Souvenirs, I think, are an essential, inherent part of travel. The very word means “a memory”, and it is what is left after the actual act of traveling is done. A travel picture is worth a thousand words, or however many likes it might garner on Instagram, but a souvenir maintains something much more intangible about your trip and holds a special connection uniquely to you. Anyone can appreciate a travel picture, but the memory that is, in a way, stored in some small curiosité is much more mysterious.
I am a huge fan of collecting magnets as well as tiny models of notable natural and architectural wonders, but I think there is something very special about jewelry souvenirs. Wherever you are and despite whatever you may face that day, you can look at your ring, watch, bracelet, or other trinket and be somewhere else for a moment.
These are some of my personal favorite jewelry souvenirs:
A cuff bought in an open air market in Charleston, South Carolina on a college tour road trip.
A handmade necklace of tenn featuring two Arctic wildflowers, bought in a market in Jokkmokk, Sweden after successfully climbing a mountain above the Arctic circle (and taking a polar bear plunge!).
A gift from Helsinki: a Marimekko Unikko design necklace
A bracelet designed to look like a chain of coins, each featuring a landmark in Paris, my first Parisian purchase.
A ring from the Caribbean that calls to mind the ridiculous amount of fine jewelry stores in the tourist districts of islands like St. Maarten and St. Thomas.
And finally, a silver and opal ring bought in Corfu, Greece that shimmers like the waters of a Mediterranean summer.
I can almost smell the sea breeze!
Photos: Nikon 3200, 135mm lens
anchored & adrift 