Compressed Spring 2026 Issue - Flipbook - Page 49
“Thanks
to social media,
anybody who is a
collector, or a lover
of jewelry, has access
to these incredible
pieces.”
Boucheron Address
necklace in black
lacquer, 18k white
gold, and pavé
diamonds with
detachable 10
ct. emerald-cut
diamond pendant;
price upon request;
boucheron.com
—TRACEY ELLISON,
@THEDIAMONDSGIRL
Van Cleef & Arpels
Pierres de Caractère
Sagesse rayonnate
earrings with 3.13 ct.
and 3.03 ct. emeraldcut fancy vivid
yellow diamonds
and white diamonds;
price upon request;
vancleefarpels.com
“It wasn’t really until the mass marketization of
luxury goods that we’ve needed to use the term high
jewelry as a differentiator,” says Joanna Gong, a former
Sotheby’s specialist turned independent jewelry and art
consultant. “It’s a very new term, not a historical term.”
In fact, history shows that “jewelry was very much
a made-to-measure, commissioned experience,”
Gong says. “So, I think that today, in order to be differentiated as a higher tier of jewelry, it needs to be a
pièce unique, not mass produced. And the materials
and gemstones used need to be extraordinary.” Such
jewelry, she adds, also should reflect “a specialization
and mastery in the material that it’s made in.”
Given these parameters, high jewelry offers corporate luxury brands a way to differentiate their one-ofa-kind showstoppers, generally created for the highest
tier of connoisseurs, from their core collections, which
target the more aspirational luxury consumer.
And wouldn’t life be downright dreary without Instagram posts highlighting glorious diamond chokers, walnut-size ruby cocktail rings, and floral brooches on velvet
lapels? There’s an element of fantasy and aspiration
that’s always existed in the showcasing of high jewels.
GEMANDJEWEL.COM
(Top l.) Ana Khouri
18k Fairmined Gold
necklace with rock
crystal and 13.29
ct. white diamond
in white diamond
setting; price
upon request;
anakhouri.com
“Thanks to social media, anybody who is a genuine
collector, or just a lover of jewelry, has access to these
incredible pieces, and it helps us to shape our vision of
what we would want for ourselves,” says Tracey Ellison
(@thediamondsgirl), an influential content creator
who focuses on ultra-luxury jewels and their makers.
And there can be advantages to exploring beyond
the bedrock brands and their generally more classicfeeling visions of opulence. While a larger atelier might
be limited in what it can offer as far as customization,
a smaller, niche designer—perhaps one you discovered
on Instagram—may be more willing to build your dream
jewel from scratch. Some of these jewelers have adapted
their entire business to this model, creating bespoke high
jewelry pieces to their clients’ specifications. “If you say,
‘I want a paraiba tourmaline necklace,’ they will spend a
year sourcing the gemstones for you,” Ellison says.
If high jewelry can allow for so many aesthetics, materials, craftsmanship techniques, and retail experiences, a
precise definition of the term may not exist. Maybe high
jewelry is best understood as a concept, one that starts to
crystallize when you realize, as Ellison says, “it’s a big, big
world out there, and people are doing incredible things.”
SPRING 2026
45
