I have a friend in Buckhead who claims she only owns three pieces of jewelry, and every one of them is a conversation starter. I think about that a lot when clients ask me what they should be wearing this season. The honest answer, for spring 2026, is fewer pieces but bigger ones, and a willingness to mix things you were probably told not to mix.
I spent fifteen years staging homes before going independent, and one thing I learned is that the eye wants a focal point. A room without one feels busy. A neckline without one feels unfinished. The good news is that the trends right now make finding that focal point easier than it has been in years.
Pearls, but not your mother's pearls
Pearls are firmly back, and I say that as someone who put away her grandmother's strand sometime in the late nineties and assumed it was retired for good. Designers from Chanel to Saint Laurent sent pearls down the Spring 2026 runways in shapes the Junior League would not recognize. Baroque pearls with bumpy, irregular surfaces. Oversized strands worn long over a turtleneck. Pearls layered with gold chains, with leather, with colored stones like aquamarine and morganite.
If you have an old strand sitting in a velvet box, this is the year to wear it again. Try it doubled up over a soft cotton tee instead of under a blouse collar. The contrast is what makes it feel modern.
One earring, or two very different ones
Asymmetry is having a real moment. We saw it the first time around in the eighties, and it is back with more confidence now. The idea is simple: pair a chunky hoop or a long dangle on one ear with a small stud on the other. It looks unstudied, which of course means it takes a little practice.
For those of us who would rather not commit to mismatched, the safer route is the bold matched pair. Sculptural hoops, domed studs, what the trend writers are calling door knocker earrings (an evolution of last year's chunky gold). Anything that has weight and a slight imperfection in finish reads as expensive, even when it isn't. Avoid anything too polished and uniform. That look feels dated now in a way it didn't two years ago.
Chains, layered and unbothered
Long chains layered over a simple top is one of the easiest looks to pull together at any age. The Spring 2026 runways were full of extra-long necklaces draped over sheer blouses, fluid dresses, and plain tanks. Mix a delicate chain with a chunkier one. Add a small pendant. Add three. Don't measure them, just stack until it looks right and stop.
I keep a small dish of chains on my dresser, the same way I keep a tray of design swatches in my office. When you can see them all at once, you make better choices.
Mixed metals, finally
For years we were told to pick a lane: silver woman or gold woman. That rule has quietly died. On the spring runways at Chanel and Ralph Lauren, mixed metals were the defining move. Gold and silver together. Rose gold thrown in. The little oxidized bits we used to call tarnish are now a feature.
If your wedding band is yellow gold and you've been refusing to wear that pretty silver bracelet your daughter gave you for Christmas, please go put it on. Together. Today.
Sculptural, not shiny
The overall mood for 2026 is what fashion editors are calling intentional maximalism. Texture matters. Molten-looking surfaces, organic shapes, a little asymmetry in the form itself. Think of it as the jewelry equivalent of an unlacquered brass faucet rather than a chrome one. The materials should look like they have a history, even when they're new.
This is excellent news for anyone shopping their own jewelry box. A piece you bought in 2003 and stopped wearing because it looked too heavy is probably exactly right again. Take it out, polish it gently (or don't), and try it on with what you wore yesterday.
Stones in their natural state
Raw agate slices, polished geodes, and chunks of turquoise or quartz set in simple bezels are still going strong. This trend started with the bohemian crowd a decade ago and has settled comfortably into the mainstream. The colors run from inky black to soft pink, and the price points run from craft fair to fine jewelry, so there is something at every level.
I particularly like a single raw stone pendant on a long leather cord with a crisp white shirt. It dresses down a serious necklace and dresses up a casual top, all at once.
Statement, but singular
The big, layered bib-style necklaces of a few years back have quieted down. The 2026 statement piece tends to be one bold thing, worn with restraint everywhere else. A single oversized brooch on a blazer lapel. One sculptural cuff bracelet on an otherwise bare arm. A pendant the size of a half-dollar instead of a constellation of small charms.
If you've been holding onto a brooch from your aunt's collection because it felt too dramatic, this is its season. Pin it to the strap of a tote, the lapel of a coat, or the shoulder of a plain sweater.
What this means for the rest of us
I'm 64, and I am not going to pretend I'm dressing the way I did at 34. I don't want to. But the lovely thing about where jewelry is right now is that the trends actually flatter women in their sixties and seventies. Bigger pieces read better than small fussy ones on a frame that has settled into itself. Pearls, mixed metals, and sculptural shapes all suit a face that has earned its lines. The runway is finally on our side, even if the runway doesn't quite know it yet.
A few practical thoughts before you go shopping or shopping-your-own-closet:
- Pull everything you own out and lay it on a tray. You'll wear what you can see.
- Try old pieces with new outfits before deciding anything is out.
- Buy fewer things, but pick ones with weight and texture. Lightweight thin pieces tend to disappear on a 60-something neckline.
- Mix metals on purpose. The accidental mix is what looks dated.
- If a piece makes you stand a little straighter when you put it on, that is the right piece.
Trends move on, of course. They always do. But the deeper shift this year, away from minimal and toward intentional, suits a stage of life when we already know what we like. Wear what you love, layer it with confidence, and let the jewelry do the talking.
