Pickleball—described as a cross between ping-pong, badminton, and tennis—was invented nearly 60 years ago but has recently exploded in popularity across age groups throughout the United States. An estimated 36.5 million people in the U.S. played pickleball in 2022, according to the Association of Pickleball Players, and pickleball participation has soared an average of 158.6% over the past three years, said the Sport & Fitness Industry Association, which issues an annual report on pickleball statistics.

So perhaps people might wear a pickleball bracelet right next to their tennis bracelet? That’s what Mary Weber-Rupert, founder and jewelry designer at Five Star Jewelry Brokers in Austin, Texas, says. Weber-Rupert started playing pickleball during the pandemic and now plays three to four times a week.

“I had heard about Chris Evert coining the term tennis bracelet during a U.S. Open in 1978 when her diamond bracelet broke while she was playing and was lost on the court. When asked, she told the press she was looking for her tennis bracelet. Tennis bracelets became so popular. As the sport of pickleball started becoming more and more popular, I thought about how people would enjoy wearing pickleball jewelry while playing,” Weber-Rupert says.

“A paddle seemed like the perfect choice to me. However, I felt like the pickleball ball looked more like a soccer ball, so we spiced things up and added diamonds, citrines, and pearls instead. I wanted it to be a design that was easy to see, but not too big to wear on the court,” Weber-Rupert says.

Irina Rachow, owner of Everwild Designs in Encinitas, Calif., developed the PickleBelle collection to celebrate her love for the game and offer jewelry that allows others to do so in style. She says the collection is selling well and she loves adding new designs, everything from bracelets to earrings to cufflinks.

“I got into pickleball in 2020 when I was introduced to it by a close friend who had just started playing during lockdown and knew I would love it. It was a way to feel connected with friends in an outdoor setting when we had plenty of time on our hands, and as the learning curve was so short, I was able to get the hang of it in under five minutes,” Rachow says.

“I am a designer at heart, and like many people I am intrigued by miniature things—perfect replicas of everyday objects. As pickleball is so popular, it was a completely natural jump to create pretty jewelry that embodied the tools of the sport—perfect pickleball paddles and balls,” Rachow says. “Being a sport, I incorporated movement, like a pickleball swinging in front of a jeweled paddle or a paddle with an impact starburst ‘chasing’ the pickleball up the necklace chain.”

With pickleball fans rallying for the sport to join the Olympics, Rachow expects interest will continue to rise. She hopes people who began playing during the pandemic will help make pickleball jewelry more than a trend.

“It used to be dominated by the older folks, but a recent survey shows that the No. 1 growing age group in pickleball is 18- to 25-year-olds,” Rachow says.

Top: Five Star Jewelry Brokers in Austin, Texas, is one of the jewelers selling pickleball-inspired fine jewelry as on-trend accessories for the popular game. (Photo courtesy of Five Star) 

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And while all of the above are actual trends this fall, it’s important to keep in mind that in the age of social media, influencer marketing, and celebrity mania, multiple—and competing—trends can exist simultaneously.

To help streamline what that means for fine jewelry retailers, we’ve highlighted fall 2023’s most salient fashion trends, and the jewels that epitomize them. Happy curating!

Stealth wealth

Unless you’ve spent the past six months on a desert island, you’re well aware of “quiet luxury,” the aesthetic concept du jour. High-quality materials meet inconspicuous styling in looks that underscore a minimalist approach to fashion, including a focus on materials designed to stand the test of time.

As JCK’s longtime fashion correspondent Venessa Lau wrote in “Fashion Files,” her fall preview in our May 2023 issue: “Designer after designer, from Brandon Maxwell and Bottega Veneta to Christian Dior and Balenciaga, put the spotlight on grown-up codes such as spare tailoring, timeless classics, and neutrals.”

Few jewelry collections embody those ideals better than Tabayer. Founded by Uzbekistan-born Nigora Tokhtabayeva, the brand takes its inspiration from talismanic amulets reinterpreted through a modernist lens. Crafted from Fairmined 18k gold, the pieces, such as the Oera hoop earrings below, boast a signature curve that’s recognizable to connoisseurs: If you know, you know.

Florals in season

The vibe for fall is all about romantic floral prints and appliqués—darker than the pastels we normally see in spring and quite a bit moodier. While the runways saw a profusion of roses, jewelers are besotted with the humble daisy, whose silhouette lends itself to artful profusions of color.

Check out this Daisy earring from U.K.-based Basak Baykal, featuring petals that have been meticulously hand-painted and studded with gems.

Racy red

Barbiecore pink gives way to a vivid crimson hue this fall, reflecting the fashion world’s collective embrace of red as the color of the season. For a perfect combo of the two shades, look no further than Gyan Jaipur’s one-of-a-kind ruby, black onyx, and pink opal ring, a deco-inspired testament to the allure of pairing sister colors.

Corporate chic

Power dressing in the form of oversize blazers and wide-leg pantsuits continues to reign supreme. What better way to complement a tailored, masculine look than with a strand of pearls, à la this hand-knotted style from L.A.-based Lizzie Mandler?

Top: Ring in 18k rose gold with ruby, black onyx, pink opal, and diamonds, $13,100; Gyan Jaipur

That’s where the latest releases from Rainbow K come in. Perfect for the fall season, the jewels are inspired, the brand tells JCK, by the punk fashions parading down recent fashion runways—Givenchy, Burberry, Paco Rabanne, Marine Serre.

Pieces with names like Cyborg and Nano Punk bring to mind postapocalyptic, steampunk imagery that’s continued to be relevant as massively popular sci-fi films like Star Wars, Mad Max, and Dune gain new generations of fans. Translated to real life, the fashions feel a bit more like quiet luxury with statement accessories, said accessories giving off rebel vibes without being overly on-the-nose—razor-sharp angles, bullet-shape accents, machine-like details. Rainbow K carefully cultivates a nonconformist tone while maintaining the upscale design the Parisian brand works so well.

“The new collection is influenced by fashion and our infusion of vintage designs inherited from our grandparents,” say the brand’s founders, Kelia Toledano and Kelly Souied. “We mix old styles with new on-trend designs—structural forms, texture, mixed metals with fluid lines—inspired by Parisian architecture, art, objects, and designs from the current times. We design to the whims of the trend cycle to become a worthy investment piece that can be worn every day for any occasion. The collection exudes a sense of rebellious attitude with glam.”

Top: Cyborg earring in 14k yellow and white gold with 0.21 ct. t.w. diamonds, $2,880; Rainbow K

Rose gold had its moment in the engagement ring category about a decade or so back, but it was quickly overtaken by the immensely popular offerings of yellow gold, especially in the form of thick flush-mount settings.

Like sterling silver, rose gold is now experiencing a spike in popularity—particularly in fine/fashion jewelry—and it’s a welcome one indeed.

Soft and lustrous, rose gold provides a beautiful departure from the chunks of yellow gold we’ve been heavily (and happily) consuming for the past several years. For those invested in yellow gold, rose gold plays nicely with it. It’s also marvelous paired with white metals, its unique shade managing a cool warmth—not too hot like yellow gold, not as icy as, say, platinum. The perfect in-between.

Below, some of the latest in rose gold.

Top: Gold Strokes ear cuff in 18k rose gold, $1,579; Susana Martins

Schmitz most recently was CEO of Muirbury & Co., an independent firm that builds premium brands. Prior to that, he served as global CEO and chairman of the management board of the Wusthof Group, the German knife manufacturer. At the start of his career, he spent nearly 20 years at Richemont, where he was CEO of Montblanc North America and president and CEO of Montblanc Japan.

He replaces Audrey Finci, who has served as interim president and CEO since March, according to LinkedIn. Frédéric Lévy was appointed John Hardy’s president and CEO in January, taking over from Kareem Gahed, its head since 2019.

Finci will remain a company adviser and member of John Hardy’s board of directors. “As Patrick gets settled, I’m committed to ensuring a seamless transition,” she said in a statement.

Reed Krakoff, the former chief artistic officer of Tiffany & Co. and president of Coach, has been John Hardy’s creative chairman—as well as minority equity stakeholder in the brand—since September 2021. In a company statement, he said he “look[ed] forward to guiding John Hardy together” with Schmitz.

John Hardy is owned by L Catterton,  which combined the North American operations of private equity firm Catterton with Groupe Arnault, the family holding company of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault. Catterton bought John Hardy in 2014.

L Catterton reportedly put the company up for sale last year.

(Photo via LinkedIn)

“Everyone wore their best on these occasions, and I remember thinking they looked like real-life movie stars,” Wang says. “From their bangles and bracelets, sometimes a featured ring, the style was all about their hands and how they played their mah-jongg tiles. Their style was mesmerizing.”

Fashion would occupy Wang’s early career, stints at designer brands like Liz Claiborne and DKNY Jeans offering lessons in form and structure. She figured out her skills in draping fabric to complement the body could translate to other materials, including metal. Today, Ming Yu Wang New York gives her a place to explore her fascination with wearable art, bold statement jewelry, and heirloom-quality pieces.

It was a long journey from Wang’s birthplace, Taipei, to Vancouver—where her family moved when she was an adolescent in the early ’90s—to New York City, where she debuted her jewelry collection in 2013 using her given name, Ming Yu.

Because of the contrasts between Taiwan and Canada, Wang feels like she had two separate childhoods. But those different cultures also helped form who she is. Her first job was in a Taiwanese noodle shop, whose legendary broth was such a tightly held secret that its owners considered it the essence of the business.

“The owners divided up the portions of the broth when they parted ways,” Wang recalls. “The broth represented the core of the business, and it taught me to be original and authentic with everything in life.” And to pursue work that let her build her own legacy.

Wang majored in Japanese and literature at the University of British Columbia, graduating in 2001. She went back to school in 2004, in New York, and earned an associate’s degree in fashion and apparel design from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).

“I started my career as a design intern at Liz Claiborne in 2005 and worked on knitwear,” Wang says. “I later went on to DKNY Jeans and focused on woven apparel and denim, where I started experimenting more with embellishments and washes.”

The speed at which fashion designs come and go in retail stores and how much material gets wasted made Wang realize she wanted to do something else with her skills.

“Maybe it was me daydreaming at work or seeing how fast fashion was affecting the industry—maybe both,” Wang says. “But I wanted to make something with longevity in mind. I loved how keepsakes were passed down in families, just like certain things my mother wanted me to have. I wanted to make jewelry like this.”

As mother to a 3-year-old and a business owner, Wang says she is proud of how far her creative process has come in the past decade.

“It took me a long time to feel more comfortable with what I do and how the stories from my heritage influenced my design. Now that I’m a mom raising my son in Brooklyn, my brand is even closer to my heart than ever,” Wang says. “I think taking time to understand and trust yourself is the compass that I’ve been going by. This brand is so personal to me, so I try to use this platform as my voice.”

Top: Ming Yu “Jennifer” Wang moved from women’s apparel into jewelry when the clothing industry’s focus on fast fashion proved unsustainable for her as a creator and designer. (Photos courtesy of Ming Yu Wang New York)

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Jewelry has the gift of making us feel special: loved, remembered, stylish, fun, rebellious—there’s no end to the feelings and memories a treasured piece can evoke. While an ear cuff might be a romantic gesture (possibly?), it most definitely gives off badass vibes.

Slip on an ear cuff, and you’re almost instantly more confident, this little piece of jewelry offering a new level of cool many other styles cannot provide. Like a well-fitting T-shirt that just works with everything, it’s that rare feels-good, looks-good piece that can affect your whole mood.

And if it seems like the ear cuff has quietly been making its way back into the spotlight, that’s thanks to pieces like these. Designers are bringing their A games where this category is concerned, and here is just a sampling of what’s available.

Top: Le Cercle ombre ear cuff in 18k yellow gold with 1.38 cts. t.w. sapphire and blue topaz, $2,060; Nadine Aysoy

The collaboration between two iconic names reimagines the jeweler’s signature “Return to Tiffany” pendants (the usually heart-shape silver dog tags that were inspired by a key ring in 1969), infusing them with the energy and iconography of Queen B and her tour. Tiffany & Co. is the official jeweler for the Renaissance World Tour, continuing a relationship that began with 2022’s “Lose Yourself in Love” campaign. Beyoncé has worked with Tiffany on numerous other occasions, and has often worn custom-designed Tiffany & Co. pieces.

Each necklace in the new collection features engravings of a figure of a horse on the front and the text “Welcome to the Renaissance” and “Beyoncé” on the back side. Tiffany & Co.’s standard engraving, with the 925 mark, is also on each pendant.

The jewels, however, aren’t even the best part of the initiative. The real focal point here is that 100% of the profits from their sales will benefit the About Love scholarship program, an ongoing partnership between Tiffany & Co., BeyGOOD, and the Shawn Carter Foundation. The charitable donation expands on the $2 million pledged by Tiffany in 2021 for student scholarships at five HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities): Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Norfolk State University in Virginia, Bennett College in North Carolina, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and Central State University in Ohio.

The Return to Tiffany x Beyoncé capsule kicked off in conjunction with the singer’s concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey, last Saturday. Available at tiffany.com, the pendants are available on three different chains, ranging in price from $275 to $700.

Top: Tiffany’s limited-edition pendants celebrating Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour come on a link or bead chain. (Photos courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)

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Previously Lagos’ chief digital officer, Willinger will lead all revenue-generating functions, including sales, business development, and customer experience. She will report to CEO and founder Steven Lagos.

She joined the company nearly 10 years ago and has served as digital director and vice president of digital and e-commerce, overseeing all aspects of digital marketing, web operations, customer service, public relations, and social media.

Willinger started her career in the art world, working for Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips de Pury. Prior to Lagos, Willinger held senior positions at Ippolita and David Yurman, where she grew those digital businesses.

(Photo courtesy of Lagos)

But can it entertain?

In kinetic versions, it can. Serving equally as adornment and fidget object, kinetic jewelry offers an interesting selling point that few other jewelry pieces do: the ability to keep the wearer’s hands and eyes busy, apart from simply mesmerizing with its design (which in any jewel is an impressive feat enough).

These jewels spin, flip, contain hidden treasures and optical illusions, and more—all magnificent works of engineering through jewelry.

Rings in Svetlana Lazar’s Wishing Well line feature a kinetic element that creates the illusion of water moving beneath the gem—it’s truly something that needs to be seen to believed. View a video here.

This ring from ITA’s Caona collection has six customizable sides to be hand-engraved or set with birthstones, and it rotates so the wearer can visit with whichever facet they’d like.

Remember these fun little mazes? Los Angeles brand Monbouquette has made a wearable one with a tiny seed pearl as the ball within a golden maze.

London-based Mocielli says on its Instagram that the Third Eye flip ring is a “reminder to listen more carefully to our intuition and soul guidance.” Rotate it to showcase either heart-shape ruby against enamel or an aquamarine with mother-of-pearl. The piece, which is made to order, can be customized with gemstones of your choice. A video of its movement can be seen here.

Toktam’s Kahkeshan sun ring (also pictured at top) shifts around a centerpiece dome of yellow and orange sapphires, illustrating the continuous movement of the planets. The piece is made in 18k yellow gold with diamonds and multicolor sapphires.

Customers tell Talon owner and creative director Emily Hirsch that they like playing with the Sacred Heart drop pendant, and it’s easy to see why. The lariat-style piece can be worn with the sword in or out, letting one’s mood dictate its position from day to day.

Yi Collection’s Orbit ring features three gemstones that move along two stationary bands of gold. The ring is also available with sapphires or rubies.

Handmade in Italy, this is Marie Lichtenberg’s twist on a conventional piece of jewelry—the engagement ring. The surface of the ring bears a diamond-encrusted question mark and opens to reveal a diamond with the words “Would you marry me.”

Top: Kahkeshan Sun ring in 18k yellow gold with multicolor sapphires and diamonds, $4,230; Toktam