Trends

Current Jewelry Trend: Color Craze

TrendsJul 25, 2022

Current Jewelry Trend: Color Craze

At the Couture show, designers told colorful stories with gemstones, enamel, and gemstone beads.

20220725_JewelryTrends-Header.jpg
At Couture 2022, designers were feeling bold color. Pictured from left to right are a cuff by Brent Neale, a necklace by Rosa Van Parys, and a ring by Retrouvaí.
Las Vegas—Like everyone, the jewelry designers who descended on the Couture show this year have been feeling cooped up.
 
Many skipped the 2021 Las Vegas jewelry trade show due to COVID-19 fears or international travel restrictions. Most have enjoyed a bustling couple years of business. These factors led to a joyful Sin City reunion featuring collections bursting with color. 
 
Among the current jewelry trends in the market, color was the reigning theme at Couture 2022, and expressed in different and compelling ways per designers’ unique visual identities and inclinations. 
 
Below are the dominant ways designers showed off fine jewelry’s recent bout of prosperity, in every shade of the rainbow.
 
The New Enamel

Enamel has enjoyed renewed industry prominence for the better half of the last decade. It allows for color experimentation that simply isn’t possible when sourcing colored gemstones. 
 
So, while enamel is nothing new, brands are pushing the medium in new and exciting ways. 
 
Take Selim Mouzannar, for instance. Enamel jewelry is a mainstay of the Lebanese designer’s collection, but his continued experimentation with guilloche enamel and the metal patterns beneath it represent continued innovation, as seen in the above slideshow’s spectacular monochromatic cuff.
 
Susana Martins, the designer behind the eponymous line, made her Couture debut this year. 
 
The Dubai-based creator’s adventurous eye for color felt completely modern, thanks to shades of curry red, lime green, or turquoise blue enamel, the latter particularly compelling when paired with emerald. 
 
Emily P. Wheeler embodies joyful, you-only-live-once color. Her most unexpected enamel showed up at the recent jewelry trade show in the form of white stripes, which lent an ever-more-playful energy to bold gemstone pieces. 
 
In Couture’s Design Atelier, Tariq Riaz showcased his flexible “Circle of Life” rings that prove no color combination is off limits. The brand offers more than 100 shades of enamel and encourages mixing metals as well. 
 
Year-Round Gemstone Beads
Jewelry’s current mood for color translates to chains, with lots of designers rolling out gemstone bead necklaces and bracelets that aren't just for summertime. 
 
Ananya’s signature piece is a luxurious gemstone bead bracelet, available in a huge variety of gemstones and fixed with an 18-karat gold and diamond closure. 
 
Jacquie Aiche is synonymous with sinuous, second-skin bezel-set diamond chains. After myriad iterations, gemstone bead chains were a logical next chapter for the designer’s neck mess, providing a substantial counterpart to more delicate diamond layers. 
 
Now, the designer has a plethora of gemstone varieties that combine a faceted gemstone for an elegant-yet-bohemian silhouette.
 
Azlee boasts a muted gold and diamond color palette, occasionally dipping its toe into emerald pieces, and, as of Couture 2022, sapphire. Sapphire beads are a new take on the “big three” gemstones, providing a more organic and unisex energy to the gem. 
 
Renna, the brand that provides a sophisticated and sentimental take on sea-inspired jewelry, proves large, tumbled gemstone beads are a perfect match with her ocean motifs. 
 
Cocktail Hour

In this editor’s opinion, the most compelling trend under the overall color mania umbrella is the cocktail jewel: a necklace, bracelet, ring, or pair of earrings defined by the presence of at least one bold and juicy colored gemstone.
 
See: Brent Neale’s peridot ring, replete with delicate gold bead and gem halo, or Nadine Aysoy’s fancy-shape gemstone bracelet. 
 
AnaKatarina adapts the style to its aesthetic via textured, sea urchin-like gold and inverted accent gemstones. Beck Jewels is more straightforward with its solitaire gemstone encompassed in a multi-level gold setting. 
 
Melissa Kaye’s new foray into bespoke pieces, thanks to carefully sourced stones set in an enamel halo, show the intersection between the cocktail jewel and new enamel trends. 
 
More Is More
Some color is simply an energetic milieu of shades, thanks to nature’s candy.
 
M. Spalten’s “Gemfetti” jewels, featuring a mix of colored gem varieties, sizes, and cuts, follow designer Melissa Spalten’s personal color preferences, resulting in an aesthetically pleasing and gem-diverse array of stones. 
 
Robinson Pelham is a champion of the rainbow jewelry trend, proving time and time again the complementary effect of every major hue combined together. 
 
Rosa Van Parys started her collection shying away from bright color but has now branched into its many possibilities in her signature “dagger” necklace silhouettes. 
 
 Related stories will be right here … 

The Latest

Mary Tyler Moore and Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. Bone Cuffs
AuctionsDec 08, 2023
Sotheby’s Sold All Mary Tyler Moore’s Jewelry

The 21 pieces up for auction, including Tiffany & Co. jewels and a Cartier watch, garnered more than $430,000 across two sales.

Inesa Kovalova’s Links pin
CollectionsDec 08, 2023
Piece of the Week: A ‘Strong & Precious’ Brooch

Centered on a sunny heliodor, the “Links” pin was designed by Ukrainian jewelry artist Inesa Kovalova.

Lashbrook ring
MajorsDec 07, 2023
Lashbrook Sues Manly Bands for Allegedly Copying Designs

The wedding band company is also accusing its former customer of removing watermarks from Lashbrook images for its own use.

De Beers | Diamonds Falling
Brought to you by
The Most Important “C” in Diamonds: Confidence!

Without the ability to instill confidence within the industry and directly to the consumer, a diamond holds very little value.

Rough diamonds from Alrosa
Policies & IssuesDec 07, 2023
The G7’s Long-Awaited Statement on Russian Diamonds Is Here

It provides a timeline for the implementation of new restrictions, but no details.

Weekly QuizDec 07, 2023
This Week’s Quiz
Test your jewelry news knowledge with this short test.
Take the Quiz
24 Karat Club of New York new members
MajorsDec 07, 2023
24 Karat Club of New York Welcomes New Members

The organization has elected 12 new additions.

National Jeweler columnist Sherry Smith
ColumnistsDec 06, 2023
On Data: How Are Independents Doing So Far This Holiday Season?

Sherry Smith breaks down the numbers on jewelry sales in November and reveals the category that “emerged as a standout.”

Platinum  Guild International Diamond Rings
Brought to you by
If It’s Custom, Make It Platinum

With holiday proposals right around the corner, encourage your customers to go for platinum when making the big purchase.

133 carat yellow diamond
AuctionsDec 06, 2023
A Yellow Diamond, Hollywood Jewels Stand Out at Sotheby’s

Additional lots will be offered in the Fine Jewels online sale through Dec. 7.

GIA logo
GradingDec 06, 2023
GIA Debuts Revamped Graduate Jeweler Program

By mixing creative and practical skills, the new course hopes to fill the industry’s bench jeweler gap.

A 1930s gem-set and enamel ‘Maltese cross’ cuff attributed to Verdura for Chanel (left) and a loose cushion-cut Burmese sapphire weighing 11.87 carats (right) were the top lots in Bonhams New York Jewels auction this week.
AuctionsDec 06, 2023
Verdura Cuff, Burmese Sapphire Shine at Bonhams

Several other colored gemstones joined the pieces in the top 10 list.

Neil Lane lab-grown diamond engagement ring
FinancialsDec 05, 2023
Signet Jewelers’ Q3 Sales Down 12%

The retailer is still expecting a strong holiday season with improving demand for natural diamonds.

Memorial for slain jeweler Peter Damian Arguello in Wheat Ridge, Colorado
CrimeDec 05, 2023
Police Continue to Investigate Murder of Colorado Jeweler

Peter Damian Arguello, the owner of Peter Damian Fine Jewelry & Antiques, was shot and killed in an apparent robbery last week.

Tanishq store
MajorsDec 05, 2023
Tanishq Continues U.S. Expansion With 2 New Stores

The Indian jewelry giant has opened locations in Houston and Frisco, Texas.

Grandview Klein Diamonds Namibia scholarship winners
SourcingDec 05, 2023
Grandview Klein Awards Two Scholarships in Namibia

Each student was provided with the full amount of tuition for the Namibia University of Science & Technology.

De Beers Ryan Perry and David Prager
SourcingDec 04, 2023
David Prager To Leave De Beers in 2024

Ryan Perry, who has been with De Beers since 2002, also will be leaving the company next year.

Chrono24 ChronoPulse
WatchesDec 04, 2023
Chrono24 Debuts the ‘Dow Jones’ for Luxury Watches

The watch seller’s new index tracks sales data from 14 brands, including Rolex and Patek Philippe.

David Bouffard Signet Jewelers
MajorsDec 04, 2023
David Bouffard to Leave Signet, RJC

The industry veteran will step down from both roles in April 2024.

Lightbox x Roséate Light Wand pendants
Lab-GrownDec 01, 2023
Lightbox Teams Up With Brand Founded by Former Tiffany Exec

The lab-grown diamond brand also collaborated with the website The Future Rocks on a collection launching today.

Lila Moss Calvin Klein campaign
FinancialsDec 01, 2023
Movado Lowers Guidance Again After Q3 Sales Dip

The company said it is facing a “challenging retail environment” but is prepared for the holiday season.

Muzo emerald and argyle pink diamond necklace
CollectionsDec 01, 2023
Piece of the Week: Muzo’s Emerald and Argyle Pink Diamond Necklace

It’s the hero piece of the newest "Green Jewel" collection, a collaborative offering from the two mines.

Pink Supreme Diamond
AuctionsNov 30, 2023
This Pink Diamond Reigned Supreme in Hong Kong

The 15.48-carat fancy intense “Pink Supreme” topped Christie’s fall jewelry auction in Asia, while a Patek Philippe led the watch sale.

Claire’s CFO COO Chris Cramer
MajorsNov 30, 2023
Claire’s Hires Former Bath & Body Works Exec as CFO, COO

Chris Cramer, who also spent time at Gen Z intimates brand Parade, will take on the dual role.

133 carat yellow diamond
AuctionsNov 30, 2023
Sotheby’s To Auction 133-Carat Yellow Diamond

The stone headlining the upcoming sale could fetch up to $5 million.

Kwiat diamonds
IndependentsNov 30, 2023
Frank Adams Rolls Out Kwiat’s ‘Mine to Shine’ Program

The retail offering lets customers track their diamond’s journey.

Diamond development hub in Angola
SourcingNov 29, 2023
Largest New Diamond Mine of the Decade Coming Online in Angola

The Luele mine is expected to eventually make the country the world’s third-largest diamond producer.

Holiday shoppers holding bags
SurveysNov 29, 2023
Holiday Shoppers Broke a Record This Weekend, Says NRF

From Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, 200.4 million consumers shopped online and in stores.

×

This site uses cookies to give you the best online experience. By continuing to use & browse this site, we assume you agree to our Privacy Policy