Fashion · The Necklace Edit
The Investment Necklace
Buy the necklace you would still wear if nobody in the room knew what it cost.
Buy the necklace you would still wear if nobody in the room knew what it cost.
This is the most serious jewellery on ESVRA. Not because the prices are high — though they are — but because the houses behind them still make objects meant to outlast a season: Lauren Rubinski in 14-karat, hollowed so the gold stays light; FoundRae in 18-karat, heavy enough to feel like a decision; David Yurman and David Webb as American signatures; Marla Aaron as a lock you use; Messika, Anita Ko, Suzanne Kalan, Marie Lichtenberg, L'Atelier Nawbar when the stone is the point.
A chain from Rubinski is not a trend chain. It is braided and wheaten, made in Italy for a French house, designed to sit on the collarbone and stay there. FoundRae's curb and oval links are the opposite instinct: weight, meaning if you want it, metal if you do not. Yurman's cable is a house you can read from across a table. Webb's Barbell is mid-century New York, not a mood board of “quiet luxury.” Léon's Chaînette is the fine, two-tone Paris chain for the woman who already owns the heavy one.
The medallions are FoundRae's argument: Strength, Balance, Love, Resilience. They only work if you choose one language. Three medallions at once is a pamphlet. The lock is the other argument. Lichtenberg's Check Locket opens. Aaron's Myriad clasps and re-clasps — jewel tools, made in New York, a GEM Award in 2024. That is jewellery as an object, not as a slogan about investment.
High jewellery sits at the end of the edit on purpose. Anita Ko's emerald against warm gold. Messika's My Move King, stones that move. Kalan's tennis line. Nawbar's Warrior Princess. Lichtenberg's Gourmette. These are not the first necklace. They are the one you buy when the chain is already part of the body.
The mistake is a tray at the throat. Rubinski plus FoundRae plus a lock plus tennis, because each one was “an investment.” One necklace. Ears quiet. A neckline that leaves the gold alone. If you would take it off for the school run, it is an occasion piece. If you would hand it to someone in twenty years, it belongs here.
Start with the chain you will not remove. Add a lock only if you like objects. Add a diamond line only if you will wear it on a shirt. That is how an expensive edit stays elegant instead of becoming a display case.
Mine is FoundRae's heavy gold chain. I wear it like skin. Messika can wait.— K.W., Editor-in-Chief
Rubinski or FoundRae heavy. Shirt open one button. Nothing else at the throat.
Yurman Madison, or Aaron's Myriad Lock. Hair off the necklace. One small hoop if you must.
Lichtenberg Check Locket. It opens. That is the only story required.
Messika My Move King, or Kalan tennis on a shirt. One diamond idea. No second chain.
Rubinski plus FoundRae plus a lock plus tennis. That is a tray, not a neck.
Lauren Rubinski, FoundRae, Yurman, Webb, Yvonne Léon. A chain you can live in.
Lauren Rubinski, 14-karat, braided and wheaten, hollowed so it stays light. French gold made in Italy. Wear it like skin.
The large Rubinski. Same house, more scale. One chain. Nothing else at the throat.
The third Rubinski chain. Heirloom-elegant, weightless. Pick one of the three and live in it.
FoundRae, 18-karat, heavy. Meaning is optional. Weight is not.
FoundRae pierced curb. Texture. Do not stack five more.
FoundRae oval link. The link is the jewellery.
FoundRae oval link set. Necklace first. The bracelet is a second day, not a matching moment.
FoundRae Recycled 18-karat Gold Chain. Still 18-karat. Still meant to last.
FoundRae Recycled 18-karat Gold Chain, its pair. Wear one. Keep the other.
David Yurman Madison. Cable as an American signature. Wear it alone before you layer.
David Yurman Sculpted Cable. The motif is the house. One cable.
David Webb Barbell. Mid-century New York. Architecture at the neck.
Yvonne Léon Corde Chaînette, yellow and white gold. Playful-fine. Paris.
FoundRae. One stone or one word — not a biography.
FoundRae Strength. Diamond medallion. One word. One stone.
FoundRae Balance. Emerald and diamond. One coloured stone.
FoundRae Love. Diamond. Wear it as gold that happens to have a stone.
FoundRae Resilience, Balance, Radiating Heart. Pick one language. Not three at once.
FoundRae 18-karat Gold Diamond Medallion. A further stone from the house. Not a third story the same day.
FoundRae 18-karat Gold Diamond Medallion. The last of that set. One meaning at the throat.
Tap any piece below to shop the whole edit.
Marie Lichtenberg and Marla Aaron. The clasp is the jewellery.
Marie Lichtenberg Check Locket. Gold, emerald, diamond. It opens. That is the point.
Marla Aaron Myriad Lock, 18-karat. Jewel tool. New York, by hand.
Marla Aaron mixed metal. Silver with yellow and rose. Wit, not a pile of chains.
Marla Aaron Lock, 14-karat, diamond and emerald. The signature taken to high jewellery.
Anita Ko, Messika, Suzanne Kalan, L'Atelier Nawbar, Lichtenberg Gourmette.
Anita Ko, 18-karat, diamond and emerald. Los Angeles glamour. Warm gold, vivid green.
Anita Ko gold and diamond. The sleeker sister. One Anita Ko, not both in one week.
Messika My Move King. Valérie Messika, moving diamonds, rose gold. Paris.
Suzanne Kalan tennis, 18-karat. A line of stones. Wear it on a shirt or not at all.
L'Atelier Nawbar Warrior Princess. Beirut. The name is already loud. Neckline simple.
Marie Lichtenberg Gourmette. Gold and diamond. Parisian polish. Day if the rest is quiet.
Lauren Rubinski, FoundRae, David Yurman, David Webb, Yvonne Léon, Marie Lichtenberg, Marla Aaron, Anita Ko, Messika, Suzanne Kalan, L'Atelier Nawbar.