The REAL DEAL
The new era of adornment calls for fine jewellery that’s fresh, modern, and all about you. By Emily Cronin.
In jewellery, as in love, it’s different when it’s real. But while the qualities behind good relationships are as enduring as the meaning of a Cartier Trinity ring (love, fidelity, friendship), what women want from jewellery is evolving. “Women are trying to find a different way to wear fine jewellery, where it’s not just the statement watch, the statement bracelet, and diamond studs,” says jewellery designer Jennifer Fisher. Instead, designers like Fisher, Eva Zuckerman of Eva Fehren, Ana Khouri, Irene Neuwirth, Jennifer Meyer, Hoorsenbuhs’s Robert Keith, Gaia Repossi, and Anita Ko are energising the genre with pieces that are more than future heirlooms: From earclimbing earrings to sleek modern bangles, they are a chance to express your style every day, no matter the dress code.
Why now? Though bold costume baubles and quick hits of high-street sparkle abound, the real jewellery we long for is about daily luxury, personalisation, and long-term value. “It was important to me to do something timeless that can be passed on from generation to generation,” says Zuckerman, whose geometric lines and unorthodox materials (think grey diamonds and petrified wood) merge in covetable contemporary pieces sold at Barneys New York. She creates many of her designs with the idea that they may be stacked and combined according to the wearer’s wishes. “It’s interesting for women to be able to make their own story with the jewellery rather than being
told what to wear.”