B
ows returned to the forefront of trends at the New York City Ballet annual fashion gala last October. At the event Sarah Jessica Parker did a pirouette on balletcore with an impossible to miss knee length black hair ribbon. It launched seemingly 1,000 black hair ribbons. The red carpet appearance also heightened awareness of bows around the marketplace in gowns, shoes, bags and, of course, jewelry.
Header image courtesy of Sophie Bille Brahe
Bejeweled bows are as romantic as hearts and a perfect choice for Valentine’s Day.
Anita Ko
Image courtesy of Sophie Bille Brahe
Bejeweled bows are as romantic as hearts and a perfect choice for Valentine’s Day. Like the heart, bows can be found in jewelry designs dating back hundreds of years. One of my favorite examples is the natural pearl pendant with a diamond bow from Marie Antoinette’s collection.
Image courtesy of MATEO NEW YORK
When the French Queen’s jewel hit the auction block in 2018, it smashed the pre-sale estimate and hit a record high price for a pearl of $36 million. While purists whined that the quality of Antoinette’s pearl wasn’t quite as good as Elizabeth Taylor’s Peregrina pearl which sold for around $11-million in 2011, I felt they were missing the magic of the bow. The motif instantly conjured up the dreamy parts of Versailles, the way the court appeared in Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette.
Image courtesy of Cicada
Bows being made by COTURE designers, ANITA KO, CICADA, MATEO and SOPHIE BILLE BRAHE, are all setting a mood for love. Find out more about them below.
Image courtesy of Sophie Bille Brahe
Sophie Bille Brahe
There is a lyrical line to the bow earrings and necklaces in Sophie Bille Brahe’s collection. The Scandinavian super talent plays up the movement with undulating rows of simply set diamonds or pearls.
Image courtesy of Sophie Bille Brahe
She proves her mastery of minimalism by using various sizes of gems that make the eye travel across the designs. All the thoughtful details create an astonishing naturalistic quality.
Image courtesy of Sophie Bille Brahe
Image courtesy of Sophie Bille Brahe
Image courtesy of MATEO NEW YORK
Mateo
Mateo designer Matthew Harris doesn’t make his bow jewels out of metal or gems. He uses actual ribbons reminiscent of styles worn by women in 18th century paintings or the ballerinas depicted by Degas.
Image courtesy of MATEO NEW YORK
The Mateo ribbons, however, are spruced up with gem pendants which suddenly makes me feel like the styles of yesteryear are missing some sparkle.
Image courtesy of MATEO NEW YORK
Image courtesy of Anita Ko
Anita Ko
If you want to know what’s happening in diamond jewelry trends, Anita Ko is always a reliable source. She was the one who brought ear cuffs to the red carpet eons ago and rode the front end of the rivière revival.
Image courtesy of Anita Ko
The fact that Anita has sweet bows in her collection truly confirms the revival of the style and possibly a movement into a gentler jewelry era.
Image courtesy of Anita Ko
Image courtesy of Anita Ko
Image courtesy of Cicada
Cicada Jewelry
The handcrafted fine jewelry made by Cicada follows in the footsteps of 20th century masters. One can see tributes to the Edwardian styles, the geometries of Art Deco and the bold gold work that came in the 1940s.
Image courtesy of Cicada
The stunning Cicada collection of bows shows a bit of all these key jewelry eras. They also demonstrate the high level of work being created by Cicada in New York City.
Image courtesy of Cicada
Image courtesy of Cicada
Founder and Editorial Director of the online fine jewelry magazine The Adventurine, Marion Fasel is as well known for trend forecasting as her comprehensive knowledge of jewelry history. Last year, she wrote the Foreword for The Tiffany Archives.
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