All most well-known jewellery-houses are introduced in every largest contemporary world's capital, and their number is still increasing. Celebrities and movie-stars, who regularly appear in the news, promote not at all their new song-albums or most-distributed movies, but on the contrary just another jewellery collection.
Undoubtedly, the cost of such beauty is high. However, when purchasing gold or silver ware from the last ultra-stylish collection, one may be sure to get a «friend» for ages. The jewellery world has its own view upon fashion. Neither diamonds, sapphires nor emeralds have time limits. The same with goods, made of these precious stones: they don't ever wear out or go out of fashion, but just the reverse - become more unique, expensive each year and always maintain in requisition. At the same time even the most conservative jewellers from time to time phase in fresh ideas into their classic collections' design. Our task is to catch them!
Let's begin our review, certainly, with gold. Epidemic demand for white gold, which was on its way for the last few years, is gradually diminishing. According to Baselworld's - Watch and Jewellery Saloon - survey results, the most fashionable precious metal is pink gold. This Saloon holds its collections' demonstrations in Switzerland annually in spring. And almost all jewellery brands presented their new collections, which are carried out just in pink, at the last showing. But there's no reason for conservatives' agitation - both yellow and white gold are still in great demand, as they always successfully group with diamonds and emphasize on stones' charm. Moreover they excellently go together and make a good combination with colorful precious and semiprecious stones. Keen on bright colors and anxious for something unusual? Then Korloff offers unique technology especially for you: varnishing gold with specific colorful lacquer. 14 colors, included in the collection, always allow you to select particularly your hue.
Leading positions among precious stones three centuries ago took diamonds. And they still do! In addition to that their colored variations are back in fashion: yellow (Roberto Coin), blue and even black (such jewellery-houses as Iosi Scavia, Luca Carati, Stephan Haffner and de Grisogono use them in their production). Though the majority of customers continue to opt for classic, limpid stones.
As for combination of diamonds with other precious stones, there is a wide range of variations. Most collections could be fairly called conservative, designed for luxurious evening dresses. And in this case, as far as jewelers are concerned, semiprecious stones are not appropriate and, certainly, are inferior to diamonds and sapphires. An unbelievable palette of hues was enabled in one of the last collections of Bvlgari High Jewellery: colors varied from blue with blueness, pink with gently-pink and green to yellow and purple. Yet in comparison with the previous collection - Allegra, where we have already seen such palette, but with the use of absolutely different stones (tourmalines, topazes, quartzes and amethysts), this presented collection is marked with colors combinations of only one precious stone - sapphire. At the jewellery-house Korloff mostly «Royal» materials are used in making their works: designers insist, the design itself is so unique that there is no sense in making it cheaper by the utilization of semiprecious stones.
At the same time many brands, de Grisogono for instance, do not avoid and approve of semiprecious stones' use and offer various combinations of turquoise, corrals with sapphires and diamonds. Pearls incrusted with diamonds have also reached fashionable pike. One may as well easily find stylish and not so glaringly luxurious furnishings: topaz, amethyst, tourmaline and aquamarine were also added to the list of the most present-day semiprecious stones.
Talking about shape, furnishings are mainly massive and large in size. As concerns pendants, these are round and flat medallions, more than 2 inches in diameter with a huge stone mounting (Di Modolo Milano, Korloff). They perfectly decorate low-cut decollete - so fashionable this season. Earrings are also big, long with fanciful pendants, and seal-rings are beautified with large bright stones or small diamonds' placer.
The tendency of using conventionalized images of animate nature and abiocoen still continues to develop. The freedom for imagination is unlimited! A great variation of furnishings, rings and earrings, moulded in the shapes of cherries, oranges, melons, watermelons and even egg-plants, is presented in the Fruit collection de Grisogono. All these are made of semiprecious stones and diamonds and look very tasty and dressy.
A chain of footprints is a basic motive of the new Pasquale Bruni collection - Orme. It contains rings and pendants in the foot-shape. Magnificent diamonds light up cascades of blossomed out white flowers in Ghirlanda romantic furnishings of the same brand. Bvlgari also keeps up the flower theme in the collection Sapphire Flower, the main image of which is a flower with 5 sapphire petals and a small diamond in the middle.
Cartier in his works continues to develop animalistic trend in the jewellers' art. Last year he brought to life the next series of his traditional panthers - La Panthere de Cartier. However, the most present-day furnishings are introduced in the shape of intricate twisted net - «lace» - where one with a touch of vivid imagination can see silhouettes of different animals and birds. (Tiffany & Co, Korloff).
In spite of fresh ideas and innovations, the jewellers' art fashion is also shown in a wide variety of stones' cuttings. All methods are far from being new; it is the fact, that just some of them were not used very often. One of the last Bvlgari collections - Rosette made of colored sapphires - received its name from the means of precious stones' cuttings. Cutting in the shape of «rose» is one the most ancient methodics of stones' cut. It allows collecting great number of stones into unlimited quantity of fanciful combinations and making unbelievable effect of kaleidoscope. Chopard introduced a very woman-like collection Copacabana, almost all the stones in which have the most present-day cutting «briolette». Korloff offers a unique cutting «Korloff cut» of 65 facets, for which he owns a patent. This method adds miraculous shine to diamonds, which are not very attractive stones in the first place: stones start to blaze thanks to gradual increase in facets' size and reflection's flatness.
On the whole, let alone total conservatism in the world of jewellers' art, fashion offers us many furnishings' variations this season. It is interesting, that nowadays' trends repeat fashionable tendencies of the last century: same heavy brooches, pendants, necklaces, decorated with butterflies, dragonflies and flowers. In the long run it proves again, that jewellery is not going out of fashion!
Mikhail Podlinev is owner Mikes Jewelry Store. In our store you can select such goods: keychains, gem stone jewelry, white gold