Five trendy jewellery brands choosing passion over price

Instead of focusing on precious gems and hefty price tags, today’s rising jewellery designers are championing emotionally charged, meaning-heavy aesthetics. Here are five who are making waves right now. Alan Crocetti, London “Jewellery was a field where I couldn’t find anything that related to my concepts and I felt I could build something from the ground up that didn’t feel tainted somehow,” says London-based designer Alan Crocetti, whose striking ear cuffs and rose stem earrings have been spotted on Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga and Ezra Miller. His latest Armadillo and Halo joint rings – seen on cello player Patrick Belaga – are equal parts sexy armour and functional adornment. Crocetti’s drive to create comes more from his fascination with anatomy and overlooked parts of the body rather than any particular inspiration, although he does reference architecture and the influence of the late fashion editor Diana Vreeland. “She once said you are not supposed to give people what they want, but what they don’t know they want yet,” he says. “This has been the foundation of my brand ever since.” Crocetti’s aesthetic is about “embracing individuality as organic reality, as opposed to some kind of radical statement”, he says. He describes his customer as anyone who recognises themselves in his designs. If that means his work is labelled gender fluid, he is willing to embrace it. Samuel Francois, Paris When French stylist Samuel François started experimenting with sculpture, he was looking for an outlet disconnected from his work as fashion director at magazine Numéro and stylist for the likes of Kate Moss and Rita Ora. He ended up making a handful of bronze and enamel jewellery that soon started cropping up among fashion insiders. Skulls enamelled in bright hues, wreaths of flowers and leaves, surrealist eyes, and animal heads give his latest line an esoteric feel, reminiscent of the opulence of Renaissance jewellery. His designs take their cues from Naples and classical antiquity, but also his love of literature, passion for nature and a taste for “vanitas” – artwork meant to remind viewers of the transience of life. “I start with an idea or an impression, an image that comes to memory, and I sculpt it in wax,” he says. “Baroque jewellery feels more connected to fantasy, to personality, than traditional jewellery, which is more a signifier of status.” Paula Mendoza, Bogotá & New York By the time Paula Mendoza’s signature swirl of golden bubbles found its way onto Beyoncé’s arm in the 2013 XO music video, the Colombian designer had already established herself as an exciting name after opening her private-order jewellery business a decade earlier. Mendoza’s creations are deeply influenced by her Colombian roots, the myth of the El Dorado lost city of gold, and the rich hues of her country’s precious materials. The organic-looking pieces – combinations of stones and metal, light-as-air bubbles, and geometric figures inspired by pre-colonial archaeological finds – feel one part national treasures and one part future-proof designs. Millennials and men: Cartier broadens reach with new jewellery range Mendoza aims to keep her business fully sustainable, from concept to commerce, sourcing gold, stones and skilled craftspeople locally. She continues to pay homage to her country’s heritage through her new role as artistic director of Cano, a Colombian jewellery brand that traces its roots back to Nemesio Cano, a 19th-century archaeologist who worked tirelessly to uncover and preserve his homeland’s treasures. Foundrae, New York Beth Bugdaycay was the CEO of Rebecca Taylor before co-founding Foundrae with her husband Murat in 2015. The 60-odd pieces that make up the Foundrae collection feel universally familiar – stars and lions, snakes and infinity signs – but Bugdaycay considers them more a language of self-expression and self-discovery. “There’s a lot of theory on symbols, that they speak to your soul more because they don’t get in the way of your brain,” Bugdaycay says. “I’ve tried to call the symbols of multiple cultures and time periods, to be inclusive, to build a language that allows people to pull out what’s already inside them.” Crafted in 18-karat gold and champlevé enamel, her cigar band rings, bangles, and custom-made medallions and pendants have attracted a steady stream of customers, all looking for heirloom-quality everyday pieces infused with personal meaning. Take the arrow, worn by Bugdaycay herself: “Everything has an action element,” she says. “It’s not just about dreaming. It’s about manifesting your will, how you look at life, the opportunities you take. The arrow is a reminder that you’re going forward towards it.” This summer she is launching the “Freedom of Expression” medallion, in collaboration with award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, to benefit Pen International, a non-profit that promotes literature and intellectual cooperation among writers. Sophie Bille Brahe, Copenhagen There is a story behind everything in Danish designer Sophie Bille Brahe’s universe, and her own could be called “the Chinese cabinet and the diamond ring”. As a child, the Copenhagen-based designer found an antique diamond ring in a 17th-century cabinet in her family home and fell in love with jewellery. She soon understood the emotional attachment that forms with beautiful objects. Since launching her brand in 2011, this goldsmith and graduate of London’s Royal College of Art has made a name for herself with her classically beautiful yet bold, minimal aesthetic that really puts the beauty of her chosen materials – pearls, diamonds and gold – in sharp focus. She has collaborated with brands including Danish silversmiths Georg Jensen and hit Japanese label Sacai. Like her ancestor, 16th-century astronomer Tycho Brahe, Bille Brahe’s jewellery draws on her fascination for the night sky. This is embodied by her signature “Croissant de Lune” earring, a curved earring with graduated diamonds that follow the line of the ear lobe. Other inspirations include antiquity and the bouquets seen in pictures of books by 20th-century Danish author Karen Blixen, of Out of Africa fame. Her latest collection, La Dolce Vita, draws on Italian film director Federico Fellini’s love of surrealism and use of enigmatic symbols, reinterpreted by Bille Brahe through the use of freshwater pearls and delicately cloudy Murano glass.