Cuffs, bracelets and bangles offer a maximalist style statement, with high jewellery artists at De Beers, Buccellati and Cindy Chao The Art Jewel working wonders with diamonds and designs

Dec 25 , 2023

Cuffing season: high jewellery artists – including at De Beers, Buccellati and Cindy Chao The Art Jewel – make bold statements with diamond-studded bracelets and cuffs. Pictured: Metamorphosis by De Beers collection, Summer Bracelet. Photos: Handout

Delicately designed high jewellery cuffs follow the natural curvature of the human body, making them comfortable to the wearer, with a look jeweller Anna Hu describes as ‘soft, organic and fluid’

Cuffing season? Bracelets and bangles encrusted with white diamonds, fancy coloured diamonds and other precious gems, set in 18k gold, are accessories that instantly elevate a look from day to play

There’s a time and a place for understated accessories, but high jewellery offers an alternative: the chance to make a statement. “More than ever, jewellery is a way of making a statement about your personal style,” says Céline Assimon, CEO of De Beers Jewellers. And how to shout that the loudest?

“When you wear a diamond cuff – unlike when you wear earrings or a necklace – you can see it on your wrist. You can touch it and feel its power and protection,” she adds.

Anna Hu Enchanted Lily Collection bangle

“Cuff creations have indeed gained popularity among collectors in recent years,” concurs Hong Kong-based jewellery artist Cindy Chao, founder of Cindy Chao The Art Jewel. “I believe it’s because bracelets worn on the wrist carry a sense of substance, are highly conspicuous and can accentuate one’s personality.”

Buccellati’s creative director, Andrea Buccellati, agrees. “I think [bracelets] are prominent because they’re like a dress: once you wear one, you’re ready to go anywhere,” he says of the endurance of wrist accessories in high jewellery collections.

Metamorphosis by De Beers collection, Winter Bracelet

He has designed a range of flexible bracelets and cuffs for the maison’s most recent collection, Mosaic. “The inspiration came from the geometric decorations of certain glass tesserae that make up some important Italian mosaics, which I enriched with a clear note of colour, using emeralds,” Buccellati explains.

With their fixed, firm shape, cuffs may at first appear rigid. When delicately designed however, their shape follows the natural curvature of the human body. Buccellati adds that the fixed shape poses no restrictions to the creative process. “Our knowledge of goldsmithing techniques allows us to [adapt] our imagination and creativity … to the surfaces of the objects we produce, be they rings, bracelets, brooches or earrings,” he says. “There are no limits.”

Taiwan-born cellist-turned-jeweller Anna Hu echoes these sentiments: “Every piece of jewellery is a very intimate part of the human body – soft, organic and fluid,” she says.