Nature-inspired high jewellery earrings stole the spotlight in 2023, from Tweed de Chanel’s tribute to Scotland to Dior’s floral Les Jardins de la Couture and Le Jardin de Chaumet

Dec 24 , 2023

Ear candy: stunning high jewellery earrings that stole the spotlight from bracelets and necklaces in 2023 – with Dior, Gucci, Chanel, Piaget, Chaumet and Graff all inspired by nature. Pictured: Le Jardin de Chaumet collection, Magnolia earrings and necklace. Photos: Handout

From Dior’s Les Jardins de la Couture floral bouquets and Gucci’s Allegoria jacket design to Chanel’s Tweed Pétale and Tweed Lion, high jewellery earrings were bolder and more ornate than ever in 2023

Piaget’s Alata ear cuff resembles a hair adornment, the nature-inspired Le Jardin de Chaumet Magnolia earrings wrap around the lobes, while Graff continues hewing to its love for yellow diamonds

Earrings are having their moment in the sun in 2023, with high jewellery brands unveiling stunning creations that dare to steal collectors’ attention away from evergreen rings, bracelets and even necklaces. From cascading designs to ear cuffs, the pieces from this year’s big collections are setting trends, introducing bold new works of art that might even turn heads.

There is seemingly no limit to what high jewellery artisans can create with white gold and precious stones, and the experts at Chanel have managed to translate the softness of fabric into the Tweed de Chanel collection. Tweed was introduced into the maison’s designs in the 1920s, during Coco Chanel’s affair with the Duke of Westminster, and it has since become an iconic fabric for the brand. The 63 pieces in Tweed de Chanel pay homage to the Scottish fabric, Chanel’s life during that time, and other symbols that the maison is famous for, including the much-loved camellia flower.

The camellia and tweed come together in the Tweed Petále earrings featuring strands of diamonds and pink sapphires set in rose gold. Each earring has two rose gold camellias positioned among the diamonds, with the stones set in a rectangular design suggestive of tweed, while the pink sapphires are an additional nod to the camellia.

Gucci’s Allegoria high jewellery collection.

A pair of earrings from Gucci’s Allegoria collection channels fluid lines in a different way. The collection is inspired by the four seasons, and among the pieces designed to celebrate summer is a pair of jacket earrings, where the pièce de resistance are two fan-shaped emeralds in a deep green tone, totalling 18 carats. The emeralds sit atop 17 delicate strands of diamonds, some of the strands ending with a marquise tourmaline in shades of green, pink or silvery blue. With strands of diamonds that flutter gently when the earring is worn, catching the light as they move, this is certainly a piece that stands out for its ability to present precious stones in a dynamic, fluid design.

Hong Kong’s own Ronald Abram has been showcasing new earring designs at its boutique in the Mandarin Oriental, with one of the earrings featuring strands of cabochon emeralds and marquise diamonds, cascading from an emerald surrounded by a halo-like set of white diamonds.

Ronald Abram, emerald and marquise diamond droplet earrings

Another intriguing Tweed de Chanel piece has two sides – a novel aspect that might signal a new trend in high jewellery earrings. Pairing tweed with a big cat – another of the maison’s famed icons – the Tweed Lion earrings have an asymmetrical design, where one side features diamonds plus other precious stones in red, yellow and orange, woven into a tweed-like pattern and accented with a marquise ruby in vibrant red. The other side is made up of a lion motif and its own ruby in the same cut and similar tone.

Other new earring designs from Ronald Abram emphasise coloured stones in different cuts. One has gorgeous pear-shaped emeralds matched with marquise diamonds, the latter set in a unique angular grid.