Gold jewels, Birmingham's big news, and a New York story
The designers committed to gold jewellery; The Jewellery Cast backed by SMO Gold and NouvelleBox; Tiffany & Co x Daniel Arsham; Fei Liu on the latest World Craft City; RSA student Yiran Li.
The Gold Edit
As the price of gold skyrockets, these designers are more committed than ever to gold jewellery.
The Jali Breeze necklace, by Van Gelder
Van Gelder’s Jali Breeze necklace channels the play of light and shade created by Mughal Indian Jali screens, as graduated links worked in 18kt gold create a feeling of movement and fluidity.
Scapular necklace, Marie Lichtenberg x MyTheresa
Marie Lichtenberg has reacted to the recent rise in the price of gold in the most transparent way possible, and we’re betting that fans of her exquisitely crafted lockets and scapular necklaces — like this MyTheresa exclusive — won’t be deterred.
As the brand nears its 10th anniversary, Tejen’s Mark Kroeker is the newest ambassador for Fairmined Gold. These gorgeously minimal earrings mark a deepened commitment to sustainability and ethical sourcing.
Mene makes the ultimate investment jewellery: solid gold and platinum jewellery and precious objects, sold by weight. We love the streamlined elegance of this hairpin in buttery 24kt gold.
The perfect gold spheres of Zoe Chicco’s Ball bracelet will add polish to your stack, especially layered up with a contrasting white diamond pave tennis bracelet.
Meet The Jewellery Cast
Announced on Instagram in June, NouvelleBox founder Darren Hildrow has teamed up with SMO Gold on a new incubator initiative. The Jewellery Cast pairs both established and emerging designers with some of the jewellery industry’s most experienced professionals as mentors, to give designers “the advice and the platforms that will elevate them to the next stage,” explains Hildrow.
“The premise of the project is to support emerging talent in cities across the world. This year is London, next year will be New York and after that Tokyo,” he continues. “I brought this group of mentors together because they are some of the best in their fields, with the ability to take a concept and move it all the way through design, production, branding, business building, PR, sustainability; right up to sales.”
Each Cast member is invited to create two pieces using SMO Gold, around the theme of extinction. The hybrid philanthropic/commercial organisation was officially launched during the SMO Golden Gala on June 26th at London’s Natural History Museum, where the first pieces made on the programme were unveiled; the second will be showcased at Nada Ghazal’s London flagship in September.
The London Cast are: Joshua Myszcynski & Richard Farber; Jasmine Ataullah; Megan Brown; Jet McQuiston; Balint Samad; EX-A Studio (Eliot Andre); Martina Kocianova; Emefa Cole, and Castro Smith. The Directors mentoring this first cohort, are Darren Hildrow (business direction); Francesca Simmons (PR); Mimi Hoppen (brand development & retail direction); Sonia Soltani (content); Ailsa Miller (branding at DISCO); Scott Wilson (design & range planning); David Unich (US & international sales); DEH (design-to-production management), and Mica Javin, a sustainability & B-Corp specialist. The consulting arm is expected to fund the philanthropic side of the business, in a bid to encourage responsible sourcing.
What Birmingham’s new World Craft City status means to jewellery professionals
In June, Birmingham was granted World Craft City status by the World Crafts Council, for the Jewellery Quarter, an area with a 200-year history of jewellery manufacturing. Today, it houses Birmingham School of Jewellery and over 700 jewellery businesses, and is still where 40% of the jewellery manufactured in the UK is made.
Fei Liu, a Chinese fine jeweller who has based his business in Birmingham, moved over in the 1990s to train at the School of Jewellery and never left. “Birmingham being named a World Craft City is a powerful recognition of its historic role in jewellery and craft. The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter … has been a shining light for craftsmanship for hundreds of years,” he explains.
Norma Banton, the co-founder of MasterPeace Academy, a culturally relevant jewellery school on Vyse Street, told the BBC that "It's amazing, it's a huge privilege and we're here to celebrate, promote and pass on the legacy of Afro Caribbean culture in the British jewellery trade, so to have World Craft City status is a huge opportunity."
But according to Liu, the city’s centuries-long jewellery legacy can only survive with the support of new generations. He believes that “this important recognition will help future generations to discover and appreciate the value of handcrafted jewellery. The Jewellery Quarter is a truly special place where one of the longest-practiced traditional crafts finds relevance in contemporary culture - and long may it continue to do so.”
Designer focus: Yiran Li
At the Royal School of Art 2025 exhibition, we spotted Yiran (Erin) Li, a Chinese-born Masters student who uses her work to explore identity, self-awareness and emotional transformation. She was drawn to jewellery as a way to express inner thoughts and is fascinated by its active presence on the body as a physical vector for personal narratives.
“I’m particularly interested in the emotional undercurrents that remain unspoken: the quiet negotiations we carry within ourselves and with others in a complex, ever-shifting society,” she says. Through material and form, she gives shape to “internal experiences that are often difficult to articulate. Personal narratives can not only be seen or heard, but also be physically held, worn, and felt.”
The Broken Eggshell necklace caught our eye, for its evocation of fragile protection. Erin told us that the piece embodied resilience in vulnerability and the emotional layering in collapse and reconstruction of the self. Elsewhere, the In Trace of Every Vestige necklace is an exploration of clarity and ambiguity. “I was drawn to the decoding process of Rorschach inkblot patterns, where uncertainty thrives and countless meanings are embraced,” she explains. “In these mirrored shapes, I saw horns, organic remnants—biological traces that feel sacred yet forgotten.” The result is digitally sculpted forms, which she went on to carve in quartz in the In Trace of Every Vestige.
Certain of Li’s pieces recall catwalk jewellery by Shaun Leane for Alexander McQueen in the late 1990s, while others convey a delicate refinement. We’re looking forward to watching the evolution of her creative practice.
You can browse Yiran Li’s portfolio here.
Are the Tim Burton x McDonald’s charm bracelets real?
TikTok is buzzing with unboxing videos of McDonald’s Happy Meals, with what looks like a Tim Burton charm bracelet kit inside. We’ve haven’t found any verified sources, but they are thought to be available in selected (Asian?) markets only. Which McDonald’s will be queueing around the block next? Let us know if you’ve seen them:
A New York story: Tiffany teams up with Daniel Arsham
Tiffany & Co has collaborated with New York-based contemporary artist Daniel Arsham, on a special box sculpture housing a limited edition of the HardWear necklace, in white gold, diamonds and tsavorites.
The Bronze Eroded Penny Vessel was conceived as a “relic from the future”. Described as “a sculpture in patinated bronze,” the box bears all the hallmarks of the artist’s work in its eroded textures. Inside, collectors will find the Tiffany & Arsham Studio HardWear necklace, set with over 1,000 diamonds and 500 green tsvaorites. Each of the 39 numbered pieces comes in a bespoke Tiffany art-handling crate, with a pair of Arsham Studio gloves.
The necklace is based on an archive piece from 1971, designed to embody the resilience and freedom of New York City. “My work explores the idea of history as a living, evolving entity, and Tiffany & Co. shares that same reverence for craftsmanship and heritage,” said Daniel Arsham. “This collaboration has allowed me to push my ‘future relics’ concept even further, transforming an iconic symbol into something completely new.”
What’s on…
It’s Couture Week this month in Paris, where Place Vendôme houses like Boucheron and Chaumet will present their latest collections, alongside independent high jewellery labels in hotel suites across the city… Meanwhile, over in London, you can catch Cora Sheibani, Christopher Thompson-Royds, Luz Camino and more at Force of Nature exhibition, at Louisa Guinness Gallery until July 31st.
Great to hear about The Jewellery Cast initiative. What a brilliant opportunity for the makers involved!