I’m in love with Subversive Jewelry, designed by Justin Giunta. If you haven’t seen his work, it’s been featured in just about every mag you can imagine, starting sometime around 2003.  And he was nominated for an CFDA award in accessory design just this year.

(Me when I had long hair and was 10…alright, 12 lbs. lighter. Ah, those were the days.) However, I could never, ever afford one of his pieces. Maybe aspire to, someday. So I made my own from a bunch of findings I had laying around, and a couple of the 8721 50mm Swarovski Crystal Teardrops. (When I made my version back in 2004, Swarovski wasn’t producing a large-size teardrop that had a flattened back…now they are. I should have just used chandelier drops like Mr. Giunta did in his design…and I could have sourced them from Cristalier.com, but I thought the 8721 drops would work fine.  The problem is that the drops I used have a point on either side, so they don’t sit flat against my skin.  The 8741 is much flatter and would have probably been the better choice overall.)  Ah well.  I threw some assorted charms and pearl chain onto the necklace for the same effect as the original. I think it turned out great – I love wearing the necklace with a simple tank or a white tee to show it off…but it is darned heavy!Here’s my comparison, side by side. Or above/below.  Sorry this isn’t specifically a DIY tutorial, but you can probably figure out how the necklace is constructed just studying the photos: basically, drape, twist, and when in doubt – add more!!