During our October show, we were thrilled to sit down with Julia Chafe of “Jewels with Jules” fame to learn about her fascinating journey from legacy high-end gemstone dealer to TikTok/Instagram influencer. We took advantage of the opportunity to ask her if she could identify any trends that she predicted would carry on into the new year. Without hesitation she declaratively stated, “Everything and anything rainbow!” While her opinion may be influenced by her background in gemstones, after she made her prediction, we realized we’ve been seeing rainbows everywhere.
The fun part about rainbows in fine jewelry is that it often means gemstones! Of course, rainbows can be achieved with enamel, and you can find some fun pieces created with non-fine materials such as resin or glass, but for pieces that convey a sense of permanence, we love seeing the full spectrum of colors in sapphires, rubies, emeralds, tourmalines, topaz, aquamarine, citrine, quartz, fire opal, Tanzanite and tsavorite, to name just a few of our favorites. What many people don’t realize is that several gemstones offer an array of colors. While sapphires are usually associated with a rich blue color, they actually come in every color of the rainbow except red (in which case, they’re considered a ruby–both sapphires and rubies are gem varieties of the mineral corundum). Tourmalines also come in a wide range of colors, as do topaz and, if you’re really feeling indulgent, diamonds.
Throughout the JA New York show floor, you can spot rainbow jewelry in a wide breadth of price points. Whether shown in separate pieces that create a rainbow effect when stacked, such as the fabulous cuff bracelets we saw at Nava Dee by AOD, or all the entire range of colors in the earrings we saw at Trio, these non-traditional rainbow pieces have the same impact as when one sees a rainbow in the sky–wonder, awe and excitement! And of course, for those wanting to commission a bespoke piece or bench jewelers wanting to create rainbow pieces to sell in-store, loose gemstones in a rainbow of shades can be sourced from among our gemstone dealers such as Manak Jewels.
It is common wisdom that trends in fashion are a marker of larger trends in the world and/or a reflection of one’s personal beliefs, i.e. the length of skirts are a reflection of the economy or the tendency of suffragettes to wear white, purple or green. We hope this movement towards a rainbow of colors in fine jewelry is an indication of a bold, festive, joyous 2023 and beyond!
