© Lulli sur la ToileThe necklace is the piece of jewellery that shifts its mood the fastest. A fine chain does not tell the same story as a long strand of coloured beads, and an engraved medal is not worn like a wide link. This season, four families keep coming back, in our stores as much as in the wardrobes of the women who come to see us. Here they are, with the designers behind them and the way we suggest wearing them.
1. Layering, two or three lengths that answer each other
It is the most repeated gesture of the season, and the easiest to get right. A choker at the base of the neck, a mid-length chain below it, sometimes a third, finer piece. The effect comes from the spacing between lengths, not from their number.
Our advice, keep at least five centimetres between each necklace so the chains do not tangle and each one stays readable. And vary the thickness rather than the colour, a delicate chain under a bolder piece, within the same family of metal.
Chokers form the base of the exercise, mid-length necklaces the second layer.
2. Coloured resin beads, a signature that became a genre
You cannot talk about trendy necklaces without mentioning resin beads. What began as one designer’s signature has become a family of its own, worn alone on bare skin or layered over a gold chain.
Gigi Clozeau is the reference here, with resin bead necklaces set on gold, from 42 to 60 centimetres, down to children’s models. Colour is treated as a material, not as an accessory. Vanessa Baroni works another register of colour, more graphic and more contrasted.
This is the kind of piece you recognise from across a room and that quickly becomes yours. Discover it in our selection of colourful jewellery.
3. Medals and pendants, the piece that belongs to you
The medal is back in force, and not only for births. An initial, a symbol, a chosen motif, a lucky stone, the pendant has become the most direct way to personalise a necklace without weighing it down.
Vanrycke offers a graphic, contemporary reading of it, Pascale Monvoisin a more poetic version where the stone takes the lead, Serge Thoraval an approach that plays with words. At Ginette NY, the gold chain sometimes stands on its own and welcomes the pendant of your choice.
Our medals section brings these pieces together, and our fine jewellery selection the chains that carry them.
4. Assumed volume, wide links and stones
After several seasons of the single fine chain, the statement piece is back. Wide links, natural stones set as long necklaces, sculptural pieces worn alone on an open neckline that need nothing else.
Aurélie Bidermann and Djula hold this ground with bold pieces, Têtes Blondes and Les Félicités a lighter version. The rule is simple, one statement piece at a time, and leave the rest of the outfit alone.
See our oversized jewellery and our pearls selection.
Which length for which neckline
This is the criterion that changes the result the most, well ahead of material or colour. Here are the guides we give in store.
- Choker, 35 to 40 cm. At the base of the neck. Flatters open necklines, open collars and shoulders. The ideal base for layering.
- Chain necklace, 40 to 45 cm. The most versatile length, that of fine chains and the pendants you never take off.
- Mid-length, 45 to 55 cm. Falls below the collarbone. Works over a buttoned shirt as well as fine knitwear.
- Long necklace, beyond 60 cm. Lengthens the silhouette over a jumper or a plain dress, and can be doubled up.
Always start from the necklines you wear most often. It is the same reasoning that guides the building of a capsule wardrobe, starting from what you actually wear rather than from what you are supposed to own. A woman in open collars does not have the same needs as a woman in crew necks, and it is that daily reality that should decide, not the trend.
Choosing the material for the use
Material vocabulary deserves to be clear, because a golden piece can cover very different realities.
- 18-carat gold does not wear off and lasts for years. It is the choice for the necklace you wear every day and keep.
- Vermeil, a thick layer of gold over silver, gives the look of gold on a more measured budget.
- Sterling silver tarnishes but cleans up and ages with character. It pairs particularly well with stones.
- Resin and natural stones do not compare with precious metals, they bring the colour and texture gold cannot give.
Our gold jewellery and silver jewellery selections let you start from the material when that is the deciding criterion.
How we choose a necklace
We never think in terms of pure trend. A piece that looks like you will be worn for ten years, a fashionable piece for a single season. The question we always ask in store is the same, on which occasions will you wear it, and with what.
From there, everything becomes simple. The length follows from the necklines, the material from how often you wear it, and the designer from your taste. That order is what saves you from the purchases that stay in the drawer.
Our necklaces section brings together more than seven hundred pieces, from chokers to long necklaces, signed by around forty designers we have sometimes followed since their very first collections. And if you would rather be guided, our store teams are there for exactly that.