Jewels in Red, the Most Cheerful Color of the Season

By Brittany Siminitz | December 07, 2021

Red is a very stirring color—few hues make more of a statement. It represents love as much as anger—a valentine’s heart, seeing red. The color of a matador’s cape, a traffic light, blood. It’s powerful, it’s bold. It can be political, and it can also be a color of much significance in some cultures.

It’s seldom a color you see people wearing head to toe as regularly as, say, black or blue, though I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps it’s too much of a statement for some, much louder than an easygoing brown or a neutral gray. There must be something to that (totally debunked) myth that red cars cost more to insure than other colors—it’s reflective of feelings on red: inconspicuous, bold, likes to go fast.

Bea Bongiasca Tendril red ring — *Tendril ring in gold-plated silver with enamel and rock crystal, $675; Bea Bongiasca*

Featherstone ruby lotus earrings — *Carved earrings in 18k yellow gold with rubies, grape garnets, and diamonds, price on request; Featherstone Design*

Vram Chrona ring — *One-of-a-kind Chrona ring in yellow gold with sugarloaf cabochon rubellite, price on request; Vram*

But during the holidays, all of those versions of red go away, leaving us with only one: Christmas cheer.

“Feeling festive?” a friend asked in response to my callout for jewelry that’s red. And that’s precisely it—this time of year, we have an understanding with the color that can signify so many other things.

EF red enamel ring — *Stacking ring in 14k yellow gold with red enamel and diamonds, $595; EF Collection*

Misk Jewellery Al Noor Chandelier earrings — *Al Noor heritage chandelier earrings in 18k yellow gold with agate beads and diamonds, $5,500; Misk Jewellery*

Lord Rock Candy ring — *Rock Candy band in 18k yellow gold with red enamel, 0.1 ct. ruby, and 0.09 ct. t.w. diamonds, price on request; Lord Jewelry*

Montmorency enamel skeleton key necklace — *Skeleton key necklace in 14k yellow gold with enamel, $695; Montmorency*

Lola Z Iris studs — *Iris stud earrings in 14k yellow gold with lab-grown rubies, $340; Lola Zyscovich Jewelry*

Retrouvai lolipop ring — *Small Lollipop ring in 14k yellow gold with pink tourmaline and carnelian, price on request; Retrouvaí*

So these red jewels, while perfectly fit to flaunt any day of the year, have an extra-special magic about them right now. It’s not the quiet snowfall or the beautiful carols (I much prefer the image of those in frosty blue and gold). It’s the exuberant gatherings that we’ve missed ever so over the last two years. The color of the cocktails that hit our lips so sweetly. The satiny ribbons that decorate the thoughtful gifts. And—much like these jewels—the pops of color that we don with our gay apparel.