THIS VETERAN JEWELRY EDITOR MEETS WITH HUNDREDS OF JEWELRY BRANDS EACH YEAR. HERE ARE THE BRANDS WITH HIGH STYLE THAT ARE FLYING UNDER THE RADAR…
01
Francesca Villa.
My introduction to Italian jewelry designer Francesca Villa was at the 2023 Couture jewelry trade show in Las Vegas, where many of the worlds most accomplished jewelry designers display their new collections each summer. Villa, an astoundingly creative designer who enlivens her fine jewelry with oddball elements, including vintage lenticular prints and resin intaglios, had in her collection a series of rings that depicted famous lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) masks. As a lover of pop culture-inspired jewelry, I was instantly smitten. And I continue to be bowled over by her graphic designs, which manifest by way of her profound talent for mixing materials. Her most recent collection, Change Your Stripes, features reversible cocktail rings-vintage Japanese cameos on one side, hand-enameled fruit paintings on the other-and wide paneled bracelets that tie in leathers, vintage cameos, and a rainbow of colored gems. francescavilla.it
%201.png)
%201.png)
02
Fiszman Jewel
I’ve been lucky to travel extensively for my job covering the gem and jewelry industries. But the most incredible trip I’ve ever taken was just last year—to Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais, where a colleague and I were guided underground inside two world-famous sustainable mines: the Cruzeiro tourmaline mine and the Belmont emerald mine. On this same trip, we met with jewelry designer Richard Fiszman, the laid-back founder of São Paulo–based Fiszman Jewel, who built his collection of glamorous colored jewelry around gemstones plucked directly from these two ethical mines. In his elegant office, I was able to play with the collection’s big-gem pieces in person, and I could not contain my oohs and aahs! fiszman.com
03
Vanessa Fernández
The fi rst time I met Vanessa Fernández was at the Bowery Hotel in NYC a few years back, and I was instantly struck by her genuine warmth in a place where everyone tries to be a little cool. The Miami-born, Cuban Armenian American jewelry designer and goldsmith (she personally forges her own pieces) is a peach in person, and an absolute force of nature behind the jewelry bench. Her work, defi ned by twisting, undulating lengths of gold that she wraps artfully around extraordinary gemstones and diamonds, is not only breathtakingly beautiful—it’s also technically challenging. Fernández trained extensively under a master goldsmith and was a jewelry illustrator for Louis Vuitton in Paris before striking out on her own. Her stunning designs and consummate craftsmanship have made her a go-to custom jeweler for Miami’s cognoscenti and a favorite of the U.S. State Department, which has contracted Fernández to create several gifts presented to foreign dignitaries in recent years. fernandez.com
04
Zahn-Z
It typically takes a few years for jewelry designers to land on their signature style. But Hiba Husayni, a Syrian-born jewelry designer based in New York City, debuted her Zahn-Z fi ne jewelry range in 2023 with the compelling ZAHA—a boomerang-shaped ring heavy on the buttery 14k gold and usually cradling precious gems including tourmaline and diamond. Seeing iterations of the ZAHA, I knew instantly that Husayni was a designer to watch. Only later did I fi nd out that Husayni earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture in 2011 in Syria, amid the ongoing conflict there. Since debuting her collection, she’s shown that she’s as comfy with playfulness as she is with sophistication: Her Gem Pop rings mimic classic candy Ring Pops, only these treats are 14k solid gold, featuring swap-able “candy” tops—synthetic garnet, amethyst, sapphire, emerald, hot pink sapphire, blue topaz, and citrine faceted to resemble the best candy jewel there ever was (apologies to candy necklaces). zahnzjewelry.com
05
Cece Jewellery
The art of enameling is at the heart of Cece Jewellery, founded by British creative Cece Fein Hughes in 2022. The brand employs one of London’s most renowned enamel artists, who paints the mesmerizing Lilliputian artworks onto the brand’s 18k yellow gold signet rings and placard-like pendants, among other items. Hughes’ new Triptych collection was inspired by Renaissance Dutch painter Hieronymous Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych oil painting that depicts earthly paradise with the creation of woman, the fi rst temptation, and the fall. Clever enamel-painted lockets, which open like French doors, reveal a second diamond-accented painting, representing the three parts of the triptych. This kind of creative, even cinematic, jewelry-making is irresistible to me. cecejewellery.com
06
HOWL
I love jewelry collections that borrow from ancient artistry. And pieces from Los Angeles based HOWL-an acronym for “handle only with love”-look and feel like they might have adorned Ancient Rome’s aristocracy or Cleopatraí’s gowns. Brand founder and fabricator Tini Courtney hand-carves the elements for her intricate pieces-notably luxe statement chain necklaces and bracelets-in wax, then casts them in 18k yellow gold. The forms she links together also boast a vaguely robotic look, which fascinates me. A true lover of pearls, Courtney incorporates the oceanic gem into many of her pieces, including a series of drop earrings in buttery gold that are on my forever wishlist. howljewellery.com
