Ghostrider Season: The Story Behind Our Award-Winning Sugar Skull Jewelry

Every fall, the Ghostriders seem to find their way back to the front of our jewelry boxes.

Maybe it’s the season. Maybe it’s the symbolism of the sugar skull. Or maybe it’s because this collection has always been about something much bigger than a skull pendant.

For Julez Bryant, the Ghostrider collection began with her mother and the kind of love that leaves a permanent mark on your life.

Long before sugar skull jewelry became one of the most recognizable parts of Julez Bryant, Julez created the original Ghostrider during an incredibly personal time in her life. Her mother was nearing the end of her life, and the piece became a way to honor her and the people who shape us so deeply that their presence remains with us long after they are gone.

The Ghostrider was created for the ones who leave a lasting impact.

The ones we carry with us.

The Sugar Skull That Won the 2018 COUTURE People’s Choice Award

In 2018, Julez brought her Ghostrider pendant to COUTURE in Las Vegas, one of the jewelry industry's premier design events.

That year, the Ghostrider won the 2018 COUTURE Design Award for People’s Choice, an award decided by live voting at the show.

When Julez accepted the award, she shared the deeply personal story behind the design. The Ghostrider had been created shortly before her mother passed away and was dedicated to those who are “riding out” of life. The moment was emotional, personal and incredibly important to the history of Julez Bryant.

It also represented something Julez had believed throughout her career: jewelry can carry far more than gemstones and gold.

It can carry a person.

A memory.

A chapter of your life.

The award was an incredible honor, but what the Ghostrider has become since then means even more to us.

More Than Sugar Skull Jewelry

Sugar skulls have long been associated with remembrance, particularly through the traditions and imagery surrounding Día de los Muertos. They are colorful, beautiful symbols that allow remembrance to feel full of life.

That idea has always resonated with the spirit of the Ghostrider collection.

Our Ghostriders are not meant to be dark or somber. They are deeply personal pieces of fine jewelry created to celebrate the people, memories and experiences that become part of who we are.

Over the years, we have watched clients give their Ghostriders entirely new meanings.

Some are worn in memory of a parent.

Some represent a child, partner or best friend.

Some celebrate survival, transformation or a chapter of life someone never wants to forget.

And some people simply fall in love with the irreverence of wearing a diamond and gemstone skull around their neck.

We love that too.

There doesn't have to be one interpretation. That is part of what makes the Ghostrider yours.

A Sugar Skull Made in Gold

Every Julez Bryant Ghostrider is handcrafted as fine jewelry.

Our skull pendants are created in solid gold and finished with the kind of details that become more interesting the closer you look. Diamonds, sapphires, garnets, turquoise and other precious gemstones become eyes, flower crowns and tiny individual details.

We also use Fairmined and recycled gold as part of our commitment to creating jewelry with greater consideration for where our materials come from and how our pieces are made.

These are not costume pieces meant for one season.

They are heirloom-quality gold skull necklaces and sugar skull pendants designed to be worn for years, layered with the jewelry you already own and eventually passed down with their stories intact.

Make Your Ghostrider Personal

One of our favorite parts of the Ghostrider collection is that no two stories behind them are exactly alike.

Your Ghostrider can be customized with gemstones that mean something specifically to you.

A birthstone.

Someone's favorite color.

A gemstone connected to a child, parent or partner.

Diamonds simply because you love diamonds.

We can personalize the details so your sugar skull pendant becomes more than something you chose from a jewelry case. It becomes something connected specifically to your life.

That is where the collection has continued to evolve.

Julez created the original Ghostrider from her own experience with love and loss. Over the years, our clients have brought their own stories to it.

And every time they do, the collection becomes a little bigger than where it started.

Why Fall Will Always Be Ghostrider Season

Fall naturally brings skull imagery back into the conversation, but for us, Ghostrider season has never really been about Halloween.

It is a season of transition. A time when we find ourselves reaching for layers again, pulling out the pieces we haven't worn all summer and thinking a little more about the people and traditions we carry with us.

So yes, we'll happily call September the beginning of sugar skull season.

We'll stack our Ghostriders with yellow gold chains. We'll mix rose gold with yellow gold. We'll layer petite skull pendants with diamonds, medallions and everyday necklaces.

But underneath all that gold and all those gemstones is still the story that started it.

A daughter honoring her mother.

A piece of jewelry created for someone who left a lasting mark.

And a reminder that the people we love have a way of continuing to ride with us.

Explore the award-winning Julez Bryant Ghostrider collection of handcrafted sugar skull jewelry, gold skull necklaces and customizable skull pendants.