Britt’s Pick: CCWW Design’s Malachite Ammonite Earrings

By Brittany Siminitz | July 15, 2025

Seashell jewelry is ubiquitous in summer, though there is no single way to wear it. With such a vast assortment of styles on the market—varying not only in shell type but materials, methods of creation, and artistic point of view—you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who wasn’t in love with at least one piece out there.

This pair of earrings from CCWW Designs—hypnotic swirls of malachite carved in the shape of fossilized ammonite—is sure to gain more than a few admirers. The earrings feel ultramodern but with a mythic quality, like some kind of long-ago-discovered amulet worn by today’s most fashionable superhero.

“People often refer to them as nautilus shells, and I suppose they could be that,” CCWW Designs founder and designer Christina Puchi tells JCK. “I call them ammonites because my son gave me three [ammonite shells] as a Christmas gift years ago, and I still cherish them. Each was completely different, unique, like he and his two sisters. I’m not sure if that was intentional on his part or not, but it struck me at the time and still does.

“I like the spiraling shape of these shells, how they seem to spin on and in. It reminds me of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story saying, ‘To infinity and beyond!'” Pucchi adds. Of the shells in these earrings, she says, “I love the design with the gold balls and diamonds—it reminds me of the night sky reflected in a pool of darkness.”

Those dots of gold and bezel-set lab-grown diamonds, much like the tubercles on shells, provide texture for both touch and sight, elevating what is already a special carved creation to behold.

“We work with stone and wood carvers who meticulously carve the designs I imagine into something tangible,” Pucchi explains. “All of the artists, artisans, craftspeople, and jewelers who work alongside us are members of our team. A part of each of them, a part of their heart and soul, goes into what later becomes a fully formed work of art—a piece of jewelry to add to one’s story, to collect each person’s memories.”

The ammonite earrings, featured here in malachite, are also available in lapis lazuli, turquoise, and aventurine.

Top: Carved stone ammonite earrings in 14k yellow gold with malachite and lab-grown diamonds, $4,875; CCWW Designs