Light Years

I think the quality should be better since it’s kinda expensive.

Be careful when you first walk into the store b/​c there’s a slight dip upon entering, but no steps so you may feel a bit off-​balance. There is a sign on the door to watch your step.
Once you get past the slight dip, the store carries a plethora of earrings, necklaces, rings, and random accessories. There are small signs throughout the store of various promotions such as 60% off gloves, scarves, and selected purses/​jewelry.
The store is well lit and is equipped with many mirrors so you can be sure whether an item would look good on you. Sterling silver rings are displayed according to your ring size in the glass display by the cash register. The friendly staff is very helpful and patient as I wanted to look at each display tray.
The prices are reasonable. I left with 2 rings and a necklace. The staff member even polished the rings before bagging them up! The other cool thing is that they take all major credit cards including Discover and American Express!
Bottom line, cute store, small space, but lots of goodies!

Trinkets, jewelry and jokey gifts. Small shop. As a guy, my patience wore thin, but my wife and her friend were all about it. Got dem a purse and some jewelry. Good for gifts and gals.

I stop by this store every time I come to Chapel Hill.
I buy something at this store every time I come to Chapel Hill.
Great selection of eclectic but versatile jewelry, a lot of it at extremely affordable prices (cheaper than Urban). Always get compliments on the pieces I’ve purchased here!

While I didn’t purchase anything here, I was definitely mesmerized by the eclectic selection of items. The wide variety and assortment of necklaces was enough to keep me busy for a huge chunk of time. I was tempted by a lot of them, but my vacation budget kept telling me to wait, so I didn’t buy anything to add to my already too large collection. (Though those time piece necklaces are haunting my dreams… snail!!) On the way out, we discovered the perfume selection, which was some of the most unique product I’ve ever smelled. I’m completely in love with the scents I found and regret not buying them when I was there and they were in my hands. So close.
We ended up browsing here for a long time and not one staff member acknowledged us. We may have gotten a «hello» when we walked in, but even when I was looking at the jewelry on the counter just inches from the woman’s face, I didn’t get eye contact or a smile. This was pretty off-​putting and seemed a little awkward since we were in such close quarters and I had basically smiled at a frozen stiff mannequin. But I’m not too hung up on it. Awkward is definitely something I can get over. ;)
In the end, this was one of the most memorable shops we browsed while walking around that day.

On a recent trip to Franklin Street, I stumbled upon Light Years and was drawn in by its cluttered, but enticing window display. The store is primarily a place to get cheap jewelry (huge selection of earrings for sensitive ears!), but I especially loved the tiny corner stocked with gifts.
‘Tis the holiday season and I’m already in gift mode. I’ve been trying to stock up now so the wallet won’t be completely crippled in December. And here I found such great gifts for a variety of people– everything from adorable kitchen utensils and table settings to fantastic mugs (The Disappearing Civil Liberties heat-​activated mug was incredibly charming and I may have to go back for it…) and odd gags. The kind of stuff you don’t usually see. I walked away with a rubber ducky tea steeper, magic wand-​shaped salt and pepper shakers, and lavender seeds stored in an egg shell (crack and grow!)
The only downside is I wish the space wasn’t quite so cramped. I wouldn’t mind if they took out half the jewelry and put in more gift items!
Definitely a do-​not-​miss for the holiday season!

The store in Raleigh is much roomier. This one is so small that everything just feels likes it’s overlapping. There were three other shoppers in the store and I felt claustrophobic.

Very cute jewelry store in the Chapel Hill area. Walls are lined with earrings of very color imaginable. They display their earrings by color, so it’s easy to browse through them. Many are affordable with some a little more on the pricey side. I had fun browsing through the earrings and I really had a hard time deciding which ones i wanted to buy.
They also sell other things like necklaces and rings and other cute trinkets.

Love this place! When I was a student at Duke (no hate, please!) I would frequent this Light Years to get all my jewelery. I got a pair of peacock earrings for $ 14 and have received so many compliments on them! I buy all my rings and earrings here, great place! Miss it a lot!

Light Years is a great place to go when you’re looking for a piece of neat yet not overly expensive jewelry. The store sells a variety of really awesome pieces as well as some accessories all for prices that are pretty affordable.
In addition to the jewelry they also have some pretty unique gift items that can be great when you’re looking to pick up a novelty item on the way to a birthday party or what not. The also sell incense and some home décor as well.

An eclectic store with all types of jewelry (sterling, primarily) — earrings, necklaces, rings, even some body jewelry. They also have other fun and sometimes quirky things — «the «Total Bitch» and «Virgin/​Slut» lines of beauty products, picture frames and mobiles, cool hair clips, political action figures, and primary-​hued hair dye. I prefer this location to the Durham one; they’re about the same size, but I feel like the selection here is typically better. Maybe it’s just less picked-​over.

This place is really easy to get on board with. Guys, take note: This is a great place to go for a «just because» gift for your girlfriend. Girls inevitably think that all the stuff they have here is cute, and since most of it is very well-​priced, you can earn some major brownie points at very little expense (don’t say I never taught you anything).
You’re mainly going to want to focus on the jewelry (again, shopping for the girlfriend). That being said, the bric-​à-​brac (that’s right, I said it), actually holds its own. They love the faux-​Asian stuff, so if you’re a Japanese culture freak, poke your head in here from time to time to check things out.

Jewels gems & funny little figurines. This shop is cool! They have great wallets and handbags, rings and earrings.
One of the really cool things that they have is the novelty items against the wall– like a toy figure of a cowgirl or trucker. They have picture frames and hanging pieces for pictures too.
They even have lovely sushi sets with chopsticks and rice bowl included. They’ve gorgeous necklaces and bracelets as well. I love to go in and check out their rings– well pretty much all of the accessories. I’ve bought several items from them before and I’ve been pleased with the quality of the pieces.
The staff is really nice and helpful– usually kind of artsy girls from the area.

After lunch at Jimmy John’s, my best friend and I like to stop in here. We love the cute earrings (well, she does, my ears aren’t pierced) and the cozy, cluttered atmosphere. It’s very cute and ecclectic, with lots of different tastes represented in their jewelry and knick-​knacks. Sometimes, there seems to be no purpose at all for the things in there besides just to look really cool. And sometimes, that is pretty darn okay.
The Light Years in Cary Towne is more convenient for us and and is filled with similar stuff. Less jewelry, more knick-​knacks. Still cool.