Bold Gold: Jewellery Designer Natasha Sherling On What Women Really Want

A look into the gold pieces of the season …

At Miu Miu’s AW25 show, models came down the catwalk in simple but exquisite basics: wool coats, slip dresses, fine knits. It was the jewellery that brought the understated clothes to life: stacks of yellow gold wide bangles, oversized oval link chains and hinged cuffs (all worn together on the wrist), big gold floral brooches, and single extra-long chains glittering with glass gems.

Miu Miu.

Mrs-Prada.-Art-Deco-diamond-bracelets-x-chain-link-sleeve-garters-=-Miuccia-Prada’s-diamond-link-bracelets-

Mrs Prada wears antique bracelets as sleeve garters.

Mrs Prada is one of the great jewellery-wearers of the fashion world – fellow magpies may remember an iconic photograph of her backstage at one of her shows, wearing two antique diamond plaque bracelets as sleeve garters. She is often photographed wearing incredible jewels, carefully chosen and brilliantly styled. She has an instinct for choosing the right piece for the right outfit, and they are often oversized and impactful.

Givenchy.

Miu Miu’s show wasn’t the only one where bold jewellery appeared. The oversized bulbous cuffs that reflected light down Saint Laurent’s runway were hard to miss. Givenchy’s catwalk earrings for this season were nothing short of gargantuan. Big and bold may be trending in jewellery this season, but it’s really a perennial thing: when women with a sophisticated eye for jewellery buy for themselves, in my experience, they favour a cool chunky vintage ring over a band of diamonds, a thick silver cuff over a fancy-pants watch.

Reformation.

With many designer bags now carrying price tags equivalent to what we in the business call “jewellery money”, it’s no wonder women are looking at jewels as accessories in the same way we would a bag or a pair of shoes. Now, high street stores deliver impact and instant glamour at accessible prices. The silver-toned earrings at Cos are always a draw; bold, with a quality and longevity that belies their pricing. Sezane’s gold-tone cuffs and bracelets are enormous and made to be stacked for an Italian Riviera vibe. Drawing on a very successful capsule designed with ex-Givenchy (now Uniqlo) creative director Claire Waight Keller last year, Reformation has just announced a full jewellery collection, with a focus on dramatic pieces fashioned from recycled metals and stones (Waight Keller continues to consult). The heavy chain link necklace, in brass-plated sterling silver, is a standout.

Jiuu Vera.

We firmly come back, time and again, to the big and the bold: think of Suzanne Belperron and her Virgin Gold waves, Jeanne Toussaint’s introduction of the now iconic panther motif at Cartier, Elsa Peretti’s bone cuffs at Tiffany & Co. Pieces at once unashamedly loud, feminine and sensuous, and as fresh and desirable today as when they first appeared. Women designing for women.

Lucy Williams X Missoma.

“Women coming into our salesroom love statement pieces and are moving increasingly towards 1950s to 1970s pieces – big, bold, often yellow gold, and very feminine,” says Claire-Laurence Mestrallet, Jewellery Director at Adam’s Auctioneers. “Pieces by Pomellato and Van Cleef & Arpels, for instance. They wear them with everyday sentimental pieces such as engagement and wedding rings.”

When I think about the stylish women I know who wear their jewellery with panache, stacking smooth metal bangles on their wrists, with colourful beads and a low-profile watch, or layering a solid gold chain with two or three other demi-fine pieces, they mix it up. This mixing and matching of fine jewellery, costume pieces and sentimental items is how women wear their jewels now, switching things up depending on season and style and gravitating towards the pieces that bring most joy to their eye – and wardrobes.

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