In 2025, Julia "Juju" Ferentinos's shiny seashells have become the cornerstone of a cool girl's jewelry box.
The founder, owner, and creative director of the jewelry brand Juju Vera is best known for her Petra Shell Pendant, a four-by-two-inch scallop featuring five dangly teardrop charms on a 30-inch chain that hangs right below the breastbone and comes in sterling silver or brass. Ferentinos can't keep the Juju Vera shell necklace in stock. "We've sold out of The Petra (the brand's best-seller) three times in a row since Juju Vera launched in July 2024 and now have it on pre-order," the accidental entrepreneur, age 33, says over the phone.
“I originally spotted it on Leandra Medine Cohen back in early December, and it was one of those ‘stop-you-in-your-tracks—wow, that's good’ kind of items,” says Grace Atwood, the lifestyle blogger behind The Stripe and Scratch Pad Substack, who owns the Petra in silver.
Sharing a similar enthusiasm is Gabrielle Katz, founder of the PR agency Accent PR_ojects, who has it in brass. “As a publicist, I’m hyper-aware of how a brand or a product becomes the most desirable and coveted, and, in Juju’s case, she’s struck the perfect balance of elegant, incredibly chic, and timeless,” she says.
Priced at $595, the necklace is hand-sculpted, soldered, and polished by a team of jewelers in New York City, and it has become a bona fide Internet status symbol. Worn over a Khaite slip dress or paired with a sweater from &Daughter, the Petra signals that you’re tapped into the top tastemakers—either that or you write your own fashion newsletter and set the fashion trends yourself.
The piece has gone so wildly viral that it’s become something of a meme in the fashion corner of the internet; alongside High Sport’s Kick Pant and The Row’s jelly Mara sandals, you might find Juju Vera’s shell necklace in a starter pack for the chronically online, in-the-know fashion crowd.
It seemingly came out of nowhere, so how did the Petra Shell Pendant become such an explosive jewelry trend? Mainly by accident.
Before she founded Juju Vera, Ferentinos spent years immersed in vintage jewelry, sourcing pieces for publications, films, and private clients. “After a long time working with these artifacts—spending hours in places like France’s Saint-Ouen Flea Market and La Lagunilla Market in Mexico City—I started imagining pieces that still channeled the magic, or ‘juju,’ of my antique and vintage finds, but felt relevant for today,” she says.
Then, in 2023, Ferentinos started making prototypes of original designs purely as a passion project. After sharing a few samples on Instagram, her mock-ups soon caught the eye of Lauren Santo Domingo, the co-founder and chief brand officer of luxury retailer Moda Operandi. “I didn't have any plans to go to market when Lauren reached out to me—my path wasn’t necessarily to even start a jewelry line.” But when Moda calls, you pick up the phone.
She went on to launch her debut collection—featuring the Petra Shell Pendant, citrine-stone chokers, and buffed silver cuffs fit for modern-day Wonder Woman—in an exclusive Moda Operandi trunk show during the summer of 2024. And Juju Vera suddenly became the name to know.
It’s remarkable growth for a brand only eight months old, especially in a saturated online landscape where new labels pop up every day. “All I have to say is I’m glad Juju is getting her bag because, in all my years covering this kind of thing, I have never seen an independent line blow up this quickly,” says Jess Graves, the author of The Love List Substack, who has been writing about fashion for almost two decades.
Ferentinos describes the journey—from her flea market daydreams to an unexpected Instagram DM from Domingo and now becoming one of the most in-demand jewelry brands—as nothing short of a whirlwind. She’s especially amazed by the “phenomenon of the Petra Shell Pendant,” explaining, “We haven’t sent a single marketing email or advertised the Petra at all. People find out about us through someone they follow on Instagram, read about us in a publication, or hear it through word of mouth in real life,” she says. “The Petra’s been resonating completely organically, and that’s the craziest part.”
One big reason for the Petra’s explosive rise is that the fisherman aesthetic is everywhere right now: duffle coats, Breton-striped shirts, and seashell jewelry are surging. It also helps that we’re craving something bolder and more expressive after seasons of barely-there, quiet luxury. “We were feeling flat off minimalism and looking to feel a little something more,” says Rachel Solomon of the Hey, Mrs. Solomon newsletter. Enter Juju Vera’s shell necklace, which practically says, “Hi, hello, I wish I was sipping a spritz while looking at the Aegean Sea.”
We’re also in a cultural moment that embraces decades we didn’t grow up in (witness the Jackie Kennedy references everywhere and retro capelets popping up on the streets of Milan Fashion Week). It’s no surprise, then, that a scallop-shell pendant inspired by vintage ‘70s French designs, Grecian Art Deco motifs, and a 1968 photo of Mia Farrow in a gold caftan would resonate so strongly. “When designing the Petra, I was thinking of this old bygone era of elegance—(ironically) before Instagram—when people really dressed up, even in everyday life,” says Ferentinos. Combine that timeless aesthetic with a timely trend cycle, and you get a perfect storm.
Yes, Ferentinos did have the very good fortune of a trend cycle going her way, but the Juju Vera shell necklace’s success is more substantial than its circumstance. “Every entrepreneur relies a little bit on luck, but also, the cream rises to the top,” says Solomon. “Juju knows what she’s doing.”
Later this spring, new iterations of the Petra will debut, with pre-orders shipping in late April. And yes, it’s currently trending all over your Instagram feed, but can a shape this classic truly ever go out of style? "I've always loved all things shells and know I'll be wearing my Petra pendant for years to come, long after the trend has died down," says Atwood.
Take it from Ferentinos, too: “I envision the Petra as something you could pick up at a flea market 50 years from now." In other words, even if the hype dies down, the shell endures—because while trends may come and go, a really good piece of jewelry has a way of sticking around.
