View From Above Earrings

I'm going to use a word that I detest. You know how there are some words that just grate on you nerves when you hear them? In the past decade the most popular obnoxiously overused word was probably nucular, the oft-repeated Bush botching of the word nuclear. But aside from mispronunciations, are there words that make you grind your teeth when they flow off someone's tongue? Perhaps what ticks you off is cursing, or hearing the anatomically correct words for one's "down there" junk. Well, the word that makes me want to die a little when uttered is precious.

It was difficult for me to sit through the Lord of the Rings_ _trilogy, a set of films that I so deeply adore, because of Gollum's proclivity for using this word. Just as the Hobbit-gone-terribly-wrong endearingly used it to describe his most favorite piece of bling, I must say that the View From Above Earrings by PhBeads are, indeed, precious. And what type of woman would make such lovely handmade jewelry? A marine biologist, of course!

Okay, so maybe not 'of course', but designer (and doctor, hence the witty name of the company) Monica Lara is a marine biologist, and her alternate career path shows in her work, which many times resemble treasures from the deep blue sea. The View From Above Earrings have a crinkly gleam on the reticulated silver rectangular pieces, which reminds me of a freshwater pearl or the inside of a sea shell. The jewel that hangs below—available in many different colors--is shaped in such a way as to resemble a droplet of water. The artistry is quite delicate and the earrings are practically weightless. This is where that dreaded word comes into the picture: the darned things are simply precious! Now I will commence to flushing the word from my mouth with loads of disinfecting salt water.

•