Just when you think you’ve seen it all, there come along a handful of designs that feel so fresh and thoughtful you find yourself falling in love with the creativity of the jewelry world all over again.
At Couture this year, jewelers were reinventing the solitaire ring, finding clever ways to pair diamonds with new materials, and presenting thoughtful designs with versatility and even a much-needed dose of humor. I left feeling inspired by these artisans and, for better or worse, a deep desire to add to my collection.
Diamond solitaires are a global cultural mainstay and tribute to eternal love and this year, designers were once again rethinking their settings. There has been a huge trend veering away from traditional engagement ring designs for some time, so I was surprised to see some examples that felt new or, at least, improved.
My favorite solitaires were from Japanese maker Shihara, who displayed a set of ultra-cool one-of-a-kind Exclusive Diamond rings in trillion, trapezoid, and hexagon cuts with large windows set in matte brushed-gold bands with sharp rather than rounded edges. They are currently exclusively sold in Japan, but we hope their presence in Las Vegas means they will soon be stateside.
Cuban Armenian designer, Vanessa Fernandez’s twisted gold Curva bands cradled sizeable gems like a VS1 4.01-carat diamond. Wavy-looking bands are not entirely new, but the way hers curved and wrap feels different. They are made even more special by the fact that she’s prefers an old-school approach to design, which means everything is handcrafted without the use of molds or 3D printing. Each one is singular.
A thick gold band that looked as if it had been pinched in various places to create a sculptural nest for a beautiful pear-shaped diamond set East-West and tilted ever so slightly was a standout from Los Angeles-based jeweler, Lizzie Mandler.
Surprisingly there was new material at play and I suspect this burst of out-of-the-box thinking is due to the rising cost of gold. Brazilian designer Silvia Furmanovich is no stranger to unusual material, often working with wood marquetry and even Japanese bamboo. This year, it was her sizeable paisley-shaped earrings in a green Urushi Japanese lacquer with a trail of diamonds winding around the center that popped.
And I saw a beautiful bracelet by Dubai-based designer, Karina Choudhary, who set vertical bars of diamonds between pieces of golden coral that she sourced from the Philippines.
Others got playful with their diamonds. Italian Mattia Cielo in known for his flexible gold wire pieces that bend and twist and come interspersed with various cuts of diamonds and other gems – particularly his bracelets that wrap up the arm. “If they are to remember me, it’s as the kind of the slinky,” says Cielo with a laugh.
But his hoop earrings and collar necklaces are equally appealing. A pair of gold oversized hoop earrings on thin wire with diamonds sprinkled around the rims manage to look both high-impact and subtle simultaneously. Plus they come with an ingenious little chain attached to the earring backs so you don’t lose them.
As someone who also covers watches, I appreciated Greek designer Maria Kotsoni’s Smiley Spiked Diamond Bracelet – a thin cuff band that comes with a flexible strand of diamonds that falls onto the top of the hand like a smiley face but, as she pointed out, also serves as a sort of halo that can curve around the case of your watch.
And Harwell Godfrey has one of the most original ‘70s-era inspirations we’ve seen to date. A necklace of square panels decorated with a multitude of colorful stones interspersed with diamonds was meant to mimic crochet and quilting from the ‘flower child’ decade. In anyone else’s hands this would look too grandma, under Harwell’s singular vision it looks impossibly hip.
At a time when so many designs can feel derivative, this year’s Couture show was a powerful reminder that there is still endless room for innovation in jewelry. Whether through unexpected materials, imaginative silhouettes, or playful nods to nostalgia, these designers proved that diamonds – and the ways we wear them – are far from stagnant. The best pieces didn’t just sparkle; they made you smile and reconsider what a modern heirloom can be.
Words by Paige Reddinger, watch and jewelry editor
