Celestial Style: How We Designed Our New Handmade Bracelets

Each bracelet represents one of the wonders of our solar system

I’m a life-long lover of outer space, and I love knowing that many of our customers are too. We’re always looking for creative ways to celebrate the wonders of the universe, so I was super excited when the rest of the team at UncommonGoods got on board with my planetary-inspired jewelry idea: our handmade Earth & Beyond Bracelets.

I knew from the start that I wanted to develop these bracelets in collaboration with Wakami, a company that empowers female artisans and their communities. Not only do they have an artistic vision that would help the idea come to life, but they also have a really great mission: connecting under-resourced communities to the global market.

Guatemalan artisans at work crafting Earth and Beyond Bracelets , production and design photo courtesy of Wakami

Through Wakami, women in rural Guatemalan villages are able to generate income and access services (like professional training) that help improve their quality of life. Knowing that, we felt like the story, design, and craftsmanship of these bracelets would make a meaningful statement to anyone who wears them.

Wakami’s lead designer Lis Giron put together preliminary bracelet designs based on my initial direction.

Wakami’s lead designer, Lis Giron, at work

We went through a few rounds of design iterations, making sure each bracelet felt truly distinct and represented the planet. (We also designed each bracelet to have an adjustable closure to make it comfortable and easily wearable.) I did a bunch of research on planetary facts to come up with different design elements that should be incorporated into the design.

Lis’ sketches of potential Earth and Beyond designs

Some of the elements were iconic details, and other elements were more unexpected and fun surprises for my fellow space aficionados.

Earth and Beyond Bracelets – $45 Buy Now »

Mercury

The surface of Mercury is covered with holes called impact craters, so the bracelet has silvery beads that represent Mercury’s cratered surface.

Venus

Venus is a hazy yellow color due to the sulfur that permeates the atmosphere, so we brought that color palette to the Venus bracelet. Venus is also the brightest planet in the solar system, so its main design feature is a luminous bronze bead.

Earth

Earth is the only known planet to sustain life, so its bracelet is a lush green and blue in homage to our land and sea. As a fun interactive detail, we incorporated Earth’s Moon in the form of a silver charm that “revolves” around the bracelet.

Behold, planet Earth (as a bracelet!)

Mars

Mars, the red planet, has two tones of red string with metallic red beads.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet, so the knotwork on this bracelet feels thicker & chunkier. Since Jupiter is known for its Great Red Spot (a giant hurricane that spins around Jupiter’s atmosphere), we represented that in the bracelet as a red glass bead.

Saturn

From a distance, Saturn appears to have 7 large rings – 4 main groups of rings and 3 fainter, narrower groups… so for this bracelet, we designed it to include 4 twisted strands to represent those 4 main groups.

Uranus and Saturn

Uranus

Uranus is the only planet whose equator is actually perpendicular to its orbit, so the knotwork is “twisted” as a reference to its unique rotational tilt. Uranus appears to be a pale blue color because of the methane gas in its atmosphere, so we also incorporated a light blue color into its bracelet.

Neptune

Neptune is another blue planet. But in contrast to the hazy surface of Uranus, you can actually detect the weather patterns in Neptune’s atmosphere. For Neptune’s bracelet, we represented its Great Dark Spot (a storm system that is similar to Jupiter’s Great Red Spot) through dark beads that show up as spots on Neptune’s surface.

Pluto

And finally we have Pluto. Although it was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006, we included it in this set for the space lovers who long for the days when Pluto was still our solar system’s 9th planet. Pluto’s “heart” isn’t just a reference to our love for Pluto. It’s also a reference to the New Horizons photo that came out in 2015, when we discovered Pluto’s big heart. Because it is the darkest (and coldest) planet due to the distance from the Sun, we gave it a dark gray color.

We ♥ Pluto

All of these details help make the final designs stand out – and they’re fun to talk about to anyone who asks. These bracelets create a stylish statement that works with any look. You can wear them all together, or you can mix and match.

Whether you’re an outer space expert, or you simply appreciate the beauty and mystery of the universe, these handmade Earth and Beyond Bracelets have a story that makes for stellar conversation.

Get this cosmically cool set here »