Crushed Link Is the Perfectly Imperfect New Bernard James Collection

By Karen Dybis | March 31, 2026

For his latest collection, Bernard James found inspiration by crushing random objects with his hands, with a hammer, even with a car—and then sought to preserve the look of the smashed materials in 18k gold and platinum link-shaped jewelry.

James sees the new Crushed Link collection as a signature for his brand, and he’s releasing it in stages. From the initial pieces, out now, we can see the “imperfect” nature of their design.

“It’s about the imperfect,” James says. “But it’s also about celebrating and beautifying it.… So much of my career and life has been around this idea of chasing ‘perfect.’ Of course, it doesn’t exist. With Crushed Link, I’m able to justify that search.”

BJ Crushed necklace — *Bernard James’ Crushed Macro Gold Link necklace ($25,000) in 18k yellow gold, with optional accent link of 0.35 ct. t.w. pavé diamonds*

It all started with a misshapen ring a friend stumbled upon and shared with James about six years ago. The ring became an object of fascination for the jewelry designer.

He began giving more thought to ideas around imperfect while he was in the Natural Diamond Council’s Emerging Designers Diamond Initiative in 2023, and he’s experimented with the concept ever since, including the aforementioned use of hammer and car.

“I wanted to play with the different ways or opportunities for things to get destroyed,” James says with a laugh. “Originally, we hand-crushed the links, and then we tried pliers. It was much harder to manipulate the metal in the way I wanted to than expected.”

Another inspiration for Crushed Link was the idea of objects having a life of their own or being personified as human.

“It’s like these inanimate objects come to life and experience the world around them. It’s changing the feel and the elements themselves,” James says.

BJ Crushed Link pendant — *From the Crushed Link collection: the Peek Macro Diamond necklace ($4,850), in 18k yellow gold with brown pavé diamonds (also available in 18k white gold with white diamonds)*

Two main types of links are found throughout the Crushed Link collection: The A link is an open, continuous curve that makes the viewer think of an infinity loop; the B link feels “more compact and grounded,” as James puts it on his website.

Used together, the links create a kind of rhythm and fluidity that shifts and moves with the body. In the collection, the links come in different sizes and finishes. Some designs have diamonds in a row around the outside of the piece or nestled along the inside of each link.

In addition to earrings and necklaces, Crushed Link includes rings that could be worn as wedding bands, with the links symbolizing a couple’s connection as well as the truth that marriage, too, can be perfectly imperfect.

“I’m excited to explore more silhouettes with the link itself, but also with other pieces,” James says. “I’m thinking of adding a lariat to the collection. It adds a different element that wasn’t there previously and addresses a different function.

“It’s versatile and has so many ways to layer,” he says. “The way the collection will play and interact is…perfect.”

Top: On Instagram, Bernard James described this ring in the Crushed Link collection as “distorted links compressed into a continuous band.” (Photos courtesy of Bernard James)