The Magic of Gemstones: Celestial Inspirations Unveiled

Samantha Jackson, founder and designer of Heavenly Vices, has released Celestial Stories, a collection of zodiac necklaces. Each intricately designed pendant draws on her New Orleans roots, sculptural forms, and historical detail.

“I grew up in New Orleans, where you cannot look away from beauty if you try,” she says. “From architecture, foliage, food, music, and culture, the city is bursting with it.” Her fascination with the city’s historic architecture, particularly the ornamental wrought iron that frames homes in the Garden District, inspired the collection. A photography gallery showcasing the sometimes-imperfect beauty of New Orleans cemented her vision. “That’s where things clicked; wrought iron as inspiration for my Celestial Stories Zodiac Collection,” she explains.

Each pendant features a zodiac symbol sculpted in a style rooted in New Orleans ironwork, ringed with birthstones or gemstones that nod to Victorian hardstone jewelry. “Hardstones such as tiger’s eye, malachite, and lapis lazuli were chosen as the backdrop for the zodiac pendants as a reference to trends in Victorian jewelry such as signet rings and intaglios,” Samantha says. “From there, I chose the corresponding birthstone for each zodiac month for the four gemstones in each frame.” Each sign has two versions, featuring a different hardstone paired with a matching birthstone. As with all Heavenly Vices pieces, customization is welcome.

Zodiac jewelry is a saturated category, often relying on predictable motifs. Samantha’s approach reframes these familiar elements through her design language. “The idea of making a zodiac collection came from my customers. Over the years, I have had numerous requests for zodiac love tokens,” she says. “But out of the thousands of love tokens that are or were in my collection, I have only seen one zodiac.” She waited until the right inspiration arrived, determined to preserve the aesthetic and ethos of Heavenly Vices. “Once I had that, I chose to design the collection not with the more literal symbols (a ram for Aries, bull for Taurus) but with the symbols for continuity with the hidden messages in my jewelry.”

Like her earlier Love Stories and Lock Stories collections, Celestial Stories is grounded in both history and personal narrative. “To make this collection not feel either out of left field or just jumping on a trend, I absolutely had to have a historical tether to my other collections,” she adds.

One piece, in particular, holds personal meaning: “It was the iron gate around my family home that served as the foundation for the first design, Sagittarius, which is my zodiac symbol.” After completing that design, she began photographing gates around the city, browsing archives, and ordering books for further inspiration.

Some signs presented a unique design challenge. “Aquarius was a big problem and the last piece I was able to figure out,” she admits. “Wrought iron is typically more delicate and ornate, whereas the symbol is very geometric.” It wasn’t until she shifted her perspective — matching movement instead of form — that the design fell into place.

Cast ironwork is tactile, solid, intricate, and aged over time. The pendants echo this feel through their construction, made up of three components — the gemstone-studded frame, the hardstone base, and the zodiac motif — each attached with pins. “This collection has been a long collaboration between me, a designer in Indiana who worked with me for years on my Lock Stories collection, and my manufacturing partner in India, who brings everything to life.”

Asked what she hopes wearers feel when they put on a Celestial Stories piece, Jackson refers to the tagline of her brand: Let’s tell a love story. “Jewelry is all about the people, places, and things you love, and I want all of my jewelry to embody that idea,” she says. “Whether it be a love story you tell in a zodiac symbol of your own and the birthstones of your family, a family member you commemorate, or a simple love of history and astronomy, I hope all of our jewelry tells a love story.”

The current line includes twelve pendants, but expansion is already in the works. “My collections are all pendant-centric, so I plan to expand the collection to signets, bracelets, and earrings, both with and without the hardstone elements for a wide range of price points,” Samantha adds.