A year of digital connection: Our jewellery trend report for 2021/22
A year of digital connection
Trend Report 2021/22
With 2021 under our belt, it’s time to look back on a remarkable year. It was a time for recovery, and with that recovery came immense change.
We were able to reconnect to the things that make us who we are, but often with a new approach. And after a year where we helped over 3,200 people find their forever ring, including crafting 550 completely bespoke designs, we gained new insights to where the world of jewellery design is headed in 2022.
We’re proud to present our second annual Trend Report—our round-up of the designs and styles that emerged over the past year, plus our predictions on what to expect over the next 12 months.
What are the biggest trends in the jewllery industry in 2021?
Alongside a wealth of new and striking data that lays out where jewellery design has taken us this year, we take a deep dive into the biggest change that we saw in our industry this year.
2021 saw the most dramatic turning point in e-commerce’s twenty-year history, and out of this sea change came entirely new approaches to migrating the consultant-customer relationship out of the showroom and into the online space. Our Trend Report takes a critical eye to the conditions that are shaping the luxury e-commerce market and how we’re approaching our new role as digital designers.
We also share new insights into the desire for custom jewellery in the current landscape. Personalisation remains the main priority for the majority of our customers, with more people listing this as the top reason for shopping with us than any other. We speculate that customers this year have bolder and more specific design ideas due to an increased exposure to jewellery design online.
Digital Expectaions for Customer Connection
Design Predictions for 2022
To give you a preview of what’s included in our full Trend Report 21/22, read our predictions for the biggest design crazes in the coming year. While there’s no way of knowing for certain whether each prediction will come true, what we do know is that 2022 is going to be a time for big and bold design, and we can’t wait.
More coloured gemstones
Teal sapphires experienced a meteoric rise over the past 12 months, now accounting for almost 20% of our total sapphire sales. Our most liked post on Instagram this year was a version of our Tamora ring with a stunning teal oval sapphire, indicating people’s love for this uncommon gemstone.
We predict that in 2022 more people will move away from the classic blue sapphire in favour of this more unexpected tone. There’s also evidence that purple and peach coloured sapphires will have a moment in the spotlight, backed by the interest we saw this year for slightly more eclectic gemstones such as rubies and emeralds.
Bolder diamonds
As jewellers, we’ve always known that a bigger diamond doesn’t necessarily equal a better ring. With so many design possibilities, customers should never feel constrained or pressured to go big or go home. That being said, in general people are buying bigger diamonds this year and we suspect this trend will continue.
This could be a post-pandemic urge to seize the day and make the most out of every purchase, but it could equally be attributed to the greater access customers have to lab grown diamonds (which are more affordable than their mined counterparts), meaning everyone can find a diamond that’s optimal for their price point while also being a larger carat weight than what might have previously been found in a more limited pool of diamonds.
Pinched tapered bands
Plain thin bands won’t reign supreme forever. As people look for new ways to make their ring feel one of a kind, many are turning to pinched and tapered bands to give their design a more sculptural feel. We love this trend because the gradient of the band always serves to elegantly accentuate the centre stone.
Lab grown diamonds, bright colours, 'moi et toi' rings: bring on 2022
Download our full report to read about the rise of lab grown diamonds, the impact of ‘dopamine dressing’ on the jewellery industry, and the most hotly anticipated ring style of next year, the celeb-favourite moi et toi engagement ring.
All this and more is explored in-depth in our 2021/22 Trend Report and we’re so excited to be sharing our findings with you. Here’s hoping that 2022 brings even more innovation to our industry and the jewellery that means so much to each one of us.
