6 Jewelry Designers Poised to Have a Breakout Year in 2026

Maybe you’re already fawning over these designers’ jewels, or perhaps this is the first time you’re seeing their work.

Either way, 2026 is positioned to be their year.

Guided by experts in the industry, the growing attention I’ve noticed around these brands, and standout pieces that are too unique to ignore, I’ve compiled a list of six designers who have the momentum to have a breakout year.

They are: Jules Kim of Bijules, Sophie Howard of By Pariah, Jade Ruzzo, Joy Haugaard of Lionheart, Vanessa Fernández of Vanessa Fernández Studio, and Hiba Husayni of Zahn-Z.

Some launched their brands over a decade ago, and others are breaking out after only a few years in the fine jewelry business.

Their creativity is expansive, and this year they will continue to push themselves to even greater heights.

Bijules
Designer: Jules Kim   
Year Founded: 2002

Bijules’ founder and designer Jules Kim is an innovator.

Since opening her New York and Milan-based brand in 2002, she has been expanding what is possible for fine jewelry, and fine jewelry brands, through pieces like her nail rings, transformable “Compass” jewels, and the gold-and-diamond cage that’s sure to turn any Bic lighter into a treasure.

It’s these designs, sparked by her human experience, that make her brand one to watch.

Kim began her career as a DJ and nightlife promoter making jewelry on the side until her brand grew, and she transitioned to jewelry design full time.

At the beginning, Kim was a self-taught jeweler who handmade everything in silver and gold.

After Gwen Stefani wore her jewels, Kim realized she would not be able to keep up with demand and partnered with Atrium.

In 2022, she began her role as “Talent Liaison” for the “Belonging @ Couture” mentorship program, where she focused on guiding new talent at Couture.

Her “Nail Ring” pieces made for Beyoncé in 2008 brought Bijules to the forefront and were displayed, along with her “Golden Nipples” for Cardi B, in 2024’s “Ice Cold” exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Kim’s pieces are easily recognizable as work from Bijules, and her innovative nail rings have been often imitated over the years.

She said, “Innovation is about solving problems and using creativity to do it. With the nail rings, the problem that it reconciled was bringing back childhood nostalgia. As a little girl wanting to age quicker, and then when you finally are a woman, you’re like, ‘Shit, how do you reverse?’”

Childhood nostalgia is a central theme in many of Kim’s designs like her bolo tie offerings, a nod to her childhood in the South.

Kim collaborates with other industries because, as she put it, “It’s at that intersection that we create culture.”

She currently is branching out to transform the motifs seen in her jewelry into a home object collection, partnering with professionals in the hospitality, sommeliers, and technology industries.

Her latest work, “The Future Cut,” is a traveling showroom that merges Bijules jewelry with the new home goods category.

Kim is always looking to the future when creating new work.

“I’ve been doing this for quite a long time but it’s always still so exhilarating and I find that that feeling is something that keeps me going and supplies me with energy to continue to push the envelope,” she said.

She is working on new projects around her “Bolero T” ring, has been incorporating AI when ideating designs, and has a new computer-generated imagery (CGI) project for her “Flameholder” lighter cage jewels.

“It’s important that I’m at the cutting edge of what’s going on in the world because I design based on context,” Kim said. 

“I do believe that technology and innovation are extremely important, if not one of the most important, elements of exploring design and ideation.”


By Pariah
Designer: Sophie Howard
Year Founded: 2019

From hand-carved rings and pendants to a vintage-inspired emerald collection, designer Sophie Howard has been evolving her brand, By Pariah.

Howard’s path to becoming a jewelry designer began with a career in luxury fashion communications before starting her London-based brand in 2019.

Originally from Munich, Germany, Howard often is influenced by her hometown when designing her jewelry.

“I’ve always had an appreciation for nature—not in a naturalist way, but in the curves and forms of the Earth and its raw materials. That echoes in how I design—architectural, but bold and smooth,” Howard said.

By Pariah is known for its sculptural stacking rings and pebble pendants, but above all, for its use of untreated gemstones that become small sculptures.

Over the last six years, these signature forms have evolved to include more diamonds and 14-karat yellow gold, and the brand has opened a new chapter through its latest collection, “Reverie.”

Howard created the collection after being inspired by a vintage ring she discovered with a domed gold form framing an emerald encircled by diamonds.

She included emeralds—a first for the brand—in forms that focus on balance, movement, and quiet strength.

By Pariah is a brand that creates pieces that are meant to be worn and lived in without striving to fit a trend, it said.

“I’ve always been guided by a consistent design language, and over time that clarity has helped the work speak for itself,” said Howard.

“At the same time, I’ve felt confident exploring new developments—like introducing emeralds and stepping into fine jewelry—without losing the sculptural simplicity that defines the brand. That balance between consistency and growth has felt important, and I think it’s why the work and our collections are connecting so well.”


Jade Ruzzo
Designer: Jade Ruzzo   
Year Founded: 2022

Family is at the heart of the Jade Ruzzo brand.

Ruzzo, the founder and designer of her eponymous brand, took a circuitous path to starting her New York City-based brand in 2022.

She studied at FIT, going on to work at various Condé Nast-owned publications and, later, Snapchat while doing personal styling and shopping on the side.

It wasn’t until 2019, when she had her daughter and her father passed away, that she left her full-time job for personal styling and began making the jewelry for herself that would become her brand.

“I was aways looking for ways to honor him in a way that would fit within my world of jewelry and style, and things that I could pass down to my daughter,” said Ruzzo.

Music and percussion have been forms of inspiration for her because of her father, who was a drummer, leading to her many cymbal and drum head motifs.

What’s elevating her work to the next level is the move to more one-of-a-kind pieces.

“The idea was a collection of things that would last the test of time, modern heirlooms that you could pass down like a name gets passed down,” said Ruzzo about her latest collection, “Gloria.”

She named the collection after her daughter, who got her name from Ruzzo’s father's great-aunt.

Bold minimalism is the theme running through Ruzzo’s work. “It’s not too fussy, not very trend-forward at all, more timeless,” she explained.

While her cabochon eternity-style “Vic” rings—named after her father—are a popular style for the brand, her latest one-of-a-kinds reach new heights, specifically her “Gloria” collar that debuted at Couture in 2025 and surprisingly didn’t win a Couture Design Award.

“I was really leaning into this idea with the way that the market is going of the sort of bigger, splashier, one-of-a-kind pieces,” said Ruzzo, who noted her focus on using unique gemstones to make a piece that can’t be recreated.

Ruzzo always has centered colored gemstones in her pieces, working with the now-trending champagne diamonds, but now is also looking to antique diamonds as well as red garnet and zircon.

“The way that the market is right now, I think people are really drawn to this idea of scarcity … If it’s something unique that they can’t get elsewhere, that can’t be recreated, that only belongs to them.

“I’ve found that has sort of set me apart a bit.”

Lionheart
Designer: Joy Haugaard
Year Founded: 2018

Lionheart’s co-founder and designer Joy Haugaard has been working in the jewelry industry since she was 16 years old, collaborating with master craftsmen, sorting and grading stones, sketching by hand, and mastering CAD.

“My love for the artistry naturally evolved into design. Jewelry became my way of telling stories in wearable pieces,” said Haugaard.

What inspires her is … everything—people, places, emotions, and the moments that are both lived and imagined.

Her work translates feelings and memories, beauty and sadness alike into jewelry.

Lionheart is known for its many medallions and chains designed for versatility.

Its “Cassandane” medallion, created more than a decade ago, is one of the brand’s signature styles, while its “Seasons” collection showcases its inventiveness.

The Seasons pieces feature mechanically engineered medallions designed with interchangeable gemstone discs for the wearer to change the color and character of the piece.

As the brand grows, Haugaard has been focusing on the “Legacy” equestrian line, not only because 2026 is the Year of the Horse but also for her lifelong love of horses. A portion of the proceeds from the collection’s sales will go to 13 Hands Equine Rehabilitation.

What makes Lionheart stand out are the stories Haugaard builds her collections around.

“These pieces reflect a balance of craftsmanship, engineering, and storytelling, and resonate with clients looking for jewelry that feels personal, collectible, and timeless,” she said.

The designer has been incorporating more brown and champagne diamonds into her designs and in 2026, is branching out with a collection of hat pins.

The Year of the Horse—a symbol of freedom, movement, and growth—holds sentimental meaning for Haugaard, and I expect it to be a big year for her jewelry brand as well.


Vanessa Fernández Studio
Designer: Vanessa Fernández
Year Founded: 2014 

Jeweler Vanessa Fernández is the driving force behind her brand, Vanessa Fernández Studio.

Fernández earned her bachelor’s in jewelry and metalwork from Virginia Commonwealth University before working alongside Guy Bedarida, then John Hardy’s creative director.

She went on to work with Lorenz Bäumer, for Tasaki Pearl, and as a collaborator with Jill Biden and the U.S. State Department during the Biden administration, providing custom jewelry for gift giving.

From her studio in Miami, Florida, Fernández designs each piece in real time on the bench, looking to her selected gemstones as she sculpts the wax for the custom 18-karat gold alloy that will become her next “Curva” piece.

The “Las Olas” rings and double line “Curva” pieces are among Fernández’s most popular offerings.

Her first “Curva” piece in 2022 brought her brand to the forefront and multiple pieces from the line have won Couture Design Awards.

What sets Fernández apart is how every component of her pieces, down to the settings and links, are unique. Nothing is designed in CAD, molded, or printed.

“I’m just trying to honor the old-time craft of making fine jewelry with soul and hands,” Fernández said.

As she creates there’s an emphasis on a strong conceptual foundation; she keeps in mind both the aesthetic of a piece and the message she’s conveying through it. That’s what creates a good piece of jewelry, according to Fernández.

Her inspiration comes from both color stories and the woman—female form, femininity, and sensuality or, as she explained it, “Everything from the curvature of a woman’s body to the curls in the hair.”

Her pieces are voluptuous and sensual, and stem from the turn-of-the-century artists whom she admires—those who were beginning to put women at the forefront of their art like Hilma af Klint and Gustav Klimt.

Many of Fernández’s settings include a spiral underneath the stone, inspired by Klimt’s use of the shape to symbolize the beginning and ending of a cycle.

“I really honor that because to me, it’s about a beginning and end,” she said.

Fernández works with an array of colored gemstones, but she is currently using a lot of spessartite garnet, lavender spinel, Mahenge spinel, and more champagne and yellow-toned diamonds.

For the future, look out for more work similar to her latest “Curva Caótica” bracelet.

Fernández said she’s currently planning to create a neckpiece—or, rather, a chest piece—that is a collage, or chaos, of gemstones.


Zahn-Z
Designer: Hiba Husayni
Year Founded: 2021 

Zahn-Z’s founder and designer Hiba Husayni has wanted to be a jewelry designer since she was 13 years old.

“In Syria, jewelry is not viewed as a profession, so my parents guided me to architecture,” she said.

“When the war happened, I already was sketching jewelry and imaging how I would become a jewelry designer. It was basically a dream.”

At the age of 24 she moved to Egypt with her architecture degree but her passion for jewelry remained.

“You only live once. I have to do what I want to do, and that’s jewelry design.”

Husayni went on to work as a bench jeweler with Azza Fahmy Design Studio and later moved to New York where she started working with CAD, became a diamond grader, and landed a CAD manager role at Diamonds Direct while starting Zahn-Z.

Her background in architecture transferred to her jewelry designs, with inspiration coming from groundbreaking architect Zaha Hadid, who was born in Iraq but worked in London.

“She has a quote that I always keep in mind when designing. It says, ‘There are 360 degrees, so why stick to one,’” recounted Husayni.

This quote transfers to Husayni’s work.

Her designs are filled with curves, fluidity, movement, and hidden secrets, as seen in her Couture Design Award-winning “Zaha’s Secret” ring with pavé diamonds hidden on the underside of the setting.

“It feels like a continuous conversation with the eye when there are curves. It’s like a symphony. It’s never-ending,” explained Husayni.

She started her New York-based brand in 2021. It took off when she debuted her swapable “Gem Pop” ring and later, her “Zaha” collection.

Her stackable rings from the collection are a popular choice for many clients, but what Husayni believes draws people to Zahn-Z is her personal story.

“My story resonates with a lot of people … They get excited and they want to own a piece of my jewelry. That’s a beautiful relationship to have. It’s not just a client, there’s a little more to it,” Husayni said.

Zahn-Z’s personalized Arabic name necklaces with pavé diamonds have been a hit for the brand.

At Couture last year, Zahn-Z debuted its “Beluga” collection of pieces reimagining the whale’s melon shaped-head, blowhole, and fluke into jewelry.

What sets Husayni apart is that she is never stagnant; she’s always innovating.

She currently is experimenting with new “Zaha” designs featuring mother-of-pearl engraved in wood—a reference to Syrian culture—to replicate mosaic work.

She’s also looking to work with brokkar, a Syrian fabric, and use her own signature cords made of sayaa that will be produced in Syria and shipped to the United States.

“I’m trying to do Zaha in vintage,” added Husayni, “Zaha retro, Zaha art deco. It’s not just a modern silhouette and it will have some new and old elements.”