Meet The Quirky And Kooky Jewels Taking Over Your Instagram Feed

Fine jewellery designers are letting their imaginations run wild with playful new collections full of joyful pieces

For some, fine jewellery is synonymous with all things serious, stiff, and staid. Illustrious maisons with imposing store fronts, prestigious legacies and rarefied precious gems can feel somewhat formidable, but there is a clutch of fine jewellery designers who are eschewing traditional design codes – elegant flora, fauna, and classical forms – in favour of light-hearted creations that almost don’t feel like fine jewels at all. 

Leading the charge is Sorellina, the Brooklyn-based brand founded by sisters Nicole and Kim Carosella, who crafted a one-of-a-kind cassette tape necklace to present at this year’s JCK Vegas Couture show in June. Created from carved white sapphire, complete with a diamond-set spool that can be wound by a precious pencil charm, its chain even features hand-cut stones to resemble the buttons found on a retro walkman. 

“Designing jewellery that pushes boundaries allows us to infuse each piece in our collections with a sense of wonder and joy, turning ordinary adornments into extraordinary expressions of art and individuality,” says Nicole. “As we were developing our newest collection series, Playlist, it seemed fitting to design a luxe throwback that combines our love of music, jewellery and innovation,” she explains. 

It is this same fearless sense of fun that has fuelled many of the magical creations unveiled in recent weeks, including Nadine Ghosn’s collaboration with Crayola. Famed for her quirky encrusted pencil bangles, bejewelled burgers, and Lego-inspired rings, thanks to collaborations with the likes of McDonalds and BIC, this is far from the Lebanese designer’s first foray with frivolity, but her Crayola bangles, crafted from 18-karat gold, may be her most audacious (and crave worthy) yet. 

“I love to take the unexpected, overlooked items we come across either throughout childhood or just daily and to glamorise and elevate them with the finest materials and utmost detail,” says Nadine. “Crayons remind me of childhood, playing, creating and limitless possibilities. Something about these wax figures is so iconic and colourful, reminding us to bring joy and freedom into our everyday lives as adults.”

Nadine is far from alone; in recent weeks Marie Lichtenberg has unveiled an oversized pendant modelled on a Magic 8 Ball, while Italian designer Francesca Villa’s latest collection, Lover’s Eyes, includes a necklace bearing emoji-esque illustrations. Another stand out piece at the JCK Vegas Couture show was Mined & Found’s Hope matchbox pendant, which contains an enamelled matchstick charm that is intended to remind its owner of the adage, ‘from a single spark came a mighty flame.’ “I love creating quirky, non-traditional pieces,” says founder Jenn Rachinsky Breznen. “I feel they are just more representative of life, which is full of quirks, surprises… twists and turns.” 

This free-spirited aesthetic has perhaps also pushed designers to consider more unusual gemstones than the traditional Big 4, with designers such as Lito Karakostanoglou, founder of Athen-based brand Lito, releasing fun-fuelled collections of semi-precious stones. For La Bouch, the Greek designer’s latest collection, she took a luscious pout motif and carved it from vivid hardstones such as turquoise, black agate, and aventurine, suspended from delicate chains. 

“Each day I wake up feeling evolved, energised and different. Every day I learn new things and this knowledge changes my aesthetic, so it’s ever-evolving. Sometimes it’s quirky and playful for sure; other times it’s a bit more traditional, but always with a twist and an overriding sense of fun,” explains Lito.

Meanwhile, Tatiana Van Lancker, founder of Van, makes it impossible to feel gloomy when wearing one of her gemstone-studded gold robots. Her newest collection, entitled Sogno, features her signature scintillating robots dressed up in pastel shades of tourmaline and morganite. “I love irreverent jewellery, and I designed the Van Robot to embody the past, present and future,” says Tatiana. “Fine jewellery should feel perennially relevant, not take itself too seriously, and, above all, it should make you smile.”

Lead image credits:

Lead image credit: Instagram (@nadineghosnjewelry)