“Sq. minimize or pear form, these rocks gained’t lose their form,” sings Marilyn Monroe’s Lorelei Lee, match with a glowing Artwork Deco diamond collar and cuffs, within the 1953 basic “Diamonds are a Woman’s Finest Good friend.”
Immediately, Lee may need extra versatile tastes. A brand new wave of designers are proving girls don’t simply need any outdated diamonds — they need diamonds within the type of cherry earrings, zodiac charms, rings that say “press for champagne,” and bracelets that mimic coiled wires and spell out “I <3 U,” too.
Novelty high quality jewelry is having a second. Designers together with Lauren Harwell Godfrey, Carolina Bucci, Nadine Ghosn, Lauren Rubinski and Marie Lichtenberg pair the seriousness of their supplies (18 karat gold, diamonds, rubies and emeralds) with an irreverent method beforehand related extra with vogue and costume jewelry.
Although the designs are gentle, they arrive with a hefty price ticket: Ghosn’s stacked ring made to appear like a hamburger goes for over $25,000, whereas an apple pendant from London-based Jessica McCormack’s Summer season 2025 fruit salad assortment runs $10,000 — and a refined emerald pearl and diamond piece is priced upon request.
Meaghan Flynn Petropoulos, founding father of the jewelry showroom Essential Extra, mentioned such items have been a small a part of even the extra avant-garde leaning collections she carried just some years in the past. However retailers’ curiosity is rising, and extra manufacturers are placing out complete collections primarily based round funky motifs.
The novelty issue helps to maintain jewelry gross sales rising whilst general spending on luxurious items is in a worldwide hunch. Final yr the jewelry market grew 2 %, whereas attire declined 2 %, in keeping with Bain & Firm. There are many causes for the 2 classes to diverge, however an enormous aspect is that consumers are in search of a distraction, and a cute, diamond encrusted frog ring supplies precisely that.
“In instances of bother or uncertainty you need fairly issues,” mentioned Frank Everett, vice chairman of jewelry at Sotheby’s. “Folks need issues that make them joyful,”
The extra playful method can also be consistent with vogue’s decades-long development towards casualisation, mentioned Melinda Zeman, founding father of Hong Kong-based label Boochier. Consumers need diamonds they will put on with their denims, to the grocery retailer, or to the seashore. McCormack, who sells a set of what she calls “Day Diamonds,” mentioned she’s seen a variety of requests for anklets lately.
“Folks don’t need to put on a seven karat solitaire out as a result of it feels so dressy,” mentioned Zeman. “The best way folks gown has modified.”
Jewelry’s Novelty Bug
Novelty and play have all the time flourished in jewelry, mentioned Everett. Cartier’s Nail and Love bracelets, primarily based on nails and screws, have been created by Juste Un Clou in 1971 and proceed to drive gross sales for the model. Within the nineteenth century, designers have been obsessive about pure types together with sensible bugs, within the Thirties, whimsy was in every single place, mentioned Everett, who added a few of Sotheby’s latest hits lately have been a Raymond Yard broach formed like a home, and a martini appeal bracelet from the gathering of Bunny Mellon.
Impartial designers kicked off the most recent novelty wave.
“After I did the burger in 2016, everybody was like ‘nobody goes to purchase that with 18 Karat gold and diamonds’,” mentioned Ghosn, who additionally makes paper clip bracelets, a ruby “low battery” necklace, french fry cufflinks and bangle made to appear like a bent spoon. “There was zero urge for food and 0 danger taking close to one thing completely different than the standard.”
After placing out the pencil bracelet a decade in the past, she steadily bought round 20 per yr. This yr, she has exceeded 100 orders — and even launched a brand new “chewed” version, match with chew marks.
McCormack’s model, recognized for its chandelier earrings, torque necklaces and engagement rings, has dropped smiley face pendants and “Hiya Sailor,” nautical assortment that includes striped pearls and fishhook pendants. To her shock, even her highest-echelon of significant clientele purchased into the playful items. For jewelry prospects that have already got the fundamentals, novelty affords a brand new incentive to buy.
“It’s tongue-in-cheek, the world of diamonds will be very severe,” the designer mentioned.
Ladies shopping for their very own jewelry — versus ready for males to purchase it for them, a traditionally massive however step by step shrinking share of the market – are additionally extra open to bolder items.
Zeman launched Boochier after she couldn’t discover something to commemorate the start of her third youngster.
“Every part felt so basic and very female,” mentioned Zeman. “Nothing I noticed represented what I wished to put on myself.”
Now, she sells a spread of curly gold bracelets made to appear like slinkys, earrings that mimic tetris items and collars and bangles product of customisable Gameboy-inspired letters: one latest fee learn “Howdy Yall.”
Essentially the most out-there designs additionally are likely to market themselves, spreading by phrase of mouth and on social media.
Designer Carolina Bucci first constructed a reputation for herself with the “fortunate bracelet,” 18 karat gold woven to appear like a friendship bracelet (and worn by Carrie Bradshaw all through the final season of “Intercourse and the Metropolis”). Her Forte Beads, which imitate the breezy vibrant plastic beads youngsters play with (beginning at $1,370 and $690 respectively) pop on social media.
“Jewellery shouldn’t be simple to {photograph} and to transmit the intricacy or preciousness of it … something to do with the beads will get a lot extra consideration and unfold as a result of it’s visually simpler,” mentioned Bucci.
Rising Difficulties
The enchantment of novelty typically goes past its tone. It’s technically difficult to get the agate, tiger’s eye, jasper, lapis lazuli and amethyst she makes use of for her beads into that precise form with a large gap, mentioned Bucci.
Ghosn selected to make a bracelet of heart-shaped color diamonds when she collaborated with Swiss diamond label Gubelin in March as a result of it’s difficult to chop diamonds into that form, she mentioned. One in all Lichtenberg’s signatures is a $31,240 pendant made to appear like a magic eight ball toy.
“It’s like [doing] triple flips in ice skating,” mentioned Lichtenberg. “It seems to be simple [because] my items are laid again and funky, however the intricacy and problem is cool.”
How manufacturers showcase these designs is commonly extra informal, and social-first — marked by pictures of wrist stacks, necklaces over T-shirts and even subsequent to sweet necklaces within the case of Boochier.
“I’m not polished, I’m not photoshopping,” mentioned Ghosn. “I believe [traditional brands] are shocked to see a product can stay that prime a luxurious merchandise with out that perfection.”
The method makes shoppers really feel like they will DM questions, like what a bit seems to be like in a special dimension, or subsequent to particular color, mentioned Zeman.
However amid the play, market headwinds are constructing. The rising value of gold is creating uncertainty that might make already dangerous experimentation harder. Litchenberg mentioned the value of gold “killed [her] margins within the final three to 4 months.” Consumers are already pushing again in opposition to ultra-high costs in different luxurious classes, corresponding to purses.
Nonetheless, all the pieces is getting dearer, mentioned Ghosn, which makes it all of the extra vital for manufacturers to supply one thing completely different and private. Plus, this method began resonating extra post-pandemic when folks wanted a pick-me-up — they usually nonetheless do, mentioned Flynn Petropoulos.
“The issues which might be compelling folks to spend proper now are primarily based on a sense,” mentioned Flynn Petropoulos. “We’re not in an area politically the place anybody is in search of something lower than uplifting … If folks can put money into one thing that maintains its worth actually [in the price of gold] and figuratively of their temper, I don’t see [the trend] slowing down.”
