DENTALIUM & DRUZY DROP EARRINGS

Gold-Plated Hardware

These earrings balance earth and ocean in a quiet, intentional form.

Each pair features slender dentalium shell drops, suspended beneath a softly textured gold-plated druzy agate bead. The contrast is subtle but powerful—raw sparkle above, organic shell below—mirroring the meeting of land and sea.

Dentalium has long been valued along the Northwest Coast and Arctic regions, prized for its rarity, natural beauty, and connection to trade, adornment, and continuity. Here, its pale, linear form brings lightness and movement, while the druzy agate adds grounded warmth and depth.

The elongated gold-plated hooks create a graceful silhouette, allowing the shells to sway gently with motion. These earrings feel both ancient and modern—delicate, but grounded in story.

Details:

• Natural dentalium shell drops

• Gold-plated druzy agate beads

• Gold-plated elongated ear wires and components

• Lightweight with soft movement

• Each pair is naturally unique

ARTIST NOTE

This piece is part of an ongoing exploration of material contrast—sparkle and matte, weight and lightness, land and water. Nothing here is rushed. Each element is chosen to speak quietly, allowing the materials to hold their own history.

ARTIST BIO

Kassandra Aki-Eyre is an Inupiaq artist and certified Silver Hand artist, born and raised in Alaska. She is a tribal member of the Native Village of Kotzebue and creates work under her jewelry label Modern Indigenous, where contemporary design meets ancestral materials and northern landscapes.

Her work explores themes of time, place, and resilience, drawing inspiration from Arctic environments, coastal trade routes, and the quiet strength of natural materials. Using elements such as silver, gold-fill, copper, stone, shell, resin, fur, ivory, bone, and naturally sourced materials, Kassandra creates pieces that honor both modern luxury and Indigenous connection to land.

Each piece is designed and handcrafted in Alaska with care, intention, and respect for the materials used—allowing them to carry their own history forward.