Timeless Motif

Jewelry artists are always exploring myriad found shapes to tell their design story. And nature, it turns out, presents some of the most elegant and inviting shapes and references that offer continual appeal.
We've seen this motif over and over recently in all types and price points of jewelry. And with just a little sleuthing, we produced some intriguing backstories about this near-mythical leaf design.

The ginkgo biloba tree plays host to the limpid leaf shapes that fascinate everyone. In Asian civilizations where it is said to have originated, this tree has not evolved, nor does it have a close floral relative in its millions of years existence.


The trees eventually made their way across the globe, although they did not survive in the tropics. But other parts of the world they did well, including New York, where specimens planted in the late 18th century still grow quite hearty today.

Their long lives and seeming imperviousness to destruction has won them the adoration of cultures around the world. Scientists have found that they existed millions of years ago. While it was thought to have become extinct in the 17th century, they popped up again in China. These beauties can keep living for thousands of years apparently. One such example today in China is verified as being 1,400 years old now, and draws admirers from far away when it sheds its beautiful leaves each autumn.



Longevity and perseverance are the bywords of the elegant ginkgo leaf many believe. But we think they are simply alluring and timeless in appeal.

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