Materials, Girl.

We're excited by a range of new materials hitting our jewelry shelves of late. We blogged a while back about natural wood and precious metal combinations like Blue Wild Indigo and Tashi.

Be-Je Designs has taken a different tack: enamel. There is something about the slick surface of enamel that is irresistibly touchable. It's tough, has great luster and, when coated selectively over a base metal like stainless steel, has a great play between the metallic sheen and enameled gloss.

With so many materials available this season, we thought we'd ask you what you prefer. Are you into off-beat woods and industrial-cum-chic surfaces like enamel? Or are you a more classic gold and silver gal? Embroidery? Something else? Take a vote and let us know!

Jewelry: From the Ground Up

As fashion designers obsess about pale and natural color palettes this season, jewelry designers have followed suit with collections inspired by a blossoming world in springtime. Naturally chic looks this spring incorporate stones, wood, foliage and other such cues from flora and fauna. As Earth Day approaches, show your awareness by sporting an aesthetic drawn from Mother Nature herself!

The designers behind Blue Wild Indigo believe nature’s gemstones, woods and precious metals beat any man-made materials. Their newest designs feature fish, birds and poppy flowers hand-cut from Sterling silver and set on rich walnut grounds.

Tashi’s flights of fancy include a delicate Sterling silver sparrow perched on a branch and a colorful peacock pendant inspired by vintage designs.

Meanwhile Pieces of a Girl and A.V. Maxx have crafted wonderful layering pieces incorporating the silhouettes of daisies, lilies and leaves delicately suspended against a gorgeous citrine.

As long as we keep the rainforests up and the extinction rate down, these bits of nature-inspired will remain be au currant. After all, with five billion years of design trial and error, Mother Earth’s got a pretty good handle on making things that stick. (Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22, 2008).