There’s never a dull moment in the jewelry industry. So when we sat down to think about 24 things that we loved in 2024, trust us: We had trouble paring down the list. We’ll reveal five each day this week and the full list on Monday, Dec. 30. So here are the most dazzling events, collaborations, products, people, collections, and trends from 2024, starting with Nos. 24–20.
24. EmRata’s Alison Lou–designed divorce ring
We love a self-purchase, and we love a custom design; with her “divorce rings,” Emily Ratajkowski did both, and might even have created a new jewelry category. After her split, the model-actor went back to Alison Lou founder Alison Chemla, who’d designed Ratajkowski’s two-stone wedding ring—featuring a princess-cut and angled pear-shape diamond—and had her create two separate rings: a pinky ring with the pear-shape, and a three-stone ring, adding trapezoids on both sides of the princess. As Chemla told Only Natural Diamonds, “Take back your power and wear it.” —Melissa Rose Bernardo
23. Roberto Coin’s epic masquerade ball
In late October, JCK snagged an invite to a party in Venice, Italy, hosted by Roberto Coin, the Venice-born Italian jeweler whose namesake brand has introduced thousands of Americans to the beauty and craftsmanship of jewels made in Italy. But this wasn’t just any party; it was Il Ballo del Doge, a masquerade ball that’s an annual Venetian Carnival tradition, taken to a lavish extreme. Guests who attended the over-the-top affair—mostly editors from a host of fashion and lifestyle publications—were outfitted in 17th- and 18th-century period costumes and enjoyed an extravagant banquet and performance in a palazzo on the Grand Canal. Beyond showing off his Venetian bona fides, Coin said he wanted to remind his guests that the company he founded in 1977 remains independent and is still going strong, given the announcement in May that Watches of Switzerland Group paid $130 million to acquire Roberto Coin Inc., the entity holding distribution rights for the jewelry brand in the United States, Canada, Central America, and the Caribbean. Peter Webster, a longtime friend and business associate of Coin’s, has managed the U.S. business for 28 years, and he remains president. —Victoria Gomelsky
22. Tiffany & Co.’s Bird on a Rock feathered friends
Unless you’ve been living under, ahem, a rock, you know the Bird on a Rock, aka Hollywood’s go-to brooch. Created in 1965, the Schlumberger-designed diamond bird, perched atop a massive gem, recently expanded into pendants, necklaces, and rings. Finally, with its Blue Book 2024 Céleste collection, Tiffany & Co. spread its wings and gave the Bird a few feathered friends: the Owl on a Rock, the Phoenix, the Peacock, and the Unicorn. Rare birds indeed! —MRB
21. The jewelry cameos on FX’s Feud: Capote vs. the Swans
Even if you’d never heard of Babe Paley, Slim Keith, C.Z. Guest, or the other glamorous women among Truman Capote’s “Swans”—the New York socialites with whom the author drank, gossiped, and lunched at La Côte Basque—it was impossible to ignore the sparkle and splendor of Ryan Murphy’s miniseries about them, courtesy of 85-year-old New York brand Verdura. (Fitting, as the real Swans were Verdura’s clients back in the day.) “Verdura’s jewelry, like Capote’s Swans,” CEO Ward Landrigan told JCK, “was eye-catching but not too obvious—stylish but never trendy.” —MRB
20. Mikimoto x Chrome Hearts
On paper, it looks like the year’s most improbable style collab: The 131-year-old heritage company that created the first cultured pearl teaming with a 36-year-old Hollywood-based, ultraluxe biker-chic brand that makes everything from furniture to leather goods. But Mikimoto crossing its classic pearl designs with Chrome Hearts—whose fans have ranged from Lou Reed and Cher to Zoë Kravitz and Billie Eilish—ended up producing the rock-star pearl collection we never knew we needed. —MRB
Top: The Mikimoto x Chrome Hearts campaign (photo: Laurie Lynn Stark, Hollywood, 2024)
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