Heart jewelry: Love it or hate it … until now. While past confections were prone to bringing on a toothache, this year’s designs are forcing haters to reconsider. I’ve developed a hunk of burning love for spunky lovey-doveys that riff on themselves. So as we lead up to Valentine’s Day—a day either adored and anticipated or dreaded and detested—I thought it appropriate to showcase jewelry that can be worn with a heartfelt sense of humor by lovers and singletons alike. Whether you’re in the mood for love or playing with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, here are a few pieces that might make your ticker skip a beat.

• Catherine Angiel’s Dangerous collection, featuring a 14k white gold diamond heart Mom tattoo pendant, is Harley hot
• fetTy’s Love Bites (shout-out to Def Leppard!) and I Saw My Heart necklaces present puns of fun, at Barneys
• byJeannie’s vintage heart yolk necklace in mother-of-pearl with a vintage topaz glass lentil and a vintage blue enamel charm cracks me up
• Dada’s Diamonds’ That’s Amore collection has surreal appeal as its hearts play with arrows and hands; bonus: men can have options here too with pin and cufflinks
• Kris Van Assche’s Love Hurts pendant, from the S/S ’07 collection, says it all, and rides chains or leather cords
• Shaun Leane’s Hook My Heart collection, which started out in sterling silver, has gone couture—check out the yellow gold and ruby suite (ring, earrings, and necklace)
• Finn’s black heart necklace with “lips,” from the Tresoro collection (scroll all the way to the end) catches light in all the right places
• Yayoi Forest’s Melting Love pendant, in 14k yellow gold or silver, is open to interpretation
• Meredith Kahn’s Made Her Think jewelry line certainly does! Check out the Padlock Your Heart necklace (from the Padlocks subset of the Illusions of the Heart collection), reminiscent of a rosary (Kate Hudson rocked it on MTV’s TRL)

Check out the last Trend Spotting: Lockets

JCK