Thirty years ago, whimsy was not a word—or, frankly, a concept—associated with fine jewelry. Collections were made of gold, platinum, diamonds, and the occasional ruby, sapphire, or emerald, with styling that matched the seriousness of their materials. After all, important jewelry had a reputation to live up to!
Somewhere along the way, however, things began to loosen up. Women began buying jewelry for themselves, giving designers permission to break some rules. First the internet, then social media democratized the distribution chain, allowing brands and makers to bypass traditional gatekeepers and go direct. The pandemic radically accelerated all of the above.
Cut to 2025, and the sheer number of whimsical, charming, and nostalgic jewels at the shows in Las Vegas made clear just how far we’ve come. Beyond their irreverent, humorous, and lighthearted themes, the new collections were united by one major stylistic element: a bold and unapologetic use of color.
Harwell Godfrey’s Granny Squares capsule, a range of multicolored styles that makes up part of her broader 1975 collection, is a perfect example.
Granny Squares Eleanor necklace in 18k gold with gemstones, $87,850; Harwell Godfrey
Born in 1975, designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey was feeling nostalgic for a decade she was too young to truly enjoy, so she decided to honor the period in a series of capsule collections that render its most salient contributions to pop culture in a blaze of color.
The Granny Squares capsule, which pays homage to the crochet blankets “that graced every sofa from coast to coast,” is a tour de force of gemstone artistry. Take one of the line’s signature bracelets: It features 33 cabochon-cut gems, including spessartite garnet, chrysophrase, iolite, smoky quartz, jasper, pearl, yellow sapphire, black onyx, pink opal, pink sapphire, white moonstone, green tourmaline, orange carnelian, tsavorite, tanzanite, peach moonstone, grey moonstone, amethyst, turquoise, pink tourmaline, tiger’s eye, lapis, chalcedony, garnet, malachite, black mother-of-pearl, and rose quartz.
“In celebration of my 50th birthday, I went back to the past,” Harwell Godfrey said in a statement. “There’s so much storytelling, symbolism, and style in the ’70s that the era became almost like a muse to me. On one end, you have the sultry glamour of Studio 54, and on the other, there’s the whimsical, folksy magic of Jim Henson’s Muppet Show. I envisioned an ode to both, though my lens as a fine jewelry designer that doesn’t take herself too seriously.”
Top: Granny Squares Florence bracelet in 18k gold with colored stones, $39,995; Harwell Godfrey