The third week of December is when the jewellery counter gets serious. Anniversary, holiday, just-because — the cluster of reasons to actually buy something fine compresses into about ten days, and the small independent makers we have been watching all year quietly do the strongest business of the year. The summer list was about the daily-stack canon. The winter list is different. These are the brands we are giving as gifts, the ones we are looking at for ourselves through the new-year window, and the one new entrant that broke through in late 2015 that is going to dominate the conversation through 2016.
Foundrae Made the Loudest Quiet Debut of the Year
The maker behind Foundrae ran a trunk show at Barneys in September and the editor word-of-mouth has been steady ever since. The brand will not officially be at retail until early 2016, but the medallion-and-symbol design language has already done the kind of pre-launch traction that takes most fine-jewellery houses three seasons to build. The pieces are heavy 18k gold, hand-engraved with symbols that read like an invented heraldic vocabulary — wings, suns, hexagons, bees — and the overall mood is closer to vintage Italian goldsmithing than to any of the contemporary fine-jewellery names we have been tracking this year.
What we are taking from the Barneys reception is that the symbol-jewellery category is back. The maker is doing it more thoughtfully than the early signet-ring revivals managed, the price point is honest about the materials, and the design language is coherent across pendants, rings, and bracelets. We do not have any of the pieces yet. We are putting one on the calendar for the first available retail window in 2016.
Anita Ko Is the Year-End Anchor
Anita Ko finished the year exactly where the spring picks suggested it would. The diamond-drop earrings have been the December bestseller, the small-pavé hoops are the gateway piece for any first-time customer, and the cluster bracelets have been the most-requested anniversary gift on every editor’s gifting list. The maker has held her pricing through the year, the design language has been consistent across new drops, and the stockist roster has expanded without diluting the brand’s positioning.
The wildcard piece for winter is the diamond ear cuff. The cuff has been the editor pick for any party where one earring needs to do all the work, and the maker has been quietly increasing the variety. If you are buying one piece from the brand this December, the cuff is the surprise winner; if you are gifting, the small-pavé hoop in 18k yellow gold is the cleanest answer.
Jacquie Aiche Owns the Body-Chain Conversation
The body-chain category was a 2014 trend that most of us expected to fade, and Jacquie Aiche is the maker who turned it into something durable. The brand’s signature is the long, multi-strand body chain in 14k yellow gold with raw-cut diamond accents — and the smarter pieces from this year, the smaller waist-chains and the layered necklace stacks, are doing what the category needed. The original costume-y body chain has matured into something that reads as actual fine jewellery, the price point is in line with the Catbird stackers, and the brand has held its design vocabulary while the trend cycle moved on.
What we keep noticing is the quality of the casting. The yellow gold has weight, the diamonds are honest, and the pieces hold up through a winter of layering under sweaters and over silk blouses. The maker has been a reliable LA prestige answer for several years and the December collection is the strongest we have seen.
Jennifer Meyer Carries the Personal Necklace Through the Holidays
The personal-necklace category — initials, leaves, hearts, bars — is exactly the kind of jewellery that the third week of December rewards. Jennifer Meyer has been the default answer all year and the December buy is no different. The 18k yellow-gold leaf pendant is the year’s runaway bestseller; the small layering chains in three lengths are the gateway gift; the recently-introduced enamel pieces are the surprise standout for anyone who has been collecting the line for several years and wants something new.
The brand’s website finally got the inventory transparency right this year — sizes, ship dates, gift-wrap options — and the direct buy is now the cleanest path. If you are gifting and need delivery before the 24th, ordering by the 17th is the safe call. After that, the prestige floor at Saks is the answer.
Catbird Stays the Stocking Stuffer Default
The Brooklyn-based Catbird shop is the answer for the small daily-stack gift. The Threadbare hammered ring is the year’s most-given small-gift piece. The diamond Sweet Nothing is the under-$300 anniversary answer. The Constellation Bracelet, which broke through in summer, has held up through the winter and is now stocked deep enough that the December order goes through without a backorder. The maker has been doing this the same way for over a decade and the patience is what has made the brand work.
What we are giving most often this year is a stack — the small Threadbare, the Sweet Nothing, and a single delicate chain — wrapped in the same small box. The total comes in well under the price of one prestige piece and the recipient gets to wear all three on day one.
Looking Into 2016
Three things are already pulling our attention into the new year. The first is the Foundrae retail launch — the trunk-show pieces have built enough demand that the official rollout is going to be the jewellery story of Q1. The second is the next wave of Sophie Bille Brahe, which has been building its US distribution all year and looks poised to add at least one major stockist by spring. The third is what Sophie Buhai does after a remarkable first year in fine jewellery — the line has been hinting at a slightly broader vocabulary for the next collection.
Until then, we are wrapping the Catbird stacks, scheduling the Anita Ko hoop pickups, and quietly putting a Foundrae piece on every wishlist for January. We will see you in June with the summer jewellery picks for 2016.