Basic Insight into Current Fashion Jewelry Trends

Like it or not, the fact remains that humans are visual creatures.  Our senses are stimulated by what we find visually attractive and what we don’t.  The observer forms his or her first opinion within the first twenty seconds or so of visual contact.  Yes, this is indeed shallow, but it is also more instinctive rather than a cultivated trait.  This characteristic was really the basis for the adoption of fashion jewelry to enhance one’s appearance.  Jewelry is an effective way to disclose facets of your personality. It is a way to project a certain image or vision of your choosing.

A fashion necklace or other peice of jewelry is usually targeted towards an audience that is primarily composed to teenagers and young adults.  When dealing with this demographic, it is important that the jewelry meet two key goals.  Firstly, the jewelry must be visually attractive and conform to the present trends within the fashion world.  Having said that, it is also important to note that sometimes the prevailing trend may be non-conformance!  Current trends for fashion jewelry show a preference for large, chunky jewelry preferably using natural materials such as stones and wood.  However, jewelry with large Lucite beads is not unpopular.  The second characteristic of fashion jewelry is that it must be affordable.  Since this type of jewelry is directed towards teens and young adults – age groups that usually do not have access to large sums of money, it is important that the cost of fashion jewelry be kept reasonable.  So metals such as silver and copper are preferred and more popular than gold and platinum for fashion jewelry.  Similarly, the use of common and semi-precious stones such as agates, jasper and cultured pearls are more popular than precious stones such as diamonds.  The affordability aspect of fashion jewelry is particularly important because the audience within the target demographic often prefers to buy multiple pieces that can be mixed and matched with a variety of outfits and for a variety of occasions.

The fact that fashion jewelry is relatively inexpensive does not mean that designers sacrifice beauty, elegance, and style to cut costs.  A good designer will find a way to achieve these desirable qualities while still keeping the jewelry affordable.  For example, a single strand bracelet of natural matched pearls would cost hundreds of dollars – clearly out of reach of most teenagers and young adults.  Instead of using natural pearls, a good designer of fashion or costume jewelry would used cultured pearls to create a freshwater pearl bracelet that is just as pretty, and cost no more than twenty dollars!  Similarly, the designer can use natural turquoise to make a silver pendant that would cost over one hundred dollars.  Or, they could use a good specimen of stabilized turquoise set in silver, and the piece would cost less than fifty dollars!