The History of La Mar

From the Ocean, With a Dream

My name is Mariana, I’m 25 years old and I’m the owner of this brand, my story with the ocean began long before La Mar Jewelry ever existed.

Ever since I was a little girl, whenever I went on holiday, I would spend hours on the beach collecting shells. I loved their shapes, colours and imperfections, keeping them as little memories of the places I had visited. I never imagined that, one day, those same treasures would become part of my work.

I have always felt a deep connection to the sea. But everything changed in 2023, when I travelled to the Maldives for the first time.

I was completely fascinated by the shells I found there. And also all the experiences I lived there, I was in a local island, It was there that I experienced encounters with dolphins in their wildest, most untouched state, alongside whale sharks, whales, manta rays and so many other incredible creatures, everything I could have ever wished for to deepen the connection with the ocean and reignite the passion I had carried within me since childhood. 🌊🤍

And the shells there were so different from anything I had ever seen before. I carefully collected a few that had already been naturally left behind by the ocean, always with respect for nature, and brought them home with one simple idea: to create something for myself.

When I returned to Portugal, I started making a few pieces just for fun. I showed them to some customers at my father’s restaurant, never imagining what would happen next.

People loved them.
And, unexpectedly, they started buying them.

That moment made me realise that perhaps these little pieces of the ocean could become something much bigger.

The following week, I organised my first photoshoot on a beach near the small village where I live and launched my very first collection, By the Ocean, inspired by the strength, beauty and freedom of the sea.

Only two weeks later, the hotel I had stayed at in the Maldives contacted me and invited me to return to create an exclusive collection for them. I went back to the Maldives for a month, and from that moment, I never stopped creating.

That is how La Mar Jewelry was born.

Designed by the ocean. Finished by Hand.

Every La Mar Jewelry piece begins with something that nature has already created.

The shells are shaped by the ocean itself, and I work with natural shells that have been responsibly collected after being naturally left behind by the sea or also from local fisherman’s that sell them to me legally. I also use genuine cultured pearls, formed by oysters through the natural process of producing nacre, as well as crystals.

Pearls have always fascinated me. For centuries, they were among the world’s most exclusive treasures, symbols of rarity, elegance and status, and in certain periods and cultures valued even more highly than gold and diamonds.

I love bringing pearls into my creations because they carry that timeless connection to the ocean. They add another layer of uniqueness to each piece while keeping alive the tradition and beauty that pearls have represented for centuries.

Because I work with natural materials, no two pieces are ever exactly the same. Every shell has its own shape. Every pearl has its own character. Every crystal has its own natural details.

That means every La Mar Jewelry creation is 100% unique and never repeated.

A Little Piece of the Ocean. A Reminder to always chase your dreams.

My greatest wish is for every person who wears one of my pieces to feel that they are carrying something truly their own, a unique little fragment of the ocean, with its strength, beauty and magical energy.

But La Mar Jewelry is about more than jewellery.

It is about dreaming, believing and continuing to follow your path, even when you don’t know where it will lead.

It is a reminder to never give up on the dreams that live inside you, and to never lose sight of who you truly are.

Because just like the ocean, we are constantly changing, evolving and creating something beautiful from everything life brings us.

Wear your story. Carry the ocean. Follow your dreams. 🌊🤍