When EyeSwoon founder Athena Calderone selected her bridal jewellery for her recent vow renewal in Umbria, she opted for two statement pieces to compliment her minimalist Dior dress: vintage earrings from the 1920s (a gift from Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent), as well as a sapphire pin. “I think there is a movement toward jewellery design that reveals an element of surprise in using atypical natural materiality while incorporating a refined sophistication,” she tells Vogue.
Turns out the tastemaker was right on trend. While brides of the past opted for simple, nondescript engagement and wedding day bridal jewellery—think diamond princess-cut engagement rings and simple gold bands—more and more women are opting for unique accessories. When Pinterest was conducting research for their 2025 wedding trends report, they discovered that Gen Z overwhelmingly favoured vintage and maximalist jewellery. Searches for pink diamond engagement rings were up 349%, followed closely by sapphire engagement rings at 328% and brown diamonds at 179%. Mixed metal stacks saw a triple-digit surge in interest. Meanwhile, 1920s-style engagement rings received an astounding 1,458 percent increase in search volume.
“Gen Z is bringing vintage ring silhouettes and coloured stones back to the fore,” they wrote. “As this generation defines a new era of weddings, they are embracing maximalism with stacks of mixed metals rings and non-traditional shapes and pops of colour. This year, couples will opt for more precious and unique stones that align with their personal aesthetic.”
Prounis, a New York-based jewellery company with pieces inspired by ancient Greek designs and Art Deco-era New York City, recently did a much-buzzed-about “vow salon” with Desert Vintage in Brooklyn Heights. There, they displayed a number of tome-like and unpolished gold hand-wrought rings, many of them with antique diamonds. “There’s a strong appreciation for history, especially with antique diamonds which often inform their choices and inspire a more curated, personal look,” founder Jean Prounis tells Vogue.
Los-Angeles based jeweller Jennifer Meyer, too, is seeing more and more brides veer towards experimental bridal jewellery. While diamond tennis studs and bracelets are still her top sellers among brides, several customers have gone with the dangling gold four-prong diamond earrings, which Meyer describes as a “fun, bold look.” Meyer, a bride-to-be-herself, says that she’s hoping to wear sapphires on her wedding day.
When Calderone designed her own jewellery collection for John Hardy, she looked back at her own vow renewal choices as a reference choice—taking cues from the clean, rigid lines found in Art Deco jewellery, and giving them a modern twist. “I hung rock crystal, embedded with a thin strip of diamonds, from a long and linear bar chain,” she says. “The silhouette of a drop earring beautifully elongates the neck and certainly evokes a bygone era.”
Then there’s the wedding designers themselves: during the most recent bridal fashion week, Vivienne Westwood showed a number of bridal looks with body-length silver necklaces. It-bride designer Danielle Frankel, meanwhile, offers a line of painted clay flower earrings alongside her avant-garde dresses.
It’s important to note that the rise of vintage-inspired bridal jewellery and coloured gems comes at a time when interest in minimalist fashion is also at an all-time high: the world is still embracing stealth-wealth brands like The Row and Toteme, while Emilia Wickstead’s impeccably-tailored wedding collection launched in 2024 to critical acclaim. Pared back wedding fashion often allows brides to embrace more accessories. And the nice thing about both vintage-inspired jewellery and coloured gems? They’ll make a statement in any era.
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
