Are there any unique beaded jewelry designs left? We’re tired of the same old color combinations, conventional stones, and the monotonous summer street style. We crave designs with a sense of style, trendiness, and instantly recognizable good taste that stands out from the crowd.
If such designs exist, where are these more fashionable jewelry designers hiding? BELONGS followed the fashion industry’s trail, tracing the buyers’ quest back to the fertile fashion ground: California, USA.
California is the promised land for luxury brands, with Chanel, Gucci, and Hermes opening their highest-spec flagship stores on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
It’s the birthplace of global superstars, with the Oscars, Grammys, and Coachella. Pop culture produces celebrities, and these celebrities, in turn, lead global fashion trends with their choices and tastes.
It’s also the hottest cultural melting pot, where the ultra-rich and street immigrants bask in the same sunshine, and IT elites and rap artists find their own pleasures. Amidst this intense fusion and collision, trends rise and fall, always remaining vibrant.
In the heart of California, Los Angeles, we found that soulful beaded jewelry brand. Since 1996, Vietnamese designer CHAN LUU has withstood nearly three decades of West Coast waves with her genius designs and outstanding quality.
CHAN LUU’s brand history is dotted with highlights. It rose to fame with the hand-painted mother-of-pearl pendant necklace Brad Pitt gifted to his girlfriend Jennifer Aniston.
Its signature wrap bracelet has swept the globe, with fans including pop icons like Lady Gaga and Rihanna, top supermodels like Gisele Bündchen, popular actresses like Megan Fox and Vanessa Hudgens, and even Asian superstars like Takuya Kimura, Mika Nakashima, and Jun Matsumoto.
CHAN LUU pieces have also appeared in blockbuster movies like “The Hunger Games,” “Twilight,” and “The Shallows.”
Beyond its Hollywood-certified fashion genes, CHAN LUU interprets the core of West Coast culture – diversity and fusion – in its own unique way.
The designer incorporates elements from her Vietnamese homeland, California’s sunshine, and experiences from her world travels and ancient crafts into the brand’s distinctive designs.
This infuses CHAN LUU’s jewelry pieces with a unique artistic sense. While they use beads like others, their natural gemstones come in a wide variety of types, colors, and shapes, combining to create sophisticated and harmonious layers rarely seen in similar brands.
For over two decades, CHAN LUU has maintained its commitment to handcrafting, employing skilled artisans worldwide to inject traditional craftsmanship. Whether it’s the long-term twisting of leather cords or the polishing and weaving of gemstones, every piece is full of exquisite and comfortable details.
After seeing the artistic sense and refinement of CHAN LUU’s pieces, you’ll realize that stylish, wearable, and unique beaded jewelry has been here all along! As LA’s “beaded jewelry maven” for nearly 30 years, CHAN LUU guarantees you’ll stand out 100%!
Let’s start by looking at the brand’s crown jewel, the wrap bracelet!
This bracelet was first created by CHAN LUU in 2004, combining handcrafted leather cords with gemstone beads in multiple layers. Due to its attractive appearance and convenience, it perfectly captures LA’s cultural essence of being both trendy and practical, which is why it remains extremely popular to this day.
Concerned that the classic all-leather cord style might be too unisex, we’ve specifically brought this half-leather woven version. It retains the unique charm of handcrafted leather cords while adding the translucent beauty of natural gemstones like olivine and smoky quartz.
It also features a special 18K gold-plated sterling silver decoration in the shape of a hand with an eye pattern, known as the “Hand of God.” Ancient Jews used this symbol to ward off dark forces.
The non-leather cord styles are more delicate and feminine, particularly suitable for women to wear in spring and summer. The combination of agate, jasper, and gold-plated beads creates an interesting layered effect. The earth-tone color scheme is especially versatile, making it a perfect match for light cotton and linen clothing.
This style also comes in other color combinations. The turquoise beads feature natural patterns of varying depths, which the designer has arranged in a staggered manner for a lighter and more lively look. Turquoise is a very popular natural gemstone, and its cool visual effect and energy-balancing properties make it ideal for purchase now.
This piece also combines gemstones with small gold beads, using a simple beaded form but incorporating various natural gemstones such as olivine, garnet, amethyst, and smoky quartz. The colors are extremely rich yet harmonious, and this sophisticated feel is the source of CHAN LUU’s distinctive style.
The same style is also available with small gold beads paired with blue sapphire, the birthstone for March, symbolizing calmness, courage, happiness, and longevity. The blue sapphires used by CHAN LUU are particularly beautiful, with a dreamlike sea-blue color that is elegant and serene, making them hard to resist.
Moreover, the length of these wrap bracelets is just right, making them suitable to wear as necklaces as well, adding even more value to their beauty.
This five-wrap mixed purple bracelet truly embodies the CHAN LUU brand essence. Combining blue sapphire, turquoise, amethyst, labradorite, and lapis lazuli in cool blue and purple tones, it’s ready to wear right out of the door without the need for further accessorizing. One strand of these beads is enough for summer!
The wrap bracelet is just the tip of the iceberg. CHAN LUU has many more signature items and new designs. BELONGS has carefully selected the most suitable styles for spring and summer, with multiple items in stock. All are easy to wear, allowing you to effortlessly enhance your beauty.
American designer Chan Luu was born in a picturesque coastal town in Vietnam. Her life has defied the constraints of the “social clock”:
As a young girl, she immigrated to the United States due to war. She studied business at Boston University and later pursued fashion design in Los Angeles. She worked as a sales clerk, manufacturer’s assistant, and fashion buyer. It wasn’t until she had accumulated over 20 years of industry experience that she truly realized her dream of designing jewelry.
In 1996, driven by her passion for jewelry and nostalgia for her homeland, the designer launched her eponymous jewelry brand, CHAN LUU.
“People often say that when they wear my pieces, they immediately feel their personality shine through. This is the impact jewelry has on people, and it’s also a kind of spiritual power,” Chan Luu says.
CHAN LUU’s design philosophy centers on “cultural fusion.” When Asian elements meet California spirit, it constructs CHAN LUU’s unique artistic world.
The designer incorporates her childhood memories of coastal Vietnam, handcrafted items and ancient objects she’s seen during her world travels, and the modern aesthetics of the American fashion industry into her new designs.
As a result, CHAN LUU’s works often exude a vivid cultural influence. You can almost see flea markets, museums, fruit and spice markets from around the world in her pieces. You can see people following their own religions, arts, and histories, practicing different fashions.
These jewelry pieces are sun-drenched, full of spirit, and bursting with vitality. Tradition and innovation merge within them, with vintage charm and modern artistic qualities coexisting harmoniously.
The first signature product was a hand-painted mother-of-pearl pendant necklace. Pearls and mother-of-pearl from the Vietnamese coast, carrying memories of childhood and homeland, are frequently used cultural elements in CHAN LUU’s designs.
The designer sold it to a store in Los Angeles, but it was unexpectedly spotted by Brad Pitt, who bought it as a gift for his girlfriend Jennifer Aniston. She wore the necklace with Pitt at the 2001 ARMANI fashion show, and CHAN LUU’s fame skyrocketed from there.
CHAN LUU, who initially had to make jewelry in her garage, became a highly sought-after brand among Hollywood stars.
Costume designers for movies like “The Hunger Games” and “Twilight” specifically went to her store to select accessories. Celebrity endorsements became commonplace: “They all love my jewelry. Sometimes when I attend events, I even feel embarrassed because too many people are wearing my pieces.”
The wildly popular wrap bracelet was inspired by a trip to India. The designer saw a leather bracelet in a temple and, inspired by the concept of a “divine amulet,” decided to design a spiritual wrap leather bracelet.
Once launched, this bracelet became an unstoppable force. The combination of handwoven genuine leather cords with gemstones and semi-precious stones, uniquely wrapped around the wrist, became a global fashion trend that everyone wanted to buy and imitate.
Beyond celebrity endorsements, CHAN LUU’s jewelry pieces are also renowned for their high-quality natural materials and exquisite craftsmanship.
Just as she used to collect seashells on the beach as a child, the designer carefully selects high-quality natural gemstones, semi-precious stones, and pearls, transforming nature’s gifts into timeless jewelry pieces that accompany us in our daily lives.
Today, there are numerous bead brands, but CHAN LUU’s artistic sense remains unique: those blue sapphires, turquoises, amethysts, and labradorites, rich in color and diverse in shape, seem to be paired in an unconventional way. Yet CHAN LUU manages to balance the layers perfectly, creating harmonious and sophisticated finished products.
The natural energy of these gemstones also adds protective meanings to the jewelry: for instance, turquoise is believed to help balance body and mind energy, sugilite is the “golden lucky stone” with a dazzling metallic luster, and especially the March birthstone, blue sapphire, symbolizing serenity, healing, calmness, and courage. We have selected many styles featuring these stones.
For over twenty years since its establishment, CHAN LUU has insisted on handcrafting jewelry pieces. The designer seeks out skilled artisans from around the world, imbuing her works with more cultural value: “I use traditional crafts from the countries I visit because their craftsmanship is their culture.”
Moreover, the designer provides fair wages and health benefits to artisans, particularly focusing on providing employment opportunities for female artisans in impoverished areas. CHAN LUU firmly believes that fashion must meet ethical standards, making each piece full of human warmth.
These jewelry pieces are packaged in unique small bags before reaching your hands. The bags are made from vintage fabrics brought back from India, with new print patterns each season, bearing witness to unique sentiments.
You may encounter cheap imitations of CHAN LUU products in various places, but the brand’s loyal customers of over twenty years appreciate not just the genius designs, but also the high quality that can accompany them for a long time, as well as the warm nature and culture behind each product.
Besides the original wrap bracelets, do you want more single-layer beaded bracelets to match your style at will? Or do you want to see more of the brand’s representative works, including necklaces and earrings? The thoughtful BELONGS satisfies all these desires~
Blue sapphire is in season, and BELONGS has carefully selected multiple beaded bracelets to add a touch of gentle sea blue to your spring~
Inspired by moon phases, the blue sapphire pendant bracelet uses faceted gemstone beads paired with a crescent-shaped gemstone pendant, showcasing the very charming ice-blue color of blue sapphire from various angles.
While wearing it alone is eye-catching enough, the blue sapphire layered set with metal chains is even more striking, attracting many inquiries as soon as it was posted on social media. The two bracelets balance softness and strength, one emphasizing color and the other emphasizing contour, complementing each other perfectly. No wonder it’s a popular item~
This mixed bracelet is also exceptional, with a relaxed single-wrap design that somehow incorporates various classic elements of the brand: leather cord weaving, blue sapphire in a bezel-set crescent cut, hook metal connection, buttons, and knots… If you want to get one with the most distinctive features, you can’t go wrong with this one!
Want to layer your bracelets? This bracelet is officially recommended! A simpler blue sapphire bead design, but with small gold beads separating them, bringing a rare sense of layering and playfulness to traditional beaded bracelets. Exceptional taste lies in these details!
This one is more delicate and dainty, with small blue sapphire beads, tiny gold beads, and a square labradorite pendant, creating a harmonious and cute combination. Due to its thin chain, it’s also very suitable for layering and can be matched freely.
If you think ordinary beaded bracelets are not lively enough, take a look at this blue mixed bracelet! Blue sapphire, labradorite, kyanite, amethyst, and smoky quartz in various shapes and colors make it seem like you’re carrying the clear waters and white sands of an island paradise with you, lifting your mood instantly.
When blue sapphire meets turquoise, it maximizes the power of serenity and healing. Citrine and mother-of-pearl scattered like musical notes, plus a hammered gold coin pendant to increase brightness, make the whole bracelet lively and cheerful, super easy to wear.
Besides blue sapphire, CHAN LUU’s other natural gemstone beads also have their own beautiful power, enriching your matching options.
The brand’s sophisticated color aesthetics can be seen in this mixed bracelet: various natural gemstones are polished into beads, each seemingly different in color and texture, yet the overall visual effect is incredibly harmonious.
Different colors, sizes, shapes, and transparencies, like “treasures” collected from the beach in childhood, become irreplaceable gentle companions at this moment. The earth-tone combination of labradorite, citrine, and pearl is more low-key and versatile.
Pyrite, malachite, labradorite, and cat’s eye bring varying shades of lustrous green. If the concrete jungle of the city isolates you from nature, why not wear this touch of subtle spring on your wrist, giving yourself a portable spring?
The combination of rose quartz, mother-of-pearl, moonstone, and amethyst radiates a soft, gentle rose color. Wearing such a bracelet makes you feel as if you’re reviving with all things in nature, your heart stirred, in perfect spring light.
This bracelet is a playful interpretation of the traditional “evil eye”, using jade, malachite, turquoise, amazonite, and adding uniquely textured green glass, making the protective “evil eye” young and interesting.
In the same spring-filled green series, the combination of small green pyrite beads with a bezel-set moonstone pendant is reminiscent of crisp moonlight spilling onto a velvety lawn, even more captivating. The delicate beads are not too eye-catching, elegant and soft whether worn alone or layered.
Inspired by the beautiful scenery of the Sedona desert in the USA, this Sedona bracelet design is very unique. Using 18K gold-plated sterling silver, inlaid with slender natural turquoise, it’s like the warm golden light permeating the desert at sunset, with sand particles dynamic and shimmering.
CHAN LUU not only uses natural gemstones for beaded jewelry but also applies its sophisticated aesthetics and excellent sense of balance to earrings and necklaces with equally superior results.
For example, these earrings layer olivine, garnet, labradorite, freshwater pearls, and gold-plated silver flakes, reminiscent of Tibetan mani stone “divine piles,” full of spirituality and healing power.
The matching necklace adds a slender gold pendant, increasing fluidity and drape. The gold also serves as the finishing touch for the natural gemstones, enhancing brightness and refinement, perfectly expressing the body-mind balance symbolized by the entire style.
The stunning labradorite earrings pair golden tropical flowers with large bezel-set labradorites, truly iridescent and with an amazing luster that can hold its own in any situation without hesitation.
CHAN LUU is equally adept at beaded necklaces. Strawberry quartz, pink moonstone, citrine, and yellow mother-of-pearl create fresh and elegant small beads, paired with a sparkling bezel-set labradorite pendant, both gentle and understated yet eye-catching.
The abalone earrings are uniquely creative, with the abalone shell polished to a smooth and delicate finish to showcase its iridescent, high-quality texture. The earring shape resembles an elegant chandelier, rotating and swaying by the ears, harmonious in both movement and stillness, with myriad charms.
There’s also a white pearl mother-of-pearl version, with softer colors that are more versatile and easy to wear. The bright pearl luster and smooth texture of the mother-of-pearl reflect from every angle, creating a soft yet eye-catching piece.
CHAN LUU’s long earrings are particularly outstanding, making natural gemstones and pearls look graceful and ethereal, full of spirit.
For example, these tassel pearl earrings feature large bezel-set emerald crystals for a vintage elegance, with long and slender pearl tassels. The outer tassels are shorter while the inner ones are longer, flattering the jawline with exquisite detail.
Another pair of pearl tassel earrings has a softer color palette. A clear quartz dangles below the pearl chain, bringing an extremely attractive draping effect. The tassels vary in length, with swaying pearl luster; 18K gold-plated decorations add refinement and nobility, instantly transforming the wearer into an elegant lady.
On a warm spring day, pinning a romantic flower to your ear truly makes one more beautiful than the spring itself. White mother-of-pearl is carved into flower shapes, adorned with gradient natural pearls, blooming romantically in this moment.
Beyond gemstone beads, pearls are also CHAN LUU’s “domain.” These lark earrings feature a bright white baroque pearl “grasped” by “claws” below a bezel-set labradorite, full of vitality.
Golden leaves hang on curved branches, with slightly movable connections, as if swaying in the wind; teardrop-shaped pearls resemble dewdrops, lightly falling. Leaf veins and surface undulations are delicately carved, rich in imagination without losing sophistication.
Gold coins represent wealth, baroque pearls symbolize unique preciousness, eye-shaped gemstones signify warding off evil, blue sapphires carry energy of calmness and courage, and turquoise implies balance and luck. Gathering all of these in a golden circle creates this unique gemstone necklace.
The matching earrings are more simplified, with bezel-set turquoise paired with round pearls, and a circular design imbued with vintage charm. Equally beautiful, more delicate, with the same wonderful implication of balance and perfection.
Under a delicately carved golden hibiscus flower, a baroque pearl pendant brings a swaying charm. The moist air of tropical flowers combined with the unconventional texture of baroque pearls creates a powerful vitality.
There’s also a version with just the hibiscus flower studs, more simple and suitable for daily wear, impossible to go wrong with.
Pearl necklaces are also a forte! This stylish and luxurious ball necklace creates an elegant, refined aura with three layers of pearl chains. The crinkled gold pendant and pear-cut emerald crystal are full of nobility, while the choker style keeps it youthful, overall refined and balanced.
There are also more modern styles, with freshwater pearls gradually arranged in size on one side and metal chains interlocking on the other. The asymmetrical design balances the mature feel of large pearls, elegant yet unrestrained, making this necklace suitable for more women and more occasions.
Two color options are available: white gold pairing emphasizes elegance, while this grey pearl with silver chain version tilts the balance towards trendiness and coolness, perfect for the style arsenal of cool girls.
Tired of Cookie-Cutter Beaded Jewelry? Discover CHAN LUU: LA’s Fashion Maven Redefining Beaded Elegance!
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