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Joshua Hendren

Contributing writer for Style by SCMP, specialising in jewellery, watches and pop culture


From blackened metals and enamel to onyx and the use of wood like ebony, monochrome jewellery designs are cropping up across new collections, bringing a luxurious edge to pieces you can wear every day.
“Black is bold yet neutral, meaning it pairs effortlessly with everything and often becomes something you wear instinctively, without overthinking,” says Laura Vann, a British designer who founded her namesake jewellery label in 2013. “There’s a kind of nonchalance to black that makes it a subtle statement without shouting for attention.”

Vann, who specialises in vintage-inspired pieces, works with black enamel, plated metals and dark cord to make her “modern deco” jewels read more clearly on the body. “For us, it’s about incorporating the colour as a way to add a graphic edge,” she explains. It enables her to introduce depth without losing the underlying material, such as on her Freya signet ring, which features a chunky gold vermeil band encrusted with a central baguette-cut white topaz, framed with alternating sections of black plate and round-cut white topaz.
Blackened metals and surfaces allow us to create more striking silhouettes and patterns,” Vann says. “Applying it to a gold or silver piece is almost like sketching with dark on a light canvas. It gives the jewellery a sculptural quality and drama, which we love.”

Designer Anabela Chan, who was among the first jewellers to elevate lab-grown gemstones and recycled metals to high jewellery, uses dark hues to rework her classic floral motifs into something a touch more moody. “I like to use black onyx, black diamonds and black rhodium in my jewellery for its contemporary edge – a floral design in jet black suddenly becomes empowering,” says the London-based jeweller. “Monochromatic black diamonds used against white diamonds transform a classic design to a fresh contemporary look,” she adds, noting that “black toned metals have the ability to deepen colour stones by adding contrast and depth”.

That play between light and dark is also what makes black rhodium so compelling when paired with white diamonds, according to jeweller Jessie Thomas, who argues that black can change the entire appeal of a piece. “Unlike with white gold, the black adds a neutral but contrasting tone to diamonds, highlighting them without going against them,” she says. “Yellow is a softer, more understated match for diamonds and coloured stones, which some prefer aesthetically.”
Nataliya Mehta, founder of Duniya, a label that handcrafts its jewellery in Jaipur, India, also utilises black to shift the entire mood of a design. “Black changes the energy. It makes everything feel deeper and more intentional,” she says. “Other elements of a design hit differently when black is incorporated – stones feel richer, shapes feel stronger … There’s a sense of mystery and edge that you just don’t get with lighter metals.”

Mehta also uses blackened metals to reframe precious materials, particularly when used alongside yellow gold. “Using oxidised silver alongside 14k yellow gold completely changes the balance of a piece,” she says. “The blackened silver acts as a base, while the gold becomes a highlight rather than the focus.” It’s quite the clever play on the usual hierarchy of preciousness, where gold is typically the main attraction.
“That contrast lets me play with dimension, texture and proportion in a way that feels modern but still rooted in traditional craftsmanship,” Mehta adds. “It allows heritage techniques to feel sharper, more intentional and less expected.”

Black jewellery has also been gaining traction over at Dior Joaillerie, where creative director Victoire de Castellane has introduced onyx into a new range of Rose des Vents pieces, inspired by the compass rose mosaic in the garden of Christian Dior’s family home. New long and short necklaces, bracelets and earrings pair onyx compass rose charms with cosmological motifs picked out in bright hardstones, from turquoise and carnelian to lapis lazuli and pink opal.

Heritage houses such as Chaumet and Boucheron have also featured dark materials in their collections. In Boucheron’s Quatre Classique and Quatre Black Edition lines, black is applied to gold using PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) technology, while Chaumet has added a Triomphe ring featuring black lacquer.

At Goossens, the Parisian jeweller owned by Chanel, sculpted slices of black agate embellish a necklace, pendants, a cuff, a set of four-leaf clover earrings, a matching clip bracelet and a toi et moi ring. Meanwhile, Gaia Repossi, creative director of the heritage jeweller Repossi, has delivered her own take on monochrome with the glossy jet-black limited-edition Cross bracelet, crafted entirely from titanium in a wide, curved band.

The trend has also infiltrated the wardrobes of celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, who has firmly cemented black onyx as the stone of the moment. On her press tour for Die My Love, the Lynne Ramsay-directed psychological drama, Lawrence has been seen sporting a pair of Vienna earrings, a long, drop style punctuated by sparkling black onyx, by Los Angeles-based designer Sophie Buhai.

She’s also been spotted in the brand’s Angelika earrings, Constellation necklace and the Bagel ear cuff, all set with black onyx, a stone believed to symbolise strength and stability. Lawrence is also known to wear designs by Lisa Eisner, the mother-in-law of The Row co-founder Ashley Olsen, and a jeweller who has long incorporated materials like black jade into her spiritual designs.

“Black adds a cool, contemporary look that people seem to be increasingly looking for,” says Jessie Thomas. “It feels neutral and really works well to make the whiteness of a diamond pop. The black adds a new dimension and weight that feels quite modern to me.”
A stark contrast to the rainbow of technicolour gems available, black jewellery is proving to be the season’s most low-key, yet delectably chic statement, and one that deserves a place in every jewellery box.


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Jewellery

Why black jewellery is in: Dior and Chaumet have stunning offerings, and it’s loved by Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence in black jewellery, pictured in New York City, last November. Photo: Aeon/GC Images

Laura Vann earrings. Photo: Handout

Anabela Chan Sunset Floral earrings. Photo: Handout

Anabela Chan Black Diamond Floral Earrings. Photo: Handout

Chaumet Triomphe Ring. Photo: Handout

Jessie Thomas Diamond Hoops. Photo: Handout

Dior Rose des Vents. Photo: Handout

Boucheron Quatre Black Edition S bracelet. Photo: Handout

Goosens ring. Photo: Handout

Repossi Limited Edition No 6 Cross bracelet. Photo: Handout

Sophie Buhai necklace. Photo: Handout

7 heavenly jewellery drops from Bulgari, Chaumet and more

Fulfil all your sparkling ambitions by adding one (or more) of these dazzling creations to your jewellery treasure chest this summer. Photo: Chaumet 

Bee de Chaumet collection ear cuff. Photo: Handout

Anita Ko bracelet. Photo: Handout

Jacquie Aiche hand-carved thunderbird necklaces. Photo: Handout

Melanie Georgacopoulos Tria wrapped necklace. Photo: Handout

Bulgari Vimini bracelet. Photo: Handout

A$AP Rocky has teamed up with Codognato to create skull rings. Photo: Handout

Marie Lichtenberg bandana. Photo: Handout

100 years after King Tut’s discovery, ancient Egypt inspires new wave of jewellery design

Azza Fahmy The Tutankhamun necklace. Photo: Handout

David Morris Asiyah bangle and earrings. Photo: Handout

A gilded coffin at the King Tutankhamen exhibition hall of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilisation. Photo: Xinhua

Lito Eye of Horus pin. Photo: Handout

Bibi van der Velden Ushabti pendant. Photo: Handout

Rachel Boston Tether earrings. Photo: Handout

Dyne Loverglyph custom rings. Photo: Handout

Lito Marta earrings. Photo: Handout

Jacquie Aiche Scarab ring. Photo: Handout

The rise of the ear cuff, the painless statement accessory

Hailey Bieber wore Ana Khouri’s Diamond Phillipa ear cuff at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills. Photo: Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

The ear cuff, such as the Blast cuff by Repossi, is versatile and flexible, and shows no age discrimination. Photo: Handout

Nicole Kidman wearing the Ana Khouri Diamond Phillipa ear cuff at a Kering event in New York, in 2023. Photo: Getty Images

Otiumberg ear cuff. Photo: Handout

Bee de Chaumet ear cuff and rings. Photo: Handout

Otiumberg Stratis ear cuffs. Photo: Handout

4 stunning turquoise jewellery picks, from Van Cleef & Arpels to Piaget

Nicky Hilton bedecked in turquoise jewellery in June 2023, in New York City. Photo: Gotham/GC Images

Van Cleef & Arpels Rose de Noël earrings. Photo: Handout

Piaget Sunlight bracelet. Photo: Handout

Jacquie Aiche multi waif ring. Photo: Handout

Sydney Evan Lucky Icon necklace. Photo: Handout

Why charm jewellery remains a timeless way to wear your story

Dua Lipa is a fan of charms. Photo: @dualipa/Instagram

Fun charms from Jacquie Aiche. Photo: Handout

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The letter R from Marni Alphabet series. Photo: Handout

Bubblegum by RF bracelets. Photo: Handout

Annoushka charm that celebrates Claridge’s in London with iconic symbols from the hotel. Photo: Handout

Sanctus Necklace by Martha Calvo. Photo: Handout

Marie Lichtenberg charms. Photo: Handout

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Luxury

From big names like Boucheron to independent designers from Anabela Chan to Repossi, jewellers are leaning into black


From big names like Boucheron to independent designers from Anabela Chan to Repossi, jewellers are leaning into black.


Why black jewellery is in: Dior and Chaumet have stunning offerings, and it’s loved by Jennifer Lawrence

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From big names like Boucheron to independent designers from Anabela Chan to Repossi, jewellers are leaning into black

From big names like Boucheron to independent designers from Anabela Chan to Repossi, jewellers are leaning into black