Marie Chavez

Editor’s Pick
A Celebrity Favorite for Bold and Beautiful Jewelry
Julie Marie Chavez is the creator and designer of the Marie Chavez collection and offers eye-catching, bold and colorful pieces as well as classic and simple styles for everyday wear. Her collection features playful and bold pieces which tend to change as seasons and trends change, but also classic, everyday pieces that are timeless can be worn year after year. Julie’s pieces are unique from other jewelry designs because while almost anyone can create jewelry as a craft, it takes a good eye for detail and skill for color schemes to create pieces that get noticed. Her collection, without a doubt, gets noticed. Marie Chavez is a big name with many
celebrities, some who have even personally requested custom-made pieces. Starlets including Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Anne Hathaway, Kate Bosworth, Rosario Dawson, and Sarah Michelle Gellar are big fans of Marie Chavez. Julia Roberts owns a variety of Marie Chavez jewelry and even ordered custom-made necklaces as guest favors for her wedding. Her collections have been featured in magazines such as InStyle, Lucky, ShopEtc, Glamour, Us, Cosmopolitan and People, and has been featured on Access Hollywood's Fashion Fix.
Ever since she was a little girl, her love for art and design and her talent for creativity were always evident. She was always drawn to color, texture, and imagery, and thrived in art classes by going above and beyond on projects. As she approached her late twenties, Julie picked up jewelry making as a hobby and continued to create pieces as they continued to sell. Julie never planned on being a jewelry designer, but before she knew it, her hobby turned into a booming business. Launching her line in 2002, it was the first time she truly applied her talent for creating. Julie says, “I always feel blessed that this has become my reality because using my creative abilities is truly what I was meant to do. If it is not jewelry, it will be something else. But jewelry it is for now and a long time to come.” Julie incorporates various styles in her line since different women have diverse tastes, and it is important to her to be fair in always offering a bit of everything. Her pieces vary from a lovely, plain pendant that is perfect for everyday wear to a bold and colorful piece for a special occasion or night on the town. While she personally opts to wear simple pieces, she finds that the artistic and colorful ones are her muse.
A signature look of Marie Chavez is her Multi-Stone Wirewrap Necklace, made of everything from bone, porcelain, Czech glass, green kyonite, olive quartz, brown rhodoscrosite, Jasper, turquoise, lavender pearls, and brown mother-of-pearls. This necklace tastefully balances a mix of colorful stones, glass beads, and pearls, and casts a gorgeous glow and regal spectrum of colors as light shines through. This 38” necklace may be worn long or wrapped twice.
For a bohemian touch, the Black Obsidian & Blue Turquoise Necklace features a 33” long wire-wrapped chain made with finely cut small black obsidian stones and accented with a gorgeous Tibetan turquoise and brass pendant. Mined from the Himilayas, Tibetan turquoise is most prized for its beautiful aqua blue color and dark, earthy veins throughout. Here, the antique look of the turquoise and brass contrasted against the black obsidian is breathtaking.
For a basic, yet lovely everyday necklace, the Hammered Bronze, Rhodocrosite & Opal Necklace features a pretty pastel cluster of a hammered sterling silver disc, a soft pink rhodocrosite, and a pastel green opal drop hanging from a silver chain. This feminine and charming necklace is also available in bronze. Year after year, the
Swarovski Crystal and Twist Pearl Wrap Necklace has continuously been a popular seller because of its stunning and romantic design of finely cut Swarovski crystals, twist pearls and petite freshwater pearls wirewrapped by hand onto a elicate silver filigree chain. This elegant necklace sparkles beautifully and is perfect for brides. Available in 34” or 50,” this wrap can be worn long, doubled, or even tripled.
Julie’s handiwork can also be seen on her exquisite earrings. The Loose Link Carnelian Earrings are long and flirty, with gold oval links loosely interlocked with tiny citrine briolettes dangling throughout, and a pale carnelian drop hanging daintily at the bottom. These feminine earrings stand out and look amazing against dark hair, while the soft
champagne shade of the carnelian flatters blondes as well. Or the Black Onyx & Briolette Linear Earrings are a sophisticated and perfect compliment to that little black dress as they hang long and naturally draw attention to the neck. These playful and sexy earrings feature petite onyx beads elaborately wirewrapped along 14K gold-filled chain links, with a large onyx briolette at the end.
Julie also offers a remarkable selection of sterling silver jewelry. The Ornate Sterling Silver Ring Earrings feature elaborate designs on these half moon crescent rings, with just enough curve and shine to get noticed. The Medium Sterling Silver Hoops are appealing and minimal for everyday wear. This is a smaller version of their classic sterling hoops and will go with everything!
One of our favorite pieces is her Triple Strand Bracelet in Sterling Silver, which fits amazingly flattering
and is unlike any other bracelet. The three strands are made with a lovely mixture of quality sterling silver beads in various ornate designs and shapes, chain links, and Swarovski crystals. This bracelet is extremely light and comfortable to wear and best of all, looks great as it gracefully hugs your wrist.
Julie gets her best design ideas immediately after gem shows because she returns with fresh ideas, new stones, and a stronger invigoration to blend her creations of stones and metals. When she has “designer’s block,” her tried and true solution is to sit back and ask herself “what would I want to wear?” Without fail, she always ends up designing a lovely necklace or pair of earrings that many others tend to love as well. Julie compares designing jewelry to solving a puzzle, in that if something does not quite fit, she will work with it until it is accomplished. Personally, Julie is a fan of her more detailed and colorful designs because although they may not be considered pieces for daily wear, they represent more of her “signature” style.
Julie has been the sole creator and designer of her designs for eight years, and recently began collaborating with an additional person for design concepts. She strongly believes that this is a move in the right direction as Marie Chavez jewelry will ultimately be better and stronger for it. In traveling to Hong Kong, Thailand, Africa, Paris, and Rome, Julie would love to return to Africa, in hopes of incorporating more African trade beads and unique materials into her work. She graduated from the University of San Diego, and now lives in New Jersey with her husband and daughter, who have continued to encourage and support her every step of the way. Marie Chavez is sold in exclusive boutiques nationwide as well as in international stores. You can also visit her online shop at mariechavez.com.