Winter trends don’t care that it isn’t officially winter until December 21st this year, nor that it doesn’t snow until about January. Despite this, we can start to see the direction that fashion is going to be taking next season, especially with jewellery. Make sure to keep on top of all the trends so when your customers ask for them, you’re ready and well prepared.

Seasonal/Holiday Themed Jewellery

This one is a given considering we’re approaching December. While it doesn’t last beyond Christmas, festive jewellery does see a spike during the winter season. It always helps to have some snowflakes, candy canes, and other novelty jewellery on-hand. These winter trends tend to reoccur each year, making it a safe choice among retailers.

Gold Jewellery

Gold has been increasingly popular this year, and it doesn’t seem to stop. Yes, plated, vermeil, and filled are appearing more and more on social media, but nothing compares to the 10k and 14k minimalist gold. Just about everyone on Instagram is showing off their dainty studs, simplistic necklaces, and the stacks of thin statement rings. The 10k and 14k movement will be making headway this winter, especially during the holiday season.

Gemstone Jewellery

Expect to see more jewellery with small gemstones. Again, think dainty, minimalist, and small. While many think that dainty jewellery will get lost in the layers of winter fashion, when accompanied by a sparkling gem, they tend to stand out better against all the wool and fleece. In fact, they compliment many of the fashion choices during this time of year. They add extra sparkle and flair without drowning out the rest of the outfit.

You may be wondering which specific gemstones to keep your eye on. While any gemstone will work well, we’re seeing a lot of diamonds, topazes, citrines, opals, rubies, and emeralds with the occasional turquoises and sapphires. As far as styles outside of the winter trends go, gemstones are nice to have in stock if you know customers going to be asking about birthstones for holiday gifts.

Herringbone Chains

We saw a resurgence of this retro trend a lot this year. Herringbones have been found all over social media, especially among influencers who specialize in fashion and jewellery. We’ve seen them being worn as necklaces, bracelets, and anklets (although you might want to wait until it warms up before investing in anklets). The typical length for herringbone chains tend to be between 16 to 20 inches for necklaces. Most people tend to wear them in a “neck mess.”

Paperclip and Anchor Chains

The bigger the links, the better! Paperclip and anchor chains are still going strong and probably will well into next year. These are typically worn layered with other chains, but they can be worn on their own as well. These types of chains are great because they tend to be sturdier than other chains, making them better for holding pendants, charms, and lockets. A popular trend right now is to add a pearl (preferably freshwater or baroque style) to an anchor or paperclip chain.

Rope Chains

Rope chains showed up everywhere on social media seemingly out of nowhere. Everyone and their mother has a rope chain these days in various lengths and gauges. Typically we see these chains layered with others or adorned with a pendant. Sterling silver and rhodium are popular, but we’re seeing a plethora of rope chains in gold plated and vermeil.

The Neck Mess

Chances are you’ve seen people wearing multiple necklaces at once. Layering is nothing new, but there is a bit of a strategy behind the neck mess. The idea is to pair chains/necklaces of different lengths, gauges, and designs together to create a “mess” that is still cohesive. While there is no specific formula for which chains look best together, the best advice is to have a bit of everything, especially if you can have several winter trends on hand. Customers may ask for help to achieve this look, so your best bet to better understand what works is to scroll through social media and examine fashion and jewellery magazines.

Band Rings

Whether plain, engraved, or adorned with stones, band rings are very popular right now. We’re seeing a lot of round or domed rings, usually in karat, plated, and vermeil gold. While they tend to be part of ring stacks, because some of them can get fairly large in size, they’re typically worn as statements on their own, accompanied by a signet ring or another band ring on a separate finger.

Signet Rings

Much like band and dome rings, signet rings are making a huge appearance in fashion. They’re available in very thin designs which are usually stacked, or larger ones which are typically engraved or have stones set in them. We’ve been seeing some silver signets, but for the majority of them tend to be karat, plated, or vermeil gold.

Ring Stacks

Ring stacks have been around for a few years now, but it’s not going away any time soon. They tend to be harder to style than neck messes since it’s not as flexible to mix and match rings. There are a couple of different ways to pair together different designs and styles of rings, but there has to be a balance of sorts. So either several skinny rings on one finger, several large ones across the hand – again, it really comes down to balance. The best way to learn what works and what doesn’t is to monitor the trend and play around with your stock.

The reason we brought this up is because customers may be asking for suggestions on how to pull off the look.

Earrings for Multiple Piercings

One common statement among people with multiple piercings is that they have a hard time finding the right earrings to stack together. Either the earring packs only come with half a pair, the earrings don’t match, or there are studs on the pack that they don’t like and will probably never wear. This is where the multiple piercings earrings come in. These earrings are specifically made for people with multiple piercings. They can be sold separately or together, and most important of all, they’re made to match. This is one of our favourite winter trends because it’s much-needed in today’s fashion industry.

Padlock Pendants and Charms

It may seem youthful to people who wore these in their teen years, but padlocks have become the new standard for winter trends. People are layering them in their neck messes or as a statement piece with thick chains. No matter how you see it, this is one of those winter trends that is very versatile. Having a few different styles will help to bring in some traffic with this trend being so popular.