The 5 Defining Styles for a New Kind of Elegance in 2026

There is a subtle shift in the way you will be wearing jewellery in 2026 according to trend forecasters. It’s not louder. Not more. -  But deeper. More intentional. More personal. More you.

Across Copenhagen, Paris, London and New York, editors and designers alike are speaking the same quiet language: jewellery is no longer an accessory that follows fashion — it is becoming the emotional centre of your look, - and I for one personally I love this sentiment. What do you think?

A jewellery piece you choose in the morning the same way you would choose a scent: not to impress, but to express how you wish to feel, and to empower and center you. Heirloom and statement pieces play a defining role here.

Vogue Scandinavia writes of a return to “presence” in personal style — fewer pieces, but chosen with greater intention and deeper meaning. Eurowoman and Alt for Damerne - Danish women’s magazines, my old bibles when I was younger - echo this mood: jewellery is to be viewed as a form of self-definition rather than decoration.

Likewise, internationally, Vogue, Tatler and Net-a-Porter describe 2026 as the year of the considered statement — where one beautiful object can carry an entire silhouette.

On the Spring/Summer 2026 runways, from Dior and Chanel to Prada, Ulla Johnson and Zimmermann, this philosophy is visible in every detail: sculptural forms, softened metals, earthy stones, and pieces that seem designed to live on the body rather than simply sit upon it. The trend to more personal statement pieces is ideal for the paired back and classic elegant Scandi wardrobe, where that one defining jewellery piece doesn't just pull up your entire outfit to a higher level, but encapsulates and manifest who you are and how you feel.

Now, let's dive into the five jewellery trends of 2026 — interpreted through a Scandinavian lens of calm confidence and understated luxury.

1. The Singular Statement: One Piece, Worn With Intention

If there is one unifying theme across all 2026 jewellery trends, it is this:
one piece is enough — when it is the right one.

Vogue UK describes the rise of the “hero jewel”: a single sculptural necklace, cuff, or pair of earrings that anchors the entire look. No layering for effect, no excess. Just presence. 

On the SS26 runways, this restraint is striking. At Prada, jewellery appeared as architectural punctuation against clean silhouettes. At Dior, accessories were treated almost like couture elements — considered, weighty, purposeful. Even Chanel’s pre-collections, traditionally rich in adornment, felt more edited and restrained: one strong piece rather than many competing ones.

Scandinavian Vogue frames this as a return to form. Jewellery as design, not ornament.

Emotionally, I think this trend reflects where many women find themselves in their forties, fifties and beyond. There is less desire to prove, more desire to feel grounded in yourself and simply express who you are. A sculptural collar worn with a linen shirt. A bold cuff against bare skin. A pendant with quiet weight resting just below the collarbone or alternatively jiggling above our belly button.

This is jewellery that does not seek attention. It holds it, in its simplicity as the highest form of sophistication

How should your wear this jewellery trend in practice in 20206:
Wear a single statement necklace with a soft cashmere knit or a crisp white shirt.
Wear a big statement ring on an otherwise bare hand.
Wear a cuff daily, and let it become part of your body’s language.

2. The Face-Frame: Statement Earrings and the Return of the Ear Cuff

While the rest of the body is styled with restraint, the face becomes the focal point in 2026.

Marie Claire and Vogue both highlight bold earrings as one of this year’s defining directions for jewellery — sculptural hoops, organic drops, modern cuffs that trace the ear like a line of light. Zimmermann’s Spring 2026 runway styling made this particularly clear: bare necklines, soft hair, and earrings that carried the mood of the entire look.

There is something intimate about this placement. Jewellery near the face feels personal. It catches expression, movement, laughter. It becomes part of how you are seen — and how you see yourself.

Scandinavian editors note that these earrings are not decorative in the traditional sense. They are architectural. Often in brushed metal, softened gold, or matte silver. Shapes that feel almost carved rather than crafted.

Ear cuffs in particular speak to the modern woman: confident, slightly unconventional, quietly powerful. They frame the face without heaviness, adding structure without weight.

How to wear this trend of Face Framing in 2026:
Wear a sculptural hoop with a low bun and a white shirt.
Wear a single ear cuff paired with a small stud on the other ear, mismatched earrings is back in trend and very personal.
Wear soft waves in your hair tucked behind the ear to reveal form and metal.

This is a statement, but refined. Drama, but controlled.

3. Cool Metals and Soft Gold: The New Language of Shine

For several seasons, yellow gold was dominating the jewellery scene. In 2026, the palette widens.

Vogue Scandinavia and Danish luxury houses speak of a return to silver — but not the mirror-bright silver of the early 2000s. Instead, brushed finishes, satin surfaces, and metals that feel almost stone-like in their softness. Cool tones bring calm. They reflect light gently rather than sharply.

At the same time, gold evolves. Less high-polished, more muted. Champagne, sand, soft sun rather than glare, so in practice this means less 24 karat gold, which is very yellow in tone and more 18, 14 and 9 Karat gold, which is more subtle in its yellow tone.

Within the current geopolitical environment, you wallet will thank you for moving towards lower karats in gold, as more and more countries are now thinking of investing in gold for fiscal stability, which has increased the priced of gold exponentially, and soo too silver to be fair, so lower karat in gold is also a more financially friendly option for you as well as being less brash and for many skin tones, lover karat in gold is more flattering - especially in the winter months, but sorry, I digress.

Prada’s SS26 collections reinforce this mood: mixed metals, restrained shine, pieces that feel tactile rather than ornamental. Net-a-Porter’s trend edits echo the same — silver, platinum, pale gold, often worn together without hierarchy.

This quiet mixing feels deeply Scandinavian. There is no need to choose one over the other. Harmony replaces rules.

Here is how you should wear this trend in 2026:
Wear Sterling silver cuffs with a gold chain.
Wear brushed or textured gold earrings with a platinum ring.
Wear metals that feel like they belong with your skin, not merely rests upon it.

The result is modern, serene, and endlessly wearable.

4. Deep Greens and Earth Stones: Colour With Soul

If 2026 had a colour mood, it would not be bright or sugary.
It would be deep. Grounded. Mineral.

Vogue Scandinavia has repeatedly highlighted green gemstones as one of the most emotionally resonant directions in jewellery right now — emerald, tourmaline, malachite, moss agate, peridot. Not the dazzling green of gala jewels, but tones that recall forest shade, shadowed leaves, cool marble, wet stone. 

British Vogue adds another layer: brown and smoky hues — cognac, quartz, champagne diamond tones — are rising alongside black onyx, creating a palette that feels warm, skin-friendly and quietly sensual. Net-a-Porter’s 2026 jewellery edit reflects this perfectly: dark stones, soft polish, pieces that feel more tactile than sparkling.

French ELLE describes the return of “pierres de caractère” — stones with personality, not perfection. Irregular cuts, visible inclusions, depth instead of brilliance. Love this, this trend is another expression of your jewellery being as unique as you, an classically defined imperfect stone with inclusion will not have and identical twin, so a piece like this will be unique to you and for you.

On the Spring/Summer 2026 runways, this translated into jewellery that felt almost elemental. Ulla Johnson’s collections paired organic stones with fluid fabrics and sun-touched skin. Zimmermann layered earthy tones against linen and silk, allowing colour to appear as mood rather than decoration. Even within the more structured houses like Dior and Chanel, gemstone colour appeared deeper, quieter, more emotional. And again, all the coloured, slightly paired back, are very flattering on your skin and will feel even more like they belong with you and not on you.

There is something deeply comforting about these shades. They do not shout youth or trend. They speak of experience. Of time. Of landscapes remembered.

How should you wear this trend in 2026:
Wear a deep green pendant against bare skin in summer.
Wear black onyx with a tailored jacket in the city.
Wear smoky quartz catching winter light, soft and intimate.

These are stones you do not tire of. They settle into your wardrobe like a favourite coat.

5. Modern Heirlooms: Pearls, Charms, and Jewellery With Memory

Perhaps the most touching shift in 2026 is not about form at all, but about feeling.

Across Vogue, Tatler, and Scandinavian fashion media, there is a shared narrative: jewellery is becoming personal again. Not overtly sentimental, not nostalgic — but meaningful. Pieces that feel chosen, not styled.

I love love love this, as this is my reason d'être for starting RAW as designing helps me feel connected to my Danish roots, my late grandmother and other people as well as places that I carry close to my heart, a sentiment which I try to pass on in my pieces.

Pearls are central to this story. Not the perfectly matched strands of tradition, but organic, free-form, softly irregular, yessssss. Pearls worn with tailoring, with knits, with linen. At once classic and quietly rebellious.

Chanel’s Spring and Pre-Collections continue to reinterpret pearls as symbols of modern femininity — sometimes oversized, sometimes raw, always intentional. Zimmermann and Ulla Johnson echo this through layered necklaces, charm details, and beads that feel collected rather than manufactured.

Charms, too, return — not as teenage nostalgia, but as small, symbolic accents: a stone, a letter, a shape that holds meaning for the wearer alone.

Vogue UK describes this as the rise of the “modern heirloom” — jewellery bought now, but with the emotional weight of something that will one day be passed on.

In Denmark, Eurowoman and Alt for Damerne frame this beautifully: jewellery as something that travels with you through life, absorbing stories, becoming part of your identity.

How should you wear this trend in 2026:
Wear a single pearl on a fine chain daily, as your new trademark, go for an organic baroque pearl..
Wear a charm added slowly over years, not all at once.
A strand of irregular pearls with a white shirt and jeans — effortless, timeless and classic elegant.

This is jewellery as memory. As continuity. As quiet strength.

The Runway Thread: Where Fashion Confirms the Feeling

Looking across the Spring/Summer 2026 collections, the same emotional clarity appears again and again.

At Dior, jewellery was sculptural, architectural, worn like part of the garment itself — reinforcing the idea of the singular statement.

At Prada, restraint and composition ruled: fewer pieces, stronger shapes, metal as structure rather than sparkle.

At Chanel, pearls and bold costume jewellery continued, but styled with a lighter hand, more modern, less ornate.

At Ulla Johnson, stones and metals felt organic, sun-warmed, almost ritualistic.

At Zimmermann, earrings, cuffs and charms framed the body with softness and drama in equal measure.

Across all of them, the message was consistent: jewellery in 2026 is about presence, not excess. It's about making your jewellery personal.

A Scandinavian Conclusion: Quiet Power, Worn Close to the Skin

In 2026, jewellery is not about following fashion.
It is about choosing yourself.

One piece that grounds you.
One stone that reflects your mood.
One shape that feels like it belongs to your body.

This is a season of refinement rather than reinvention. Of confidence without noise. Of beauty that reveals itself slowly.

True Scandinavian luxury has always lived here — in restraint, in material, in emotion. And in 2026, jewellery finally speaks that language fluently.

Not to impress.
Not to perform.
But simply, quietly, to be. To allow you to be you.