Though we form strong connections with clothes, it’s our jewellery that’s usually more tied up in sentimentality and meaning. From rings passed down through the generations, to necklaces and bracelets that never leave our bodies, we’re often deeply attached to the delicate finishing touches and lucky charms that form a large part of our personal style. 

Recent research shows that Gen Z is also spending a lot more on jewellery year on year, and though the diamonds and solid gold their grandparents and parents saved up for are largely off the cards given they’re funnelling far more of their salaries into rent, groceries, and generally staying alive as the cost of living soars, they’re still investing in beautiful pieces destined to become future heirlooms – albeit slightly more avant-garde, esoteric ones than those that came before.

So who’s on the hitlist? Designers like East London-based artist Leo Costello, whose fans are dropping their cash on his delicate sterling silver ribbon chokers, and Rebekah Kosonan Bide, who casts engorged sacred hearts in precious metals, or looks to the depths of the ocean to create fragile shark eggs strung on lush velvet ribbons. Elsewhere, Martina Kocianova scours the forest floor for inspiration, turning out mushroom charms encrusted with crystals, while D’Heygere takes banal, everyday items and turns them into something truly special – while also giving you somewhere handy to store a spare cig or rolled up note.

Here, we spotlight some of the rising names to know, from Ebonny Munro and Joanna Burke, to Matilda Little and C Solis to CC Steding.

C SOLIS

C Solis’s stainless steel and silver pieces draw inspiration from nature, but they often feel like they’ve been dug up from a far-off vision of the future – one where the lines between man and machine have merged and the landscape of the world looks very different. Skewed and abstracted like they’ve been forced to evolve in a bid not to go extinct, the shells and flowers that make up the brand’s collection feel familiar and unrecognisable at the same time, with chokers bearing formidable spikes and rings snaking up the hand like they’re living, breathing objects.

LEO COSTELLO

East London-based artist Leo Costello’s work is, by his own admission “a little fucked up”. Working predominantly with silver, coquettish bows are a signature, but there’s nothing cutesy about them – in an in-depth interview published in 2023, Dazed’s Jack Sunnucks described Costello’s rings and chokers as looking like “An Edwardian ghost child’s hair bow has been picked up off the floor and set in metal”. Not content at sticking to just jewellery, Costello is also known for his Dali-esque silver cutlery, and has also exhibited his work at various galleries across the British capital – including Dazed favourite, Guts. Most recently, he worked with rising label Marchen to create a small line of collaborative silver pieces. 

REBEKAH KOSONEN BIDE

Rebekah Kosonen Bide makes heavy metal keepsakes in the form of gloopy, intricately etched sacred hearts which sit massive on the chest, skew-whiff pendants bearing the wearer’s initials, and solid metal lighter cases strung on chains, in precious materials like 925 silver and gold. Originally hailing from Perth, Australia, the artist and jeweller graduated from Goldsmiths and has since worked in collaboration with rising designers like Masha Popova. 

EBONNY MUNRO

Ebonny Munro creates glittering jewels that look like they’ve been dug up, with the creative drawing on historic artefacts and clashing them with an esoteric vision of the future. In Munro’s hands, kaleidoscopic opal, sapphire, and ruby stones bulge from their gold and silver casings like huge liquid globs, while chunky chains come bearing heart lockets and skeleton keys. Ancient stones bearing indecipherable scriptures become studded earrings, decaying cherries are strung around necks, and knuckle-duster cocktail rings come with engraved ‘If Lost’ messages should the worst happen. 

JOANNE BURKE

Joanne Burke looks to the depths of the sea to create unique pieces which draw inspiration from anemone tentacles, seaweed being buffeted by the current, and the endangered coral that lines the bottom of the ocean floor. Born in England, brought up in Portland, Oregon, and now based in Rome, the jeweller’s work may feel familiar for fans of FKA twigs – the British singer is a bonafide Burke fan, choosing to wear her pieces for a series of events and videos, including to collect a prize at the NME Awards back in 2020. 

D'HEYGERE

Inspired by the likes of Marcel Duchamp and Marcel Broodthaers, Royal Academy of Fine Arts graduate and former member of the Maison Margiela atelier Stéphanie D’heygere draws inspiration from the mundanity of everyday objects and translates them into beautiful, esoteric objets d’art. Now based in Paris, the artist has become known for pieces like her ballpoint pen earrings, rings designed to look like slim leather belts, and hoop earrings crafted with small canisters designed to carry everything from cigarettes to rolled up notes, and beyond.

MARTINA KOCIANOVA

While others look to the depths of the ocean or a distant future when it comes to the inspiration behind their jewellery, Martina Kocianova has her eyes trained on the forest floor, creating cute little mushrooms and toadstools studded with precious and semi-precious stones and strung on chains around the neck and wrist. More recently, the Sarabande-endorsed Slovakian creative has been looking to human anatomy, crafting campy, kitsch puckered-mouth ‘kisses’ from hefty rubies and setting them in chunky gold and silver rings.

HOME BY AREEAYL

Founded by designer Areeayl Goodwin in 2011, jewellery line HOME by Areeayl’s hand-crafted designs turn unlikely materials – including wire, shells, carved stones, and miniature picture frames – into pieces of art. Though Goodwin has been working away for over a decade, the creative was blasted into public consciousness when Indya Moore stepped out on the red carpet in 2019 wearing a hefty pair of chandelier earrings, strung with gilt-framed portraits of many Black trans women killed for simply daring to live their truth.