These jewels are writing a new chapter, if you will, of the sentimental statements like “love” an all the “mama” merch that have been on the market for the last several years. They are an update on the old story of 19^th century designs with sayings. One of the most well-known vintage styles is the gold hinged bangles picked up during trips with the word “souvenir” emblazoned across the top, which was a way of getting straight to the point of the jewel.

Lots of the new jewels with words and saying stem from a designer’s personal decision to literally say something bold or beautiful in their work. Find out what inspired a few of our favorite creations from BRENT NEALE, JACQUIE AICHE, RETROUVAÍ, and SYLVA & CIE below.

Brent Neale

There is a narrative quality to a lot of Brent Neale’s jewelry. She designs rainbow rings, mushroom and snail pendants among many other pieces that you can practically hear saying, “Once upon a time.”

Brent’s new signet rings make the story clear through words and symbols. There is the hopeful “Believe” ring with mushrooms harkening back to her Alice in Wonderland inspired Down the Rabbit Hole collection. A client commissioned the lengthy phrase made famous by Shakespeare, “This Too Shall Pass,” as a reminder that neither the bad nor the good is a permanent state. “We did one with a snail and the words ‘Keep Trucking’ because what we do, in terms of the manufacturing, takes a lot of time,” explains Brent.

While all the pieces have a wonderful, whimsical spirit, they are meticulously manufactured. “I wanted the letters to look like they are floating on top of the gems,” explains Brent. “To achieve this look each one is drilled. We have broken a lot of stones doing it this way, but I think in the end it is worth it.” Dear reader, let me tell you, it is.

Retrouvaí

The phrases on Retrouvaí designer Kristy Stone’s new creations evolved out of the words she engraved on designs that date back to the time when she launched her collection in 2016. “Wisdom” became “Growth not perfection.” “Individuality” was cleverly turned into “Forget me not.” “Truth” was stretched to “Truth be told.”

Each of the phrases is 3D engraved into a ring or pendant in the shape of a seal. The words are blackened through a process Kristy describes as burning and feels very state-of-the-art. “I don’t have a family history of jewelry making,” the designer explains. “Perhaps that’s why I am always open to trying new things in the workshop to achieve the results I am looking for.”

Ironically, the results always have a bit of a vintage vibe. The serif font used for the mottos coupled with the seal shape look like the wax seal stamps used to close letters long ago. Just think how dramatic it would be to receive a note with “Truth Be Told” on the exterior of the envelope. Dun dun dunnnnn.

Jacquie Aiche

Few designers understand what their clients want as well as Jacquie Aiche. Or to be more accurate, I should call them the “JA Tribe,” as she does. What the tribe wants is something new with a relaxed yet luxurious vibe. So, you know the idea of saying something in jewelry is happening when Jacquie chimes in on the trend in her own unique way.

Some of her key words in the new Pave Groovy collection include “Loyalty” and “Trust.” They appear on little sexy gold and diamond discs suspended from gold and diamond bar necklaces.

The newest of the new in this vein of Jacquie’s collection is acronyms that, as the saying goes, are NSFW like FML and BDE. Spicy and so right now.

Sylva & Cie

There is a lost treasure quality to the designs Sylva Yepremian creates under her label Sylva & Cie. Big diamonds, colorful gems and cameos are set in blackened gold that gives them a patina of history.

Sylva also brings that old-world sense to her word and acronym pendants. The series of agate intaglios include “OMG,” “Badass,” “Rogue,” “Hell Yeah” and, um, “Fuck You.” Diamonds surround the hard stones which are set in 18K gold.

While the words might seem like something of a surprise alongside the other pieces in Sylva’s collection, they shouldn’t. Not only does the historic style of the intaglio designs jibe with the rest, they also link back to the designer’s graduate studies on language. Once a word lover, always a word lover. To quote the intaglio, “Hell Yeah.”