Holiday Gift Guide: The Best Colored Gemstone Necklaces

Independent designers around the world have produced show-stopping gemstone necklaces of all hues, just in time for Christmas, in a rainbow of luscious color combinations. From Paris to Los Angeles, via London and Amsterdam, eight jewelry designers and makers present pieces that will guarantee a smile on Christmas morning.

Full of movement and grace, Bibi van der Velden’s work is immediately recognizable. The Dutch artist and jewelry designer draws on the natural world, capturing the uncapturable in her Smoke collection and creating whimsical jewels inspired by a menagerie of insects and reptiles. Drawing on the significance of the scars beetle in Ancient Egypt, as a symbol of hope and regeneration, the Scarab Eternity necklace (above) is one of her most magnificent pieces to date, combining a vibrant palette of natural sapphires, amethysts, tsavorites and diamonds with the iridescence of real scarab beetle wings to uplifting effect.

Sophie d’Agon

Parisian jewelry designer Sophie d’Agon’s thoughtful use of color has won her a following beyond the City of Lights since she started her brand online in 2017, and she recently celebrated the first anniversary of her charming boutique in the city’s hip Marais neighborhood. Crafted from recycled gold and traceable natural stones, the delicacy of her gemstone mosaics is balanced by geometric shapes that add Art Deco punch. A medley of rubies, emeralds and pink sapphires offset by vibrant turquoise, this pendant is a case in point.

AS by Akansha Sethi

Indian-born Akansha Sethi is now one of London’s most exciting jewelers, after studying design in the city and going on to start her jewelry business. Her work plumbs a rich personal and creative heritage, rooted in her parents’ art collection and global travel from an early age, which has driven her to experiment with materials and techniques. Her exploration of the relationship between her Indian heritage and British upbringing has seen her using English porcelain and enamel techniques alongside Indian stone-setting and hard stone carving, but it is her spectacular work with color that stands out the most, producing mouth-watering combinations of stones like the tourmalines in the Folio necklace, hand-carved and accented with enamel to represent the changing colors of leaves throughout the year.

Well-known in London for her bespoke commitment rings, award-winning jeweler Rachel Boston also has a fine jewelry line which distills her signature style into sophisticated pieces designed to fit into an elegant wardrobe. Think Art Decor-inspired forms, sleek knife-edge bands and unusual, traceable stones, that make for a refined and original look. Pairing vibrant emerald with sunny yellow gold, the simplicity of this necklace makes it an ideal gifting choice.

Shay

Los Angeles-based mother-daughter design team Tania and Laden pride themselves on designing jewelry for women of all ages, reflecting the many faces of femininity through their bold jewelry. Shay’s signature chunky flat-link chain gets the rainbow treatment for Christmas, with juicy pavé color gradations of emeralds, rubies, tourmalines, sapphires and more, to breathtaking effect.

Fresh from this year’s Brilliant & Black sale at Sotheby’s London, the ruby-set Vici (“I conquered”) charm is the gift you need for the inspiring and successful woman in your life, just like the brand’s founder herself, Catherine Sarr. Drawing on art, culture and the power of symbols and stories to transcend cultural boundaries, Sarr’s jewelry design is nourished by her parallel activities in the art world through the Sarr Collection, to produce jewels with soul and intention.

Alexandra Rosier’s cosmopolitan background feeds into her richly hued jewelry, influenced by a multicultural lifestyle and diverse cultural inspirations. Past collections feature themes like astrology and infinity and explore symbols like the moon, lotus flower and the fish. Now based in Paris, her most recent fine jewelry collection is a tour de force; a series of highly symbolic amulet necklaces and a bangle exploring themes of love. Set with red and green opals to denote masculinity and femininity, the Hands necklace opens to reveal the Evil Eye and the lines of the hand picked out in gemstones.

Baunat

Based in Europe’s historic diamond-dealing capital of Antwerp, Belgium, Baunet was founded by fourth-generation diamond dealers, and is now one of the largest digital cross-over diamond jeweler with showrooms in key markets around the world. As a member of the RJC, Baunat has a big focus on ethical diamonds, and this graduated string of VS2 diamonds emphasizes the blue sapphire at its heart, for a classic high jewelry look.