6 Jewelry Trend Predictions for 2026
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
BY EMILI VESILIND
It’s a new year. Hence, the perfect time to assess your jewelry collection—weed out styles you don’t love or don’t wear to make room for ones that excite and delight you.
If you’re in the market for new jewelry acquisitions, your choices are endless. Like fashion, fine jewelry is in a state of healthy flux: designers and brands are, generally speaking, less beholden to trends than they have been in the past and are instead more focused on building collections that showcase high-quality materials, sustainability, and design ingenuity. Why? They know shoppers are increasingly prioritizing fine jewelry that’s built to last generations over fast-fashion adornments bound for the landfill.
Here are eight jewelry and watch trends I predict will materialize in 2026 and beyond:
Long Necklaces
Called sautoirs, long necklaces—ones that swing closer to the waist than the collarbone—have been creeping into the spotlight this past year, and I think we’ll see stylish women playing with these more in 2026. Plain chains are nice, but multimedia styles featuring beading, creative metal links, and mixed materials will really turn heads.
Ring Stacking
“Stacking rings”—those thin bands (often set with gems) meant to be worn in multiples—will still stick around, but I think we’ll also see the fashionable set stacking chunkier, less linear rings to create eclectic, maximalist looks that feel especially chic with bare or nude-colored nails (2026’s manicures du jour).
Silver
Sterling silver is coming on strong in 2026, as it’s both a response to the high price of gold—the price has doubled this year for both metals—and the most natural alternative to several decades of yellow gold (both the metal and the color) dominance in jewelry. Collectors are already snapping up vintage sterling silver pieces from houses including Tiffany & Co., Georg Jensen, Margot de Taxco, and others. Big, chunky sterling pieces are officially all the rage.
Red Gemstones
Red has been flagged as one of 2026’s top fashion hues, and I think we’ll also see red become a covetable option in fine jewelry, too. Think garnet, ruby, spinel, and rubellite.
Romantic-Feeling Jewelry
Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, the new season of Bridgerton, and other period-piece entertainments dropping in 2026 are coinciding with a return to romantic-feeling jewelry, both vintage/antique and new. Think engraved gold (i.e. Taylor Swift’s engagement ring), Victorian-era artistry and motifs, and a renewed delicacy steeped in Old World craft.
Collectible Costume Jewelry
I was thrilled to moderate a panel in November at NYC Jewelry Week with costume jewelry designers Lizzie and Kathryn Fortunato, Kristen Bateman, and Diane Love, who all agreed that the popularity of collectible costume jewelry is on the rise—and will likely become a micro-trend in 2026. We’re not talking about $5 Amazon.com jewels. Collectible costume jewelry is vintage, and made with care and craftsmanship by iconic jewelry companies of the past, including Trifari, Monet, Coro, and Miriam Haskell. Fashion hunters are already trading these brands (and others) on resale platforms including DePop and Poshmark. The best thing about buying and wearing collectible costume jewelry? The ability to wear distinctive, oversized pieces that are beautifully made but don’t break the bank.
Happy shopping in 2026! Find a Preferred Jeweler near you!
Follow Gem + Jewel
Comments