There are already so many modern earrings—studs and jackets, climbers, front-to-backs—on the market but New York City–based designer Christine Huber adds one more: her buttonesque Tara earrings with negative space.

The design is inspired by several factors, including a stint at a high-end classic jewelry house making fat metal-filled button earrings for matrons, a trip to Tibet—“it seemed like every deity on my tour was name Tara,” recalls Huber—and a desire to debut her own complete line for wholesale. (Look for more Christine Huber pieces this fall as the artist spends less time on custom work and more on her own signature.)

The lightweight Tara earrings, which have a sculptural silhouette of a heart spied on a vase in one of her Tibetan guidebooks, are made in 14k gold and have negative space to hit a lower price point and for modern flair. (Imagine if the earrings were solid gold! They’d look much less stylish and much more, well, blue-haired-ladies-who-lunch.)

“They have a classic clip-like look because of my former experience, but still stand out and are unexpected because they are over the ear,” says Huber.

The Tara earrings stopped me in my tracks last week at the WJA New York Metro chapter’s Jewelry Night Out last week. One more thing: They’re now available for wholesale purchase. The retail price? Just $395.

Tara earrings in 14k gold, $395

How the Tara earrings in 14k gold sit on the ear

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JCK