Have you noticed how many amazing local jewelers there are in Seattle? My latest discovery in this realm is Michelle Lenae. (To clarify: Michelle isn’t new, but I’m new to Michelle.)

The elegant yet architectural and industrial Grecian- and/or tribal-seeming silver creation shown here caught my eye when I stopped in to the Finerie a few weeks ago, and Tanya, the shop’s co-owner, swept me up, as she does, in a sweetly long-winded and deeply informational oration about Michelle’s work. (Tanya knows her merchandise, and the folks who create it. It’s great.)

Of course, what I loved about this piece is that it’s got so much interest in the back. In fact, the front is, well, on the quiet side.

Don’t fall too hard for this one, though. It’s not for sale. It’s a show piece, and show it does. After it draws you in, you’ll naturally wind up looking into the counter display, shown here, and noticing Michelle’s signature dahlia cuts. I love how it shows up on this praisolite cocktail ring.

Michelle’s a UW fine art grad who thinks a lot about metaphysical balance and astronomical environments, and the healing properties of metals and stones.

I love that kind of attention to detail, and I love that when Seattleites create, often times what results is a very brainy kind of beauty.