching. Some recover. Many don’t. In 2024 the US ocean agency NOAA confirmed a global bleaching event, only the fourth on record.
I’m not telling you this to sell you a ring. I’m telling you because it’s the reason I’d never wear the real thing, and why sea inspired, metal ocean jewellery is the only coral I’ll recommend.
What is coral inspired jewellery?
Coral inspired jewellery is jewellery shaped after coral, usually cast in metal, so it carries the look of the reef without using any real coral. The point is the structure: branching, open, full of light and shadow, which metal holds far better than coral ever could.
Is it legal to buy real coral jewellery?
Real coral jewellery is legal only with permits in many cases, because all stony corals and all black corals are listed under CITES, the international treaty that controls trade in threatened species. Coral inspired jewellery in metal sidesteps the whole question.
Does metal last longer than coral?
Metal lasts far longer than coral. Coral is porous, so it scratches, chips and soaks up perfume and sweat. A coral shape in metal can go in the sea air every day and still look the same in ten years.
Which reefs inspired the ocean and coral collection?
The reefs of St Lucia’s west coast inspired the collection. The Pitons Management Area, around the twin volcanic peaks near Soufrière, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, and coral reefs cover almost 60 per cent of its marine area.
Sixty per cent. That’s the water Anitanja’s island looks out on, and you can see it in the work. Read more on the UNESCO listing.
Which coral inspired earrings should you choose?
You should choose the coral lace earrings if you want the clearest coral piece Anitanja makes: an open gold lattice that frames the face the way a sea fan moves in water.
How do you wear statement coral earrings?
You wear statement earrings like these by keeping everything else quiet: hair back, a plain neckline, no necklace. The earrings are the whole look. Browse every nature inspired earring if you want something smaller.
What are coral inspired rings, and which one is right for you?
Coral inspired rings are rings whose texture or shape echoes the reef, and the right one for most people is the pebble cluster ring, which gathers rounded, textured forms across the finger like coral heads on the sea floor.
What should you look for in a coral inspired ring?
You should look for texture that catches the light, a low profile that won’t snag, and a shape that still reads from a distance. Very fine coral branches look beautiful on a ring and bend the first time you reach into a bag. A clustered form is the practical choice. More on this in ocean rings and nature inspired rings.
Are there coral inspired bracelets and necklaces?
There are coral inspired bracelets and necklaces in the collection: the lattice disc bracelet links gold discs filled with an open lattice, like pieces of sea fan, and the textured disc bracelet and island station necklace carry rounded, textured forms for anyone who wants the ocean more quietly.
What is a sea fan, and why does it inspire jewellery?
A sea fan is a soft coral that grows as a flat, open lattice, turned side on to the current so it can catch food from the passing water. That lattice is exactly what you see in the lattice disc bracelet: a mesh of gold filling each disc, light passing straight through.
Why does the sea feel sacred?
The sea feels sacred because, for millions of people, it is. In the Yoruba religion of West Africa, Yemọja is honoured as the mother of the waters, and in the Caribbean and Brazil she is Yemayá and Iemanjá, still given flowers at the shoreline. I go deeper into that in ocean rings.
Wearing the reef doesn’t make you part of a faith. It’s a way of carrying respect for the water with you. And choosing the metal version over the real thing is that respect in action.
How do you care for ocean inspired jewellery?
You care for ocean inspired jewellery by keeping it out of the sea itself, rinsing off salt and storing open designs apart.
- Take it off before swimming. Salt water and sun cream dull metal.
- Rinse in fresh water and pat dry if salt gets on it.
- Clean lattice designs with a soft brush to reach the openings.
- Store pieces separately so open structures don’t catch.
So which piece would I choose first?
The coral lace earrings. Wear the reef, leave the reef. Then see the rest of the ocean and coral collection.
Thanks for reading! @queenofvitality
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