CollectionsJul 25, 2025
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Piece of the Week: Hernsdorf’s ‘Tears of Aphrodite’ Necklace
The necklace uses spinel drops to immortalize the moment Aphrodite’s tears mixed with her lover Adonis’ blood after he was fatally wounded.
The story behind this week’s Piece of the Week begins on the day that Aphrodite, the goddess of love, had a terrible premonition.
According to Greek mythology, Aphrodite had warned her lover Adonis to not go hunting, but he ignored her and was fatally wounded by an enraged boar.
As Aphrodite held his body, her tears fell, mixing with his blood and causing red anemones to appear. Aphrodite pleaded with Zeus to let Adonis live, which he answered by allowing Adonis to spend half of each year with her and half in the underworld.
In the end, the myth represents the spirit of vegetation, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, as nature decays every winter and comes back to life in the spring.
The “Tears of Aphrodite” necklace by Hernsdorf looks to this myth, immortalizing the moment when Aphrodite’s tears mixed with Adonis’ blood through 175.74 carats of Burmese spinel drops.
The one-of-a-kind necklace, and third variation of this theme, features the spinel drops alongside 22-karat yellow gold tubular beads and a barrel pendant with 2.21 carats of brilliant-cut, flush-set diamonds.
“My work almost always begins with a choice of the gemstone or gemstones involved in the design. From there it evolves, and once I see the ultimate finished piece in my mind’s eye, various connections to any number of inspirations become clear,” said Dale Hernsdorf, founder of her namesake brand who crafts every piece in her downtown Los Angeles studio.
“When creating the ‘Tears of Aphrodite’ [necklace], I began with a group of spinel drops the color of pigeon blood rubies. As I worked with the spinels, I started to think of them as being shaped like teardrops, which brought to mind the myth of Aphrodite and Adonis. Hence, the necklace aptly became named as the ‘Tears of Aphrodite.’”
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According to Greek mythology, Aphrodite had warned her lover Adonis to not go hunting, but he ignored her and was fatally wounded by an enraged boar.
As Aphrodite held his body, her tears fell, mixing with his blood and causing red anemones to appear. Aphrodite pleaded with Zeus to let Adonis live, which he answered by allowing Adonis to spend half of each year with her and half in the underworld.
In the end, the myth represents the spirit of vegetation, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, as nature decays every winter and comes back to life in the spring.
The “Tears of Aphrodite” necklace by Hernsdorf looks to this myth, immortalizing the moment when Aphrodite’s tears mixed with Adonis’ blood through 175.74 carats of Burmese spinel drops.
The one-of-a-kind necklace, and third variation of this theme, features the spinel drops alongside 22-karat yellow gold tubular beads and a barrel pendant with 2.21 carats of brilliant-cut, flush-set diamonds.
“My work almost always begins with a choice of the gemstone or gemstones involved in the design. From there it evolves, and once I see the ultimate finished piece in my mind’s eye, various connections to any number of inspirations become clear,” said Dale Hernsdorf, founder of her namesake brand who crafts every piece in her downtown Los Angeles studio.
“When creating the ‘Tears of Aphrodite’ [necklace], I began with a group of spinel drops the color of pigeon blood rubies. As I worked with the spinels, I started to think of them as being shaped like teardrops, which brought to mind the myth of Aphrodite and Adonis. Hence, the necklace aptly became named as the ‘Tears of Aphrodite.’”
Hernsdorf began looking to Greek mythology when naming her pieces after working with ancient coins in pieces that were later named after various gods and goddesses.
“I often wondered what these objects would say if they could talk. How much history, how many hands, has a 2,000-year-old coin touched?” said Hernsdorf.
The Tears of Aphrodite necklace is price upon request.
It is available on the Hernsdorf website, along with the second variation on this theme which uses Russian emerald drops.
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