Thankfully, there are plenty of incredible coral pieces out there—from a statement-making strand of branches to earrings that incorporate just a couple of vintage polished beads on gold shells. Below, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite coral jewels on the market right now.

Handcrafted on Nantucket, this necklace from By Fede displays coral branches handpicked in Italy. The result is a unique piece that radiates the allure of two distinctive places connected by one vast ocean.

Bursting with coral beads, Van Cleef & Arpels’ domed ring also includes rows of cultured pearls, making it the perfect statement piece for any seaside summer soiree.

Organic meets opulent through the combination of 47 coral beads and cabochon corals and 324 brilliant-cut diamonds set in 18k gold and platinum on David Webb’s bracelet.

Feminine and flirty, Renato Cipullo’s Coral Shell (Corallo Conchiglia in Italian) earrings combine two elements of the sea. They’ll make you feel like you’re in both a different time and a different place.

A one-of-a-kind piece featuring a textured gold shell and South Sea pearl, Haute Victoire’s necklace uses a Sardinian coral branch to unite the elements. It’s a celebration of the Mediterranean at its finest.

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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

I don’t often think of ruby as a “fun” gemstone. Gorgeous? Of course. Luxurious? Absolutely. But so often it’s such the picture of extravagance (in all the movies that feature forbidden gemstones, aren’t they almost always ruby?) that it’s easy for forget its ability to infuse good design with impressive color.

Such as we have here, with the geometric, organic aesthetic presented by Alishan. Now these are fun—and ruby fits right in! Here, the precious stone does so in a suspended trio of slices, each with natural curves hugged in rich 18k yellow gold.

Equally compelling is the sculptural creation that tops our ruby trifecta, a combination of dual-textured golden box and a diamond enspiraled in gold at the post. Adding to the pair’s charm is the asymmetric way a line of diamonds is set within each golden rectangle: On one ear, the diamonds are set against brushed gold; on the other, they’re in the half of the box shape that’s more highly textured. It’s a clever detail that enhances the earrings’ playfulness, and one that shows careful consideration in design.

While pink is the color of the moment, a nice ruby red is a sophisticated alternative (or complement) to it, and will fare beautifully for the upcoming fall and winter seasons. Jubilant and cheery, these rubies’ color—and their presence in such a memorable design—is everlasting.

Top: Drop earrings in 18k yellow gold with 5.9 cts. t.w. ruby slices and 0.27 ct. t.w. diamonds, price on request; Alishan

They were a gift from the gem dealer Vlad Yavorskyy, who handed them to me (apropos of nothing) five or six years ago, when I swung by his booth at the GJX show in Tucson.

I’d met Vlad (via phone call) in 2011, when I interviewed him for a New York Times story called “Restoring the Luster to a Once-Loved Gem.” It was my first deep dive into spinel, an enchanting stone beloved by connoisseurs but still largely unknown to the public. After reporting that story, I fell in love with spinel. In the article, I even noted that the gem came in a shade of “metallic gray.”

Vlad’s spontaneous gift felt predestined. But it took until this past January for me to figure out what to do with my matched stones. That’s when I spoke to Jillian Sassone, founder of Marrow Fine Jewelry, for a Robb Report story about jewelers who specialize in re-setting family heirlooms. I thought about my 50th birthday, looming at the end of June, as well as that of my twin sister, Julia.

We’re fraternal twins, but in a riddle-me-this twist, we don’t share a birthday nor even a birth month. I was born 10 minutes before midnight on June 30, and Jul was born 10 minutes after midnight, on July 1.

I also thought about my dad, Leonard, who passed away in April 2022 at the age of 76. His eyes were a steely shade of blue-gray. As Jillian and I spoke, I suddenly realized what I wanted to do with the stones.

For the first time in my 23-year career as a jewelry editor, I commissioned a custom project. I asked Marrow to make two matching 18k yellow gold pinky rings for me and Jul featuring the spinels in modern, minimalist bezel settings. To distinguish the rings, I asked Jillian to add our birthstones to the inside of the shanks: a tiny moonstone for my ring, and a tiny ruby for Jul’s.

From the moment I reached out to Jillian in April, the process was smooth, simple, and straightforward. Sophia Lococo, Marrow Fine’s marketing coordinator, sent me a FedEx label, and I shipped off the stones. At the same time, I emailed Jillian an image of a ring style I liked. Within a month, she sent me a few CAD designs to choose from. I was nervous about the project, but Jillian’s kind, helpful, and encouraging words, not to mention the responsiveness and professionalism of her entire team, allayed my fears.

In mid-June, before I could even ask when to expect the rings, a package containing two thoughtfully wrapped boxes, complete with their own gift bags and note cards, arrived at my home. I couldn’t believe that was it. It all seemed too easy.

I quickly tore my box open and tried the ring on for size. Not only did it fit me perfectly, it fit my vision of what I had hoped it would be. Contemporary yet timeless, the ring has a warm matte gold finish that beautifully contrasts with the metallic gray spinel. When I hold the ring in the sunlight, the gem flashes purple and lavender. I have caught myself staring at it, mesmerized by its seductive multihued brilliance.

Finally, the time for the big reveal arrived. Jul and I spent our 50th birthday weekend with friends at the Skyview in the winemaking town of Los Alamos, about two hours north of L.A. just off Highway 101. It’s a former roadside motel that was transformed a few years back into a deluxe boutique property with lovely hillside views and a great bar/restaurant called Norman.

On the morning of July 1, I knocked on the door of Jul’s room with her gift box in hand. I had slipped my own ring on my pinky finger so I could show her the matching details. When she opened the box and saw her ring, she cried.

“The gray spinels reminded me of Papa’s eyes,” I explained.

Jul nodded in understanding. There was so much to say, and yet I had no words. The rings said it all.

One recent message caught our eye: “Fashion experts reveal how to ‘Barbie-fy’ your wardrobe as searches for ‘Barbie inspired outfit’ skyrocket 614% ahead of the movie’s release.”

That got us thinking about how someone might “Barbie-fy” their jewelry. Naturally, our thoughts turned to pink colored stones. But not just sapphires and tourmaline in shades of cotton candy or bubble gum. We wanted more complicated and nuanced pinks—morganite and opals, spinel and enamel—to complement what we understand about the movie itself. For a good primer in Barbiecore jewelry, check out the 13 pieces featured here.

Although we haven’t seen it yet (and we may be the only ones who haven’t, given its blockbuster opening), we’ve read a few reviews that suggest director Greta Gerwig, working with stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, created a piece of cinema more complicated and subversive than at first it may seem. Color us intrigued.

Top: Edwardian ring in 18k yellow gold and oxidized silver with 4.32 ct. pink spinel and pink sapphires, $5,500; Ray Griffiths

Called the “evening emerald” because of its unique capacity to sparkle under natural or artificial light, peridot is often associated with warmth, luck, prosperity, and protection. The ancient Egyptians even believed that peridot was a gift from the sun god Ra, and they often wore peridot jewelry to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, it’s a popular choice for jewelry not only for its overt beauty but also for its storied meaning.

Though typically green, peridot can also be found in other colors, including yellow, orange, and brown. The color of peridot is determined by the amount of iron it contains: The more iron it has, the darker green it is. And the darker the peridot, the more valuable it is.

Here, we’ve rounded up some of the loveliest deep green peridot pieces on the market.

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Peridot seems more popular now than ever. While blue and green is the hottest color combination of the year (sorry, Barbie), peridot’s chartreuse shade has grabbed people’s attention noticeably.

It used to be that peridot would divide consumers—it’s not exactly inconspicuous—but as more shoppers are embracing color, it feels perfect for this moment. And if that alone doesn’t have you convinced, the latest collaborations from Fuli Gemstones undoubtedly will.

Collaborating with artists both up-and-coming and established—Joy BC, the French house Tournaire, Stephen Webster, and Annoushka among them—the jewels, which were first introduced to the trade at GemGeneve, utilize gemstones from the Fuli mine.

The collaborations for 2023 are pretty epic examples of how compelling peridot can be, especially in the hands of jewelry artists. personally, I can’t get enough of two offerings in particular.

First, there are these earrings pictured above. I mean, wow. If it’s color you’re looking for, they’ve found it. Designed by Stasia Parker, a freelance illustrator of jewelry, the earrings—and equally colorful accompanying pendant—took the gold for 2D Peridot Jewelry Design at the 2022 Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards.

With a design this good, who could possibly be satisfied leaving it as a two-dimensional version on a page? No one, especially not Fuli’s chief marketing officer Pia Tonna—who had the wonderful pieces brought to life by Vipa Designs, an ethical jewelry manufacturer in Birmingham, England.

The other jewel that has my eyeballs popping is the Medusa comb brooch by artist Joy BC (that’s for Bonfield-Colombara), a goldsmith and sculptor based in the U.K. The piece was designed in dark green bronze, 18k red gold, and platinum, with Fuli peridot. The artist describes her creation on Instagram:

“This metamorphic artwork challenges definition. A mutating comb, a brooch—both a sculpture and a jewel. Combs date back to 5500 B.C. Across cultures and continents, they are recognizable domestic objects, which are inherently connected to self-image and grooming. Combining noble metals, gemstones, and bronze, the work oscillates between various material and categorical perceptions associated to both decorative and fine arts.
The teeth of the comb seem to be moving, swaying like the tendrils of an anemone under the sea. We often talk about nature as if it is something separate from us, but we are nature. Medusa connects the human and the animal. She attracts yet disturbs the viewer—her hair a bed of writhing snakes. Though some may think of her as a monster, she was the only mortal out of her Gorgon siblings.

Her name literally means queen. It was the act of violence, rape, and scorn that changed her. Medusa has been a subject for artists throughout the centuries. This piece is my modern take on Medusa. To me, it is a story of a powerful woman wronged—a story that has been repeated over centuries. But it is also a story of transformation and power.”

You can see more of the collaborations on Fuli Gemstones’ Instagram.

Top: Earrings designed by Stasia Parker and created in collaboration with Vipa Designs, with Fuli peridot and colored gemstones

“I started teaching at GIA when the diamond investment boom went bust in ’83-84, and I loved it,” Roskin tells JCK. “When I went to work for Tom Tashey at the EGL L.A. lab as an assistant director, I ended up writing a book on diamond grading. And when I took the job at JCK, I was back to teaching again, only through journalistic form. It was a natural thing to start the Roskin Gem News Report to continue the teaching thing.”

Every week, with the occasional holiday break, Roskin, who is based in Downingtown, Pa. (about 30 miles west of Philadelphia), publishes a newsletter highlighting gem news of interest to retailers, consumers, and even laboratory staff.

“I try not to be a Gems & Gemology or a journal of gemology, but I have a number of retailers and consumers who want to see what’s on the red carpet,” Roskin says. “I try to make it fun and appealing for everybody.”

Roskin does his research the old-fashioned way: by traveling to events, trade shows, and conferences where the gem industry’s nitty-gritty issues often rise to the fore. His travel docket for the second half of 2023 includes stops in Providence, R.I., for the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers’ summer conference; Denver, for the third annual HardRock Summit; and Vancouver, for the Canadian Gemmological Association’s 65^th anniversary conference.

“I just came back from Harvard, where I attended the State of the Art Jewelry Summit,” says Roskin. “That was a mind-full. A full day of discussions with associations and businesses that have ideas on how the jewelry industry should move forward with responsible sourcing. The essence was wrapped up in the final presentation by one of the professors: The industry knows what it needs to do, but—how do I put this gently?—it needs to be more coordinated. I’m writing about that right now. It’s not gemology, but it’s something gem dealers in the industry need to know about.”

Below, Roskin, who served as CEO of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) from 2015 until 2022—when Doug Hucker assumed the position—talks to us about the state of the gem trade in mid-2023, what advice he’d give retailers hunting for colored stones, and why gem “oddities” are his thing.

Give us your snapshot of the gemstone business at this point in time.

I see the colored stone industry doing very well overall. There’s a little bit of hesitation in sourcing gem materials—wholesalers and retailers really want to know where they’re from. And they are desperately trying to stay away from purchasing anything from Russia or Myanmar. You try to be as ethical and transparent as possible—that’s really coming into play with most retailers, and the colored stone trade is coming along with it.

On the wholesale end, the cutters, the guys in Idar-Oberstein [Germany] and Bangkok that are really used to getting nice material from Burma and Russia, are having to make a left turn and look elsewhere. For example, with Russian demantoid being an important stone for the guys in Idar, they’re probably going to find John Ferry, who has his demantoid mine, Prosperity Earth, in Madagascar. He’s got really fine material, he knows the mine, he owns the operation, he makes sure everyone mining is getting paid and is well taken care of. He’s one of the guys you’ll see on panels talking about responsible sourcing. But there are not a lot of him.

What about current pricing? Are costs on most gem materials still up?

What I’ve been seeing is a very strong market all the way around. I don’t see anything coming down. If anything, prices are going up, especially on blue sapphires.

Which colors or gem varieties are trending at the moment?

All different colors. It doesn’t have to be a straight pink diamond, it could be a purplish pink. It doesn’t have to be straight yellow sapphire, it could be orangey pink.

If I were talking to retailers as to what they might look for, I’d say look for gem materials that are better faceted. With better cutters behind the wheel, you get a beautiful stone no matter the color. Specialty cutters like John Dyer, where you know the faceting is terrific.

One of the pieces I recently saw and thought was spectacular was from Omi Privé: the hauyne. They’re always really tiny stones, they’re shocking blue, they’re magnificent. But I hadn’t seen, until Omi, anybody use it as an accent material. And I thought, wow, this is great. It’s always been a favorite of mine. It’s a pretty rare material so it’s hard to sell because it’s pricey, and it’s an accent stone nobody’s heard of.

This is where the Roskin Gem News gets fun: I saw a post on LinkedIn or Facebook from a gem dealer in Europe, who had a nice story about a lady who walked up to his booth and he sold her a 2 mm blue hauyne. She had been looking for it for years. Why? Because her great-great-great-great-grandfather or great-uncle, he was R.J. Haüy, the mineralogist who named the gem after himself. She’d been looking for a sample of this rare stone, and the dealer she found was Nicolas Zylberman. It was a nice little story for the Roskin Gem News, where I talk about the chance meeting but also where it’s from.

I bet you didn’t come across esoteric stones like that in the 1990s. What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the gem trade in the nearly three decades you’ve covered the market?

Back in the ’90s and early 2000s, you typically saw the birthstones and the “big three”—emerald, ruby, and sapphire. And maybe you’d see Imperial topaz.

The biggest thing I ran into that was the odd man out in the early 2000s was when I was at the JCK show and a former classmate of mine from GIA pulled me aside and said, “You’ve got to see this,” and dragged me to Galatea’s booth where he showed me a Tahitian pearl with a turquoise inside. They were using turquoise beads as the implant instead of a mother-of-pearl bead. And of course, it went completely against the grain in terms of what you could use in culturing pearls. That, to me, is fun to write about, these little gem oddities.

Have you always focused your coverage on “gem oddities”?

I write about any gem materials: diamonds, colored stones, any of the organics, anything that could be used as gem material and end up in a piece of jewelry. That reminds me of when I was working in New York a while ago. I was walking along Fifth Avenue and I walked by [the Brazilian jeweler] H. Stern. They had a beautiful necklace in the window, in 18k gold, and it had a bezel-set rutilated quartz. At the time, rutilated quartz was $5—it was cheap material you’d find in wire-wrapped jewelry, and here was H. Stern on Fifth Avenue with a huge price tag on it.

Jewelry designers are always looking for affordable material and they make it important. So the designer at H. Stern made the rutilated quartz important by setting it in 18k gold and placing it in a beautiful necklace. And a year later, the price of rutilated quartz quadrupled. This is the kind of thing I like to put in the news.

Is there a gem material you feel is on the cusp of greater popularity?

I’m a real inclusion nut. Typically, for a retail jeweler, the only inclusion you want to see is demantoid with a horsetail inclusion. That’s classic Russian material with a burst of crystals. But for me, any gem material that has any type of inclusion will grab my attention.

There are a lot of quartzes—like strawberry quartz with a reddish material inside the rock crystal—that are always fascinating for me. Every time I see this kind of material, I think back to H. Stern. Their designer should come and take a look and put it in 18k gold and have fun with it.

Top: Demantoid garnet from Prosperity Earth (photo courtesy of Prosperity Earth)

Fitted with thinly sliced discs of turquoise, lapis lazuli, tiger’s eye, malachite, and opal, the timepieces kicked off a trend that has made a comeback in recent years, as watchmakers, including Piaget, embrace the retro look anew. This time around, however, they’re using materials—from Verde Alpi marble to petrified wood—that have never been used on wristwatch dials.

In the case of the Bulgari model highlighted below, that stands to reason. The watch was made expressly for the 2023 Only Watch, an auction of unique timepieces that raises money for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic degenerative muscle disease. The biannual auction’s 10th edition is scheduled to take place on Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. local time at the Palexpo exhibition hall in Geneva.

Along with Bulgari’s watch, we present a few other winning gem-set timekeepers.

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Marble Tourbillon Only Watch

Clad in a thin layer of Verde Alpi, a luxurious green marble quarried in the Aosta Valley of Italy, the Octo Finissimo Marble Tourbillon by Bulgari stands out as one of this year’s most talked-about Only Watch submissions. And it’s not just the DLC-treated titanium case and bracelet that bear thin layers of marble. The dial is set with a marble wafer measuring just 0.6 mm in thickness with a perfectly cut subdial to make way for the tourbillon. Beauty and brains in equal measure!

Piaget Terrae Watch

Introduced earlier this month as part of Piaget’s ambitious Metaphoria high jewelry collection, the Terrae watch offers a bejeweled take on the brand’s cushion-shape Black Tie model, famously worn—and beloved—by Andy Warhol. Featuring a petrified wood dial offset by a bezel and markers made of baguette-cut emeralds, the one-of-a-kind piece is a winning example of how an unusual color combo—in this case, tones of brown and green—can make a wristwatch utterly unforgettable.

Rolex Day-Date 36 mm

With its bevy of colorful new Day-Date 36 models bearing gemstone faces and diamond-set bezels, Rolex sees the hard stone trend and raises it to the next level. Encased in the brand’s proprietary Everose gold (paired with green aventurine), 18k yellow gold (carnelian), or 18k white gold (turquoise), the stylish timepiece is a testament to the enduring appeal of stone dials, now groovier than ever.

Top: Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 in 36 mm 18k yellow gold case with carnelian and diamonds, $58,700; Rolex

“The collection celebrates a tradition that has always fascinated us,” VCA president and CEO Nicolas Bos commented in notes on Le Grand Tour. “The collection blends the traditions of jewelry and decorative arts—such objects were brought back as souvenirs from the grand tour—with the idea of once again discovering and mixing periods and cultures. For that, we followed the trail of our predecessors and chose cities that were renowned stops historically. We took inspiration from antique jewelry, marrying it with our own heritage, style, and craftsmanship. The result is like a colorful sketchbook that invites to dive into destinations and gemstones.”

Stops on this glittering journey include London, Paris, the Swiss Alps, and Baden Baden (in the heart of southwestern Germany), but the most action-packed chapter unfolds in Italy. Read on for a “travelogue” of the treasures located therein.

A quartet of flexible bandeaux bracelets typical of Van Cleef & Arpels’ work in the 1920s provides a kind of amuse-bouche to the multicourse Italian feast to come: There is one bracelet each for Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples, the destinations highlighted in this portion of Le Grand Tour.

Sculpted gold motifs depicting well-known Italian landmarks glint from gem-set backgrounds that evoke a bejeweled panorama of colorful micromosaic tesserae. You can make out the architectural features of the Colosseum in the example shown below.

VENICE

The city’s glorious canals and picturesque gondolas are expressed in the magnificent necklace below (just in case you needed further proof that turquoise can be unbelievably luxe). This choker style is fringed with 16 articulated turquoise pendants topped by pavé diamond arches, a nod to Venice’s bridges. Deep blue sapphires add contrast, and the back of the necklace is finished with the most decadent surprise: neat rows of gradated blue sapphires.

Beyond the Venetian landscape’s distinctive features, other inspirations inform this group. For example, the Carriera earrings are an homage to the Venetian painter Rosalba Carriera (1675—1757), a member of the Rococo movement, whose work, according to the collection notes, is said to have influenced a penchant for pastels among the courtiers of 18th-century France. Hence the earring’s various shades of pink; the inclusion of pearls alludes to the jewelry styles that were in vogue during the Rococo era in France and in Italy.

FLORENCE

Magical Firenze, forever steeped in Old World charm and romance and Renaissance history… The jewels from this stop on the tour lean heavily on stones in painterly colors that also evoke passion and desire, taking a cue from the city’s magnificent artisan traditions. Van Cleef & Arpels fittingly offers an homage to the Florentine painter Sandro Botticelli and his famous 1485 masterpiece The Birth of Venus with a ring that centers an oval-cut pink sapphire in the hollow of a rose gold shell. The spiraling gems and metalwork of the Ode à l’Amour ring capture the essence of the painting’s iconic sea-themed details and the tendrils of Venus’ water-swept hair.

An original take on Florentine aesthetics: the Villanova necklace, inspired by Etruscan-style jewelry, with its generous ensemble of rubellites and diamonds descending from a rose gold choker woven in a chevron pattern. Each rubellite element is detachable in case the moment calls simply for the richness of gold and diamonds. And that clasp!

ROME

Van Cleef & Arpels artisans were endlessly inspired by the Eternal City’s architectural and historical marvels, from St. Peter’s Square to Villa Borghese. The Piazza Divina necklace borrows the former’s geometric layout, first designed by Bernini in the 17th century, with its elliptical motifs—including the 13.08 ct. oval-cut emerald that is the centerpiece of the detachable medallion.

A celebration of Roman antiquity, the Anfora clip reveals a red jasper intaglio dating to the 2nd century A.D. It sits at the heart of a composition inspired by the ancient art of goldsmithing and punctuated with a lapis lazuli cabochon, a splash of diamonds, and an oval spessartite garnet that bathes the jewel with a warm, sun-like glow.

Finally, the Diana transformable necklace is a reference to the temple of Diana in the gardens of Villa Borghese. Its distinctive columns and cupola surface at the base of the necklace’s ornate central medallion, enclosing a sapphire, and crowning a tassel of pearls and emerald beads. The tassel is detachable so the necklace can be worn a number of ways; the jewel also breaks down to form two matching bracelets, and the sapphire medallion doubles as a brooch.

NAPLES

Van Cleef & Arpels’ last stop in Italy includes a necklace inspired by the city’s famed Church of Gesù Nuovo; the other pieces in this group are rooted in locales that are often included as “day trips” on itineraries covering Napoli and its environs.

The Ninfe necklace summons the mosaics of the ruined Nymphaeum, a monument that was built in the ancient enclave of Herculaneum on the Bay of Naples (like Pompeii, Herculaneum was decimated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 70 A.D.). The necklace takes its form from a lavish floral crown worn by one of the nymphs in the mosaics.

Floral and foliate motifs—a Van Cleef & Arpels signature since its inception—also show up in three brooches in the Naples group, including the Symphonie Végétale. They’re inspired by terraces and gardens found in the villas of Ravello on the Amalfi coast.

Who wouldn’t want to linger in these blooming paradises, real or bejeweled?

Top: Postcard from “Naples” via Van Cleef & Arpels: Symphonie de l’eau clip in white gold and rose gold with black opal cabochon, sapphires, tsavorite garnets, green tourmalines, and diamonds.  

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