pandora jewels

Unrippled and just waiting for us to make our mark on it. However, unfortunately for the idealists out there, trend predictors have already sussed out what consumers will be buying and how you’ll be doing business. Sorry to ruin the fantasy, but here’s your guide to 2011.

Ladies’ choice
The rise in gold and platinum prices is definitely going to have an impact on what consumers are buying – particularly women.

John Pearce, jewellery designer and the man behind Greenwich jewellery store Johnny Rocket, says: “The trend at the moment, supported by figures from the four assay offices, is that we are scrapping more gold than we are producing in Britain.

“Palladium will rise in price as demand surges due to it becoming the preferred white precious metal, as we are seeing in our gallery and at the halls, with pieces being hallmarked up by 17% to 25%. The economics of this country will drive customers into the specialist designer silver pandora beads end.”
The trend towards silver has encouraged designers such as William Cheshire to play with the metal a little more. “For me, the black and gold combination of plated silver is a real hit. The matte black is a cool satin black, which looks and feels different to the usual feel of silver; a bit like coal,” he explains.

“The high gold price is partly responsible for people going back to silver and designers trying new looks with it. Customers too are responding more to plated jewellery and are not so snobby about it, because they realise it is fashionable and affordable.”

That doesn’t mean that, for those consumers who have a love affair with the yellow metal, there will be nothing for them to buy. Designers such as Ana de Costa are producing collections in silver and precious stones with a few standout pieces in gold.

De Costa says: “I made a decision at the end of last year to produce my new Alchemy collection in Cheap Pandora charms. However, there are a few 18ct yellow gold pieces to lift the collection colourwise; otherwise it would look a little dead.”

Gold prices are also leading to designers experimenting with metals. FS Augusta is using brass as a base metal in its latest collection for the first time, while Alexander Davis is playing around with bronze.

Charm offensive
The longevity of the charm phenomenon may be in question but, for 2011 at least, the charm bracelet is still around – just in different guises. One of the most desirable is the Ole Lynggaard Sweet Drops bracelet. The Pandora beads on sale comes in butter-soft calf skin and the charms are minimalist discs or drops. It moves the medium into a more adult arena, especially with prices for the Drops and Spots – Lynggaard’s monikers for its charms – fetching up to £5,700 for a full diamond pavé drop.

Meanwhile, brands such as Charming by Ti Sento and London Road are pushing the charm necklace, which ties in with the charm trend, but also channels the mix-and-match quirky look as seen on the likes of Alexa Chung and Daisy Lowe.

The need for nostalgia will call for styles such as Victoriana, Art Deco and Art Nouveau, according to Pearce, but he also thinks that, because this trend will be picked up by high street brands, the more discerning customer will be looking for something “more cultured and design aware”.

“I am watching Yuki Mitsuyasu, whose strong, simple lines and clever, almost origami pieces are future classics,” he says.

And his other ones to watch in women’s jewellery? “Sarah Ho is going to step out from behind her SHO Fine Jewellery brand and take a more central role with new more luxurious and commercial lines, while exploring the Eastern influences of her upbringing.

“Ornella Iannuzzi’s beautiful, organic gold creations will attract the attention she deserves. Arabel Lebrusan and her label Leblas is another I like. And, to fly in the face of all this nostalgia and serious design, I think Tina Lilienthal will continue to make us laugh and bring a little light-heartedness to jewellery with her pop style – cherries, bugs, skulls and sharp, witty humour.”

Man’s world
2011 is also going to be the year to invest in men’s jewellery. Offers for the opposite sex may have less in terms of humour, but they make up for it in terms of profitability for retailers.

Stephen Webster presented a strong case for men’s pandora necklace at IJL in September, and assuming male customers only want watches and the odd signet ring or chain could lead to missing out on a potential wealth of customers. It’s not that male customers don’t want it; they just don’t know they want it.

“Men aren’t like women and they’re not used to thinking about what to wear,” explains Webster. “But once a man is bejewelled, there’s no looking back. They also don’t wait for special occasions like women do, and they can go from zero to jewellery enthusiast in no time.”

Market research company Mintel’s September 2010 report Watches and Jewellery Retailing UK found that 20% of male respondents said they like receiving jewellery as a gift, and 12% said that they had purchased all of their own jewellery. So the market is clearly there to be exploited.

The high street is a good barometer for what men are buying, and shops such as All Saints and Topman show that rock-inspired designs are very much en vogue. Jewellery designer Tomasz Donocik, whose collections offer a more refined, romantic take on the rock aesthetic, says: “I think men’s jewellery is based around icons and things they quickly relate to, such as military or animal motifs.

“It’s important for pieces to be contrasting, with either a rough stone and a metal with a smooth finish, or polished stone and a textured metal, or even the stone set upside down,” he says. “Men’s jewellery is about using different materials, and this is what I think about when I’m buying materials,” he says.

Donocik’s Russian Aristocrat collection includes pieces inspired by Chesterfield sofas, while the Rising Star collection is inspired by the Russian military and includes gun pendants, as well as mixed material leather and silver bracelets.

Classic male references can be clearly seen in Stephen Webster’s jewellery. His Jewels Verne collection features Hammer Head Shark and Jaws cufflinks in 18ct white gold with black diamonds, a red garnet and crystal haze. Meanwhile, crosses, bricks and rams’ heads are used in the more gothic rock-inspired London and Tokyo Calling collections, and the Rayman collection features pandora jewels pieces designed to resemble the skin of a stingray.

Shaun Leane’s jewellery is slightly more classical in style, but still plays on animal and military motifs. The designer’s Serpent collection features onyx, fossil and carnelian beaded bracelets, mixed with either silver or gold, resembling a serpent’s vertebrae, and pendants that feature coiled up snake motifs.

Jewellery designer David Webdale says that men’s tastes are now diversifying, and rather than being limited to pendants, rings and bracelets, they are now shopping for tie and lapel pins, brooches and cocktail rings to show off their individuality. “Men are opening up a bit more and thinking outside the box. Borders are breaking down and fashion is a bigger thing for men than even before,” he says.

Webdale offers men a series of bold rings, including the Flux crown ring made in silver and set with amethyst. “A lot of my customers are interested in having different rings for different occasions, and want to have two or three in different styles. I think it’s partly to do with the bling trend and wanting to show off,” he says.

Jewellery designer Hannah Martin agrees that the men’s cocktail ring is a trend to watch. “Men are becoming much braver with their jewellery choices and a lot of the men I’ve been talking to are interested in rings that make a statement,” she says.

Martin’s It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll collection has a flamboyant flair and features pieces such as the Spike ring, which is made from 18ct yellow gold and rubies, while The Forgotten Treasures of the Infamous Aguila Dorada collection includes 18ct rose gold and Tahitian pearl Stabbed rings.

William Cheshire’s Libertine ring is also a clever take on the cocktail ring. It is designed to be worn on the little finger like a signet ring, but features a brilliant slash of coloured resin to give a more feminine, cocktail look.

But it’s not just men’s jewellery that is becoming more feminine. After the boyfriend styles and over-sized dials of last year, watches are starting to come down in size too.

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