Our Favorite Inspirational Jewelry Gifts For Graduation 2016

Graduation season is coming, and soon countless students will walk across a stage toward their individual destinies: college, adventure, or a new career. Very exciting! But let’s be honest: commencement ceremonies usually entail a tedious wait through a seemingly endless roster of names, peppered with cliché-riddled speeches. How do you make this super-meaningful, yet often dull occasion more memorable for your favorite graduate? We think one of the nicest ways is congratulating them with a beautiful and inspirational jewelry gift to mark their hard-earned milestone. Bearing profound, uplifting messages, these necklaces and bracelets make ideal graduation gifts (and mercifully rescue you from the daunting task of crafting a sentimental speech yourself).

To help you choose the right gift, we put together a collection of our favorite inspirational jewelry pieces. Some of our pieces feature inspiring quotes while others are more symbolic. We tracked down motivational quotes to complement theses abstract pieces to illuminate their meaning. Honestly, this post is so packed with forceful wisdom, we’re afraid it might explode. Read at your own risk!

For The Trail Blazer

A believer in free thinking and individualism, Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke out against slavery and formal religion. Radical in 19^th century America, his work influenced countless intellectuals and moved society forward. This hand stamped pendant featuring Emerson’s encouraging message will encourage your graduate to take her guidance from within, rather than following everybody else. Someday, she might be a leading voice of her own generation. | Leave A Trail Necklace

For The Independent Woman

Remind her of the strength you know she possesses with this simple yet powerful quote, hand written on a sterling silver pendant. Whether it’s building a desk in her dorm room or tackling a tough job assignment, this elegantly meaningful piece of inspirational jewelry can help give her the confidence to succeed by reminding her that she’s strong enough to face all the challenges life may throw her way. | Strong Women Pendant

For The Goal Getter

Louis May Alcott is most famous for her novel Little Women, but few know that before this success she wrote numerous titles which weren’t as well received. Yet she persevered. Reaching for a goal is never easy and setbacks are inevitable, so give your graduate the courage to be ambitious with this symbolically charmed piece of inspirational jewelry. | Reach For The Moon Charm Necklace

For The Aspiring Artist

Is she perusing a creative passion, diving into a career where ingenuity thrives? This vividly enameled token is a reminder that even an artist as visionary as Pablo Picasso started with the same basic paintbox as everyone else.  There’s no telling where her imagination will lead her, so encourage her to create to her fullest potential. | Color Wheel Pendant

For The Very Determined

A serious bone illness required influential Victorian-era English poet William Ernest Henley to have his left leg amputated below the knee at age 19. He wrote Invictus (meaning “unconquerable” in Latin) in his hospital bed. Apparently he lived by it, too; he was described by one contemporary as being “unimaginable fire and vitality.” For almost 150 years, people have drawn inspiration from his mighty words. We hope your graduate has an easier time of it than Henley did; with luck, the biggest battle she’ll face in her immediate future will be against the urge to procrastinate. But whatever the scale of her challenges, both the design and the words of this vibrant piece of inspirational jewelry will help give her the fortitude to overcome them. | Master of My Fate Necklace

For One Who Dares To Be Bold

When Coco Chanel began creating her fashion line, industry veterans ridiculed her, disparaged her designs as being in poor taste. Fortunately for us, she found the courage to stick to her unconventional design philosophy and created one of the world’s most renowned, beloved, and long-lasting fashion empires. Show your brave graduate that you appreciate their guts, and inspire them to keep on taking risks with this discreetly powerful piece of inspirational jewelry, whose simple elegance we know Coco would approve of. | Courage Bracelet 

For One Whose Story is in the Making

You’ve been there for her story every step of the way through all her successes and failures. Sharing her endearingly, yet embarrassing childhood stories might be a favorite pastime of yours, but on her graduation, celebrate your respect for how far she’s come with this modern pendant. Wearing it will remind your beloved graduate that you’ll always be a part of her life, no matter where her story takes her. | Your Story Necklace

For the Lucky Few

Your graduate has done all the planning to reach this special day, and with a bit of luck on their side they might finally snag that dream job, or the coveted admissions letter towards college. Wish them every possible ounce of luck (and perhaps bestow some extra good luck magic) with this silver glass globe necklace containing a tiny wishbone charm suspended over pebbles of glowing golden citrine, aka the Success Stone. | Glass Globe Of Luck Necklace

For the Self-Assured

She believed she could get up for her 7 a.m. class during winter quarter, so she did. Give your graduate a boost of confidence and encouragement by letting her know that as long as she believes in herself, even facing that pre-dawn alarm is possible. Stamped with an artistic interpretation of the inspirational quote, this dainty and original bracelet will serve as an empowering declaration of faith in her and all she’ll achieve. | “She Believed She Could” Bangle 

For the One-Of-A-Kind

Perhaps the most important thing she should remember upon graduation is to be herself. Remind her how far she’s grown as an individual and how much she’ll continue to evolve with a birthstone necklace unique to her birth month. Her own yellow brick road lies ahead and if she believes in herself the dreams that she dares to dream will come true! | Birthstone Definition Necklace