Joy and Sarah Haugaard have always made jewelry meant to carry a story. With Sacred Heart, the sisters behind New York–based Lionheart have branched into the spiritual.
The 55-piece collection is anchored by pendants and is rooted in religious and spiritual imagery. The Haugaards credit their travels through France and Italy as the source of inspiration for their newest designs.
Joy tells JCK she never set out to create a religious collection. Much of her previous work was centered on animals. It wasn’t until a series of trips to Europe that the idea of Sacred Heart began to take form. One particular example she recalls is her most recent trip to the Vatican.
“This very last time, I noticed that they had a lot of artifacts from all over the world,” she says. The closer she examined those artifacts from different cultures and faiths, the more similar they looked—especially the Catholic rosary and Muslim tasbih, both of which incorporate devotional beads.
“I bought a bunch. I bought the rosaries, I bought the tasbihs,” she says. “I just came back from Turkey, and I bought some there too.”
After numerous galvanizing moments in different countries across Europe, Joy got home and started designing. The first piece was the Bethlehem Star. “It turned out so beautifully, I just kept designing.”
From there, the collection widened well past any single tradition: Gothic crosses, Stars of David, Marian medallions, and Saint Christopher medals all appear, rendered in 18k gold and set with diamonds, colored gemstones, or both.
With retail prices ranging from $3,800 to $24,800, Sacred Heart is a well-timed proposition. Symbolic and protective jewelry of all kinds—evil eyes, crosses, saint medals, and zodiac charms—continue to be a durable category for retailers over the past several years.
The Haugaards were born in Denmark and raised in New York City, and Lionheart’s aesthetic leans on that split: pared-back Scandinavian lines with a vintage New York edge.
While the collection continues to evolve, pendants and medallions currently compose the bulk of Sacred Heart, with a smaller offering of earrings and bracelets in similar motifs.
Joy tells JCK she isn’t done designing yet, and she isn’t planning on stopping anytime soon. Sacred Heart is built to keep growing, with additional symbols from cultures around the world to be added over time.
Top: Bethlehem Star Diamond Charm in 18k yellow gold and 0.65 ct. t.w. diamonds, $6,800; Lionheart