In presenting the 2017 edition of Gem Visions, Swarovski again offers the fine and bridge jewelry sector an examination of the design directions that are actively being created by the cultural megatrends affecting them. Gem Visions, the industry-leading trend and design service, conducts annual investigations into the evolution of the trends currently driving the zeitgeist into new design directions. Swarovski’s team of select industry experts, after analyzing the results, has identified the four dominant themes for 2017: Existence, Haute Gems, Easy-Trans-Form, and Self-Art.
Existence has science meeting spirituality in a dance of exploration that seeks to integrate all planetary aspects into a grand story of life on Earth. Existence is a demand for ethical luxury from aesthetically sophisticated consumers with contemporary as well as eternal organic taste. They are explorers within their own lives seeking stones and materials exhibiting the natural patina of time in order to connect to the earth’s wild places or through to another age.
Haute Gems are created by the resurgence of opulence through spectacular, theatrical jewels. Very contemporary and supported by a spirit of connoisseurship based in the love of couture, Haute Gems define the cultivated, fashion-conscious consumer searching for a jewel combining of-the-moment excitement with a future as a modern-day heirloom. Using a dramatic palette of classic gem colors, impeccably cut stones are surrounded by lacy embroidery–inspired metalwork made possible only by advanced technologies.
Easy-Trans-Form shifts formality toward easy opulence even at the highest levels of jewelry design. The pleasurable dimensions of how a jewel feels on the skin and how it moves on and with the body are now key considerations in design and manufacture. Easy-Trans-Form represents a desire for jewels that can adapt, working together with a woman’s multifaceted life while expressing her changing moods and styles. Her perfect jewel unites fashion and function in a contemporary classic that with a touch of playfulness can also become an everyday basic.
Self-Art is a completely new approach to self-expression through jewelry. Today’s young adults have a very individual way of communicating and consuming that radically differs from any other age group. This demands a whole new generation of jewels to engage with their laid-back aesthetic prizing a handmade sustainable style, rich in personal expression. Consequently, designers are revisiting vintage and ritualistic aspects of jewelry or taking a wide-angle view influenced by pop art, surrealism, contemporary music, and street art.
To explore just how these four design directions translate into innovative gems and coveted jewelry pieces, please visit Gem Visions.