DISCOVERING UNEARTHEN WATCHES
Feature & Images by Cristy Turner

When NOTCOT asked us to show them something special and amazing special and amazing for the holidays, we immediately thought of the incredible jewelry line, Unearthen, and their awesome crystal-embellished vintage watches. Each watch is a one-of-a-kind vintage find, and the face is topped with a custom-cut pyramid crystal to create an incredible old-meets-new rarity. The wind-up watches still work too! You can read the time by peering through the glassy facets of the crystal top … a pairing of old metals and mechanical fragments with earthly crystals.

Our buyer, Cassidy, first discovered Unearthen at In God We Trust, one of her favorite shops in NY. She saw a necklace with a bullet-encased crystal and knew she found something special. But when she later met with LA-based Unearthen designer Gia Bahm, the watches she found “definitely took the crystal theme to the next level,” she says. “I took one look at that watch and said, ‘It has to be mine.’ I wore my watch to Thanksgiving dinner and it was a major conversation piece. My family is a little more conservative with their taste and style but everyone loved it because it’s so creative and unique.”

Bahm works out of her studio in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles and was kind enough to share some pics of her fantastic workspace. Bahm, a former stylist, began making the bullet necklaces for friends, before she started selling to small boutiques. One of those friends dragged her into a New Age crystal store for help with her love life when Bahm’s jewelry-making imagination was sparked. She combined her interest in reviving watches with her love of crystals. She began sourcing vintage watches from the Rose Bowl Swap Meet and now works directly with a vintage dealer to get the “best of the best” timepieces. She also has a crystal specialist to cut each pyramidal stone to perfectly fit the face of each individual watch.

“I prefer the bigger watches with the bigger crystals because they really stand out and make a statement on your arm,” says Cassidy. “And I just love that they aren’t 100% perfect. They are a little beat up, giving each one character and originality, but with a modern edge.”