Fine jewelry trends are a funny thing. Most of the time, they’re fresh takes on old styles that temporarily slipped out of favor or classic pieces that feel newly relevant. This spring, in particular, we’re seeing plenty of familiar motifs and symbols rendered in chic new ways, from Rosa Van Parys’ dramatic Gothic script 18k gold letter pendants to Foundrae’s charming new astrological series of necklaces, rings, and medallions.
The best part: You may already have pieces reflecting the old-but-new styles noted below in stock. Nothing like going shopping in your own showcases!
Zodiac Symbols
Jewels honoring the 12 symbols of the zodiac are (practically) as old as time. “The magi, the wise men, the seers, the astrologers of the ages gone by found much in the matter of gems that we have nearly come to forgetting,” gemologist George Frederick Kunz wrote in The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, his 1913 seminal work on folklore, superstitions, and symbols associated with gemstones. While interest in jewels featuring astrological symbols dates back to biblical times, we can trace our modern love for astrology to the 1970s, when the symbols associated with the dozen signs of the Western zodiac entered the mainstream. Today’s jewelers, including Jemma Wynne and Foundrae, among others, continue to mine them for inspiration.
Letter Jewels
The craze for letter jewels—especially pendants, but also charms that can transform a simple pair of hoops into a personal style statement (à la the Alison Lou letter charm huggie earring below)—continues unabated. What’s new is how inventive designers are treating the category. Between rendering letters in unexpected fonts and fashioning them out of colorful, trendy enamel, the season’s best styles, like all trends, offer an intriguing new perspective on a time-honored symbol.
Sunny Palettes
In JCK’s March 2020 issue, jewelry director Randi Molofsky wrote a trend piece entitled “Sunset Trip,” which highlighted the array of jewels featuring “dazzling palettes of pink, orange, and yellow.” A year later, the same trend lingers on, with a slight reworking that emphasizes hues of bright Pantone-like “Illuminating” yellow.
Top: R Gothic script initial pendant in 18k yellow gold on Links necklace in 18k yellow gold with full diamond pavé on front clasp, $15,090; Rosa Van Parys Jewelry
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