It’s always been an exciting topic for fashion lovers to know what the current trends are, and it’s no different in the field of jewellery. The truth is, however, that trends in luxury jewellery change much more slowly than in other areas of fashion. We would be in big trouble if we had to replace our expensive - or at least by no means cheap - jewellery every year or even seasonally. Most jewellery brands only come out with a new collection every few years. Normally they just change their existing collections slightly, for example, by showcasing the same model with a different gemstone.
We can observe the recent trends typically at jewellery exhibitions, where many companies present their collections. An example is Vicenzaoro in Italy, which is currently the largest and most important jewellery trade fair in Europe. As the exhibition is huge and we have to squeeze a lot of business meetings into 2-3 days, we only focus on high-end jewellery at this event. There are a few pavilions dedicated to this segment, within which the booths are furnished and decorated like exclusive jewellery salons. At the most recent Vicenzaoro shows in fall 2021 and spring 2022, we saw the following trends in the field of high-end jewellery.
Opaque gemstones in various colours
Elegant and slightly playful collections made of colourful, opaque gemstones have appeared at several high-end jewellery companies. Such gemstones are the now very fashionable green malachite, red coral, pink opal, light blue turquoise, and dark blue lapis lazuli. These are complemented by black onyx and white mother-of-pearl or white agate.
Jewellery brands: Cervera Jewels, Piero Milano
Pearl is back in vogue
Many believe that pearls are for the older age group, but this is far from the case now. While a classic string of pearls is a jewel we need to be "mature enough" to wear, some fine jewellery brands have presented particularly youthful and unique pearl collections in recent years, thanks to which the pearl has become a new fashion for the younger age group as well. These jewellery pieces are often made of rose gold and with a little unusual design, or if made of white gold they are mixed with other precious gem embellishments.
Jewellery brands Utopia, Cervera Jewels
Statement chain necklaces with a "twist" and big chunky necklaces are on the rise
Chunky necklaces and flashy pieces are in trend in fashion jewellery, and this becomes relevant also for high-end jewellery. These statement pieces are produced in lighter weight to make them more affordable and more comfortable to wear, and the traditional "big rolo" necklaces are now replaced with ones that have a little "twist", a more unusual feature to them. If you're ready to add such an eye-catchy yet elegant statement piece to your jewellery box, Mattioli might be among your best choices to opt for.
Jewellery brand: Mattioli
The chic elegance of “luxury” piercing jewellery is also apparent
The word "piercing" is rarely associated with luxury and elegance, although beautiful diamond piercings have been in vogue for a while now, and we tend to see multiple of them in the ears of very chic American actors and celebrities. The style itself has inspired fine jewellery designers, and if you like the chic and funky look, but you don’t want to punch more holes in your ears, we have a few collections to offer.
Jewellery brands: Cervera Jewels, Mattioli
Size no longer matters when it comes to rings and bracelets
Size used to be a concern in case of eternity-style rings and tennis bracelets, as these models are set all around with diamonds and are often very hard (or even impossible) to resize. Therefore, new flexible models have been invented, and have become part of fine jewellery houses' basic collections in recent years. The good news it that now we don't have to worry about our finger size changing over the years, and the consequence of having to say goodbye to our favoured jewellery, especially if it happens to be our wedding band. The bad news is that these models are more expensive due to the special technology used.
Jewellery brands: Mattioli, Garavelli Design Italy, Piero Milano
Although fine jewellery is ideally everlasting, don't be disappointed if you feel like some of your beloved pieces have gone out of fashion. Gold jewellery can easily be transformed, and diamonds are truly forever, so what you have purchased will not be lost, just transformed...
Author:
Zita Valint, jewellery expert
CEO of PAVÉ Fine Jewellery Budapest
Jewellery brands: Utopia, Cervera Jewels, Piero Milano, Mattioli