Leigh Maxwell

While Cedar Rapids-Iowa based designer, Jennifer Maxwell of Leigh Maxwell, may be landlocked, she was introduced to the sentimental prowess of jewelry while traveling the world as an international physician, and it was through a desire to feel connected to her second home in Turks & Caicos that lead Jennifer to initially discover her own passion for design. Her Sea Horse collection features earrings, pendants and an exquisite cuff bracelet hand-carved in 18k gold, with and without gemstones, that illustrate the designer’s love for the ocean.

Renna Jewels

The foundational aesthetic of Renna Taher’s collection, Renna Jewels, is an 18k replica of two coffee bean shells Renna and her free-spirited mother found on Salt Creek Beach when Renna was just 9 years old. Growing up in Pacific Palisades, California, a love of the sea was instilled in the designer at a young age. This reverence extends to a feeling of protectiveness, and she makes every effort to ensure that her brand’s impact to the natural world is minimal. Whether subtle or overt, many pieces in the designer’s collections pay homage to the ocean and ocean life, either with her signature shell clasp, or the intricately carved rock crystal pieces in the brand’s Caspian collection.

Bibi van der Velden

Born in New York and raised in both England and the Netherlands, Dutch designer and sculptor, Bibi van der Velden, has a long-standing tradition of interpreting creatures of nature, both big and small, in her collections. Bibi currently lives with her family in Portugal, where she recently revived her passion for surfing, which serves as the primary inspiration for her latest collection, Waves. “Inspired by the ocean’s might and its cleansing, regenerative nature, Bibi has envisioned the sea with her sculptor’s eye, to create a jewellery collection that draws on the oceans’s mythical and organic qualities,” notes the brand’s description of the collection.

Lydia Courteille

Since launching her eponymous collection in 1998, French designer Lydia Courteille has occupied a world of fantasy and curiosity, so it should come as no surprise that her prolific body of work includes several nods to sea life. A scientist, collector, gemologist and traveler, Lydia’s work is both sophisticated and provocative, and contains an element of humor and whimsicality that belies the impeccable quality of the materials with which she works and the themes her work embodies. Multiple renderings of octopuses in her collections showcase their majestic qualities, while cheeky googly eyes add a sense of levity to the designs.

Alexandra Rosier

Originally trained in Fine Arts where she refined her inherent attention to detail, designer Alexandra Rosier gained experience in jewelry design working for important maisons before opening her own atelier in Paris. Alexandra considers herself a “citizen of the world” and is inspired by a diverse range of influences, always with an eye on evoking a sense of joy and spirituality with her creations. With several pieces that pay homage to the ocean, her fish pendants are impressive in both their scale, and the evident focus placed on even the smallest details of the designs.

Dezso by Sara Beltrán

Splitting her time among homes in New York, Mexico and Jaipur, El Paso-native and Dezso‘s designer, Sara Beltrán, is continually inspired by her travels and her love and respect for the ocean. Both literal and figurative interpretations of shark’s teeth and shells can be seen throughout her collections, and her work serves as a challenge to widely accepted concepts of inherent value. Mixing precious gemstones with seashells, Puka shells with 14k gold, and wood with diamonds, Sara takes a fearless approach to the design process, elevating each component in her balanced, sophisticated pieces.

Paula Crevoshay

Artist Paula Crevoshay is well known for her profound use of color, applying her painter’s eye to the process of hand-selecting gemstones as she would paint on canvas. Each one of her pieces is one-of-a-kind, and themes of nature can be found throughout her extensive body of work. With multiple books and museum exhibits celebrating her legacy, the intricately detailed designs in each of the pieces from her Sea Creatures collection evoke the other-worldly sounds that emanate from the ocean floor.