Jewelry has a long and deeply rooted history in the human psyche. We have pierced our noses, lips and ear lobes with rods of stone, bone and wood or bits of wire, ribbon or string. Down through the history of man, many times we have lost the symbolic meaning for such practices, yet today we enjoy adorning ourselves with semiprecious or precious stones for the sheer joy and beauty of the jewels. Some attribute mystical meaning to crystals or stones, others simply enjoy the dazzling beauty of gems. Whatever the motivation, nature’s little bits of starlight continue to capture our imagination and bring us joy.

In the rich context of fashion, ecology and sustainable solutions have an important role. The trend in jewelry design is set on a path that searches for new ways and uses every little scrap that would otherwise be thrown away to create 'green fashion'. Jewelry is created by hand from recycled metals, including gold and silver. Pieces are decorated with synthetic diamonds - artificial gems created in laboratories. The production process is less harmful and among other preferred materials are rubber, plastic and glass.

Haffsteinn Juliusson is a product designer from Iceland whose Growing Jewelry collection is a redefinition of modern values. It is a clash of jewelry and gardening; couture and organism. The collection of this hand jewelry is designed for people in metropolitan cities and is an experiment in drawing nature toward man, as nature being the presupposition of life.

Christiane Diehl is a multi-faceted designer coming from Germany. Her unique line of jewelry features necklaces, bracelets and rings– all made from recycled rubber from bicycle tubes and air mattresses. From her Hanover studio, Christiane cuts tiny shapes out of these reclaimed materials and strings them together in to create these multi-dimensional and dynamic wonders. (via Inhabitat)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Romania from Adela on Vimeo.

Romania is still at the beginning in developing alternative jewelry. The handmade trend as the whole world knows it today is pretty much new here. (although many of our old traditions revolve around artisans and handmade fairs). But the young generation is slowly starting to design sustainably and I found at least 2 local artists that make a step ahead for our country. Why these two? Because looking through their eco- collections I got the feeling they both share a unique connection with the traditions and, inspired by nature, they re-invented the earth-friendly direction as art in the present.

So, maybe Romania's not technologically able to develop sustainable engineering and we can't afford buying it from other countries, either. Maybe, for now, we're just meant to make the world more colorful and beautiful by means of recycled jewelry.