Back Again: Coral & Turquoise Jewelry

By Suzanne Singer
March 10, 2011

Coral & Turquoise Jewelry

Like wide-leg jeans and color-blocking, coral and turquoise jewelry goes in and out of fashion every couple of seasons—and the fashion trend is back again now in a major way. But unlike the former two—which always get tweaked just enough so you're forced to stock up again every time they make a return—jewelry made from these natural elements can be brought out of the jewelry box whenever the fashion trend strikes and worn out the door. Which means they're a worthwhile sartorial investment you'll turn to over and over again through the years.

For spring 2011, high-end fashion designers like Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Lanvin and Pucci incorporated coral and turquoise into their jewelry lines in ways that ranged from sculptural to formal to classically bohemian. Contemporary jewelry designers jumped on the bandwagon, too, churning out coral and turquoise jewelry styles with equal breadth. Here's what a few of them had to say.

Kenneth Jay Lane

Kenneth Jay Lane Jewelry (images courtesy of Kenneth Jay Lane)

“I just love them,” said Kenneth Jay Lane, who uses both stones together and separately. He reminded us of their longstanding incorporation into jewelry, citing coral's appearance in Renaissance paintings and Art Deco design and turquoise as a favorite of Millicent Rogers, the Standard Oil heiress and fashion icon, who in the ‘40s fell in love with Taos, NM, and wore Native American-style turquoise jewelry mixed with gold. While many top jewelry designers today combine coral and turquoise with precious gems and diamonds, Kenneth Jay Lane was among the first to do so.

Rachel Leigh

Rachel Leigh Jewelry (images courtesy of Rachel Leigh)

“We usually veer away from the typical spring/summer turquoise and coral trend, however, my collection this spring/summer was inspired by a recent trip to South Africa. The carefree energy and European ease of Cape Town and the authenticity of the natural colors on safari really had me coming back to turquoise and coral," said fashion jewelry designer Rachel Leigh, who is known for on-trend costume pieces. "We experimented with a lot of matte natural stones, sandblasted Swarovski crystals and opaque resins this season, which makes the expected spiderwebbing of natural and faux turquoise and coral modern and easier to wear.”

Amrita Singh

Amrita Singh Jewelry (images courtesy of Amrita Singh)

“I use coral and turquoise in the collection all year round because I am dressing a global woman," said Amrita Singh, whose bold fashion jewelry designs give a nod to traditional Indian styles. "She is traveling through the year to all different climates/temperatures. And I think in tropical places as well as in the resort and summer seasons, turquoise and coral are evergreen colors.”

Ranjana Khan

Ranjana Khan Jewelry (images courtesy of Ranjana Khan)

“Coral and Turquoise are classic materials that fit the spring and summer months perfectly," said Ranjana Khan, who as an expert on embellishments and embroideries has worked with the likes of Jean-Paul Gaultier, Alber Elbaz, and Alexander McQueen, and has now launched her own collection. "They have been used in jewelry since ancient times when tribes in places such as Sudan and Nepal mixed them with jewels of all sorts... The biggest trend is using them in their natural form. I like to combine them with other materials like metal and pearls, where you can not only see a color contrast, but a textural one as well.”

Gerard Yosca

Gerard Yosca Jewelry (images courtesy of Gerard Yosca)

“Honestly when you imagine the transition from cold weather to spring or summer, there are not many other colors that come to mind," said Gerard Yosca, who is known for his playful, graphic designs. These colors make you feel good just saying them! Water, sky... we’re talking turquoise. Coral simply is just pretty... the smart cousin of pink, which can be a little juvenile. Because I can never leave well enough alone, this season I washed out the turq so that it looks more like amazonite. And to pop it I pushed the coral more towards the color of a cherry sourball. A little more sophisticated but still 'feel-good.'”

Tuleste Market

Tuleste Market Jewelry (images courtesy of Tuleste Market)

“Turquoise and coral are two classic, earthy colors that really work well with all of our metal finishes," said Tuleste Market jewelry designers Satu and Celeste Greenberg, who use vintage jewelry pieces to inspire their work We especially love coral with our rose gold finish and turquoise with our silver finish. The colors mixed with the shiny metals always look fresh and modern. We associate turquoise and coral with the beach, summer and hot weather. Both colors look amazing on tan skin and when paired with a great shiny metal finish they pop even more! That has to be why whenever summer or resort season rolls around, customers start to seek out these same color trends over and over."

Kara Ross

Kara Ross Jewelry (images courtesy of Kara Ross)

“Each season we carefully select stones that match our exotic skins, all of which tell the story for the season," says Kara Ross, who designs both jewelry and handbags. "And since we wanted to create a light and airy feel for our Spring collection, turquoise and coral were just perfect choices... When you look at what walked the runways for Spring collections, we saw a real step back into the 1970’s muted pastel and pink palate.. I feel as though my aesthetics have always been true to my love for the ’70’s and that our jewelry is right on trend with what’s out there for clothing.”

Not surprisingly, turquoise and coral jewelry are having a moment on eBay online auctions: sales for "turquoise jewelry" are up 16 percent and sales of "coral jewelry" are up 19 percent in a recent 30 day period (2/1-3/2) compared to the prior period. Here, the results of our eBay browse-athon.