Trend Watch: Agog over Agate

Large, statement-making jewelry continues to dominate fashion editorials and to finish many a couture look. To give customers a lot of jewelry for a relatively modest price, designers working at all price points have rediscovered agate, incorporating the stone not only in its various natural hues but also in dyed variations of intensely saturated color. American fashion magazines love the look.  

[Gucci agate necklace pictured in the March 2009 issue of Vogue]

Gucci has been one of the primary drivers of this trend, featuring large slices of brightly colored agate set in gold and assembled into eye-catching necklaces and bracelets. Both In Style magazine in its February 2009 issue and Marie Claire in March 2009 assembled colorful collections of agate jewelry that include Gucci designs.

[“Rock Revival” jewelry featured in In Style]

In Style includes other stones beyond agate, and features a Stephen Dweck bracelet of agate set in sterling silver [$2,465] and a Gucci necklace with small pieces of brightly colored agate and amethysts set in 18 karat gold [$9,950] alongside a pair of 18 karat gold earrings set with opals and pave diamonds by Irene Neuwirth with a $65,270 price tag. The stones create a “rugged yet refined contrast to delicate gold or silver settings,” notes In Style.

[“Must-Get Stones” pictured in Marie Claire]

Taking the opposite approach for readers’ budgets, Marie Claire displays a Gucci necklace [price upon request] next to a $175 agate slice pendant necklace by Nugaard Designs and a pendant of wire-wrapped chunks of dyed agate by Express, bearing a price tag of $22.50 (twenty-two dollars and fifty cents).

With the immense variety of shapes and striations in the natural stones, plus the potential for taking on the bright colors of summer and the neon colors being shown for autumn, the use of agate is a trend with the potential for staying power in its appeal to a wide range of customers.