Kaleidoscopic jewels are on-trend thanks to a children’s movement designed to instill hope during the prevailing lockdown.
As children around the world display handcrafted rainbow artwork in the windows of their homes to spread hope during the coronavirus pandemic, there’s never been a more relevant time to wear the brightest, rainbow-themed gems.
Jewelry in this category comes in several forms. Some feature a graduating line of complementary colors that flow into one another; others are characterized by multiple gemstones, mixed together in an explosion of chaotic color.
Gemstone gradation
Jane Taylor has become known on Instagram for her rainbow jewelry — particularly rings, which command attention with their unabashed joyfulness. Taylor recounts what employing a combination of bold gemstone colors means to her, having visited Italy and seen rainbow banners hanging off balconies, emblazoned with “pace”: the Italian word for peace.
“It really caught my attention,” she says. “The spectrum of different colors coming together reflects the spectrum of different types of people peacefully, without judgement. What could be better?”
Intended as a symbol of enlightenment – an aura that surrounds us all – the Rainbow collection of Lebanese designer Noor Fares also pays homage to the Hindu and Buddhist belief that people become rainbows once their earthly bodies have expired. Her rainbow spiral ring is set in 18-karat grey gold with a central 1.47-carat opal — the perfect gemstone, embodying all colors of the rainbow within it. Circling this are yellow, blue and pink sapphires, amethyst and tsavorites in a gentle graduation of shades.
Paris-based Marie-Hélène De Taillac’s visual signature, meanwhile, is her unfettered use of vivid gemstones. “Color has always had a special place in my life. It makes me happy,” she notes. “What is amazing about stones is their incredibly wide color palette. When I choose gems, it is exactly like painting: placing them together, their colors suddenly come to life.”
Contrasting colors
Gucci’s first high jewelry line was introduced during Paris Haute Couture Week in July 2019, with creative director Alessandro Michele’s Hortus Deliciarum lion’s head earrings standing out among the collection. These are one of a kind, with a spectrum of substantial gems — aquamarine, yellow beryl, fire opals, amethyst, London topaz, peridot and diamonds — set in yellow gold.
In three variants of gemstone combinations, David Webb’s Streamer earrings follow almost identical design forms, but alternately feature different patterns of blue, pink and yellow sapphires, chrome tourmalines, green tourmalines and rubellites, citrines, peridot, amethyst and diamonds. These appear in a multitude of cuts, all set in 18-karat gold and platinum.
A completely different rainbow of gemstone colors is contained within Australian brand Canturi’s Cubism Colorburst collection. Here, the celebration of color is conveyed with several variations of gemstones in numerous cuts, each arranged in an abstract yet considered pattern that expresses the geometric aesthetics of the Cubist art movement.
Nina Runsdorf’s take on rainbow jewelry meanwhile comes in the form of large hoop earrings with sparsely set, sizable opals, amethyst, citrine, fire opals, emeralds and sapphires, each separated by rows of delicate pavé diamonds.
Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus are both frequently spotted wearing their Miles McNeel dog tag pendants, and the “tutti frutti” versions of this design are embellished with an abundance of different sized and variously cut stones — including sapphires, garnets, peridot, rubies, red garnets, yellow diamonds, and moonstones — all set in the surprising material choice of concrete.
Conventional ideas on which limited gem pairings complement one another within the same design are being challenged by these new, joyous jewels — all of which showcase the entire spectrum of gemstones in rainbows of riotous hues.
Main image: Marie-Hélène De Taillac Rainbow collection.
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