In jewelry land, the bolo is at once a natural follow-up to horseshoe-themed jewels, which galloped back to the forefront of favorite motifs a couple years ago, and a bit of a surprise. In all my years writing about fine jewelry design, I don’t recall ever coming across bolo ties in quite the same way they are happening now.

Thankfully, I could get my hands on an advance copy of Bolo (Rizzoli), which is being released on September 29, for some enlightenment on the subject. In the coffee table book, author William Matthews explains that the bolo is a Native American creation that dates back to the 1920s, though it may be older. He defines the style as, “an ornament or medallion, attached to a leather braided cord with silver or fancy tips, to keep the leather from unravelling. The back has a slide and tension clasp to adjust the length and keep it snug.”  Bolos in Western wear have generally been made of silver and accented with gems such as turquoise, coral or jet.

Throughout Bolo, William identifies and reviews the work of masters of the craft and fascinating designs from unknown creators. He also shows pictures of a handful of luminaries who have sported bolos over the years, including Lyle Lovett, who wrote the book’s foreword, Bob Dylan, Lainey Wilson, Pharrell Williams, as well as Timothée Chalamet whose bolo was a Cartier watch on a leather cord.

The COUTURE designers BIJULES, HARWELL GODFREY, OPHELIA EVE and SELIM MOUZANNAR have given the Western staple their own deluxe spin.

Harwell Godfrey

Lauren Harwell Godfrey, the creative mind behind Harwell Godfrey, always has a theme to her collections. Her latest Gold Rush is all Western coded and bolos function as fancy centerpieces. “I love suits and suiting, and a bolo works so beautifully with that structure, but I also love wearing one with a dress completely outside the context of a collar,” explained Lauren. “It takes the bolo out of its expected Western vocabulary and makes it feel more like jewelry.”

Some of the bolos in Lauren’s Gold Rush collection are one-of-a-kinds with special stones on the bolo and textured gold ties and diamond and gold tips with geometric motifs. Others are comparatively understated styles with Lauren’s signature diamond hexagon functioning as the bolo and braided leather cords in brown or a combination of lilac and purple.

Bijules

Bijules founder and designer, Jules Kim, is a trend bellwether. And she was way out in front on the bolos in fine jewelry. She launched hers a couple of years ago around the time Beyoncé released her country album Cowboy Carter. In her “all in” approach to novel ideas, Jules reimagined the traditional black braided leather cord for a few necklaces as a thick thong of vegan leather in bright orange, pink and blue. She left off the bolo part and transformed the ends into a clasp to close the jewel.

Jules’s deluxe Compass Bolo Brooch Tie, feels exactly like something Beyoncé might wear. The look is sleek and modern with an oval swirly black mother-of-pearl piece punctuated by a deep green cabochon turquoise. Knife-edge prongs set with pink sapphires sandwich the pieces together. To add some extra function to the fashionable design, Jules made the bolo a convertible element that can be worn as a brooch.

Ophelia Eve

The design team at Ophelia Eve, Sammi and Beth Yorn, usually look to the Victorian period as a source of inspiration. Amazingly the idea for their bolo tie began in the era as well. The piece evolved from their elegant Victorian Slider Necklace, which has a gold chain. The pair replaced the chain with a black leather cord and accented it with an elegant button style gold bolo punctuated with a diamond star or a tanzanite. They also added organically shaped diamond and gold tips on the ends.

Then as fast as a knife cuts through butter, the duo was in a country mood. “We love how much personality and play there is in a bolo tie, both in the way it can be designed and styled,” Sammi said. “There’s something so striking about pairing leather with precious details, like our diamond-set tips. We’re drawn to the elongated silhouette it creates when worn and the way it naturally becomes the centerpiece of a look.”

Selim Mouzannar

The French-Lebanese designer, Selim Mouzannar is a master at reimagining 19th-century jewelry silhouettes in a modern mode. It’s quite possible a necklace style named negligee from the era featuring a central motif and two uneven strands was in his thinking for the jewels seen here. But they are also undeniably bolo style.

Selim makes a large gem the focal point of the bolo, hangs little tassel-like elements off it and adds design motifs up and down the slender chain. The result is a bolo that exudes sex appeal.

Marion Fasel writes about contemporary trends and jewelry history in The Adventurine newsletter on Substack. The author of 11 books focusing on 20th-century jewelry design, Marion’s most recent publication, The History of Diamond Engagement Rings, was named “One of the best coffee table books for 2026” by The Wall Street Journal.