worked with it as a designer for other brands’ projects. 
Since its debut, her wooden disk bead necklace has 
become popular, especially when paired with the Carpe 
Diem pendants, she says. 
TRADING CHAINS FOR LEATHER 
Leather is another alternative material that many  
designers have been featuring in recent collections. 
The use of the material fits into not only the alternative 
material trend but also the Western wear trend that gained 
traction last year during Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” tour 
and again in 2026 for the year of the Fire Horse. 
“It’s nice to have an option that doesn’t cost as much as  
a gold chain. It’s also become cool fashion-wise because  
designers have moved more towards detachable pendants 
than when everything used to come as a necklace with a 
chain,” Molofsky says. 
“I think leather is here to stay and that’s one thing we’ve seen grow-
ing; people want that option for their expensive, gold-heavy pieces.” 
As the price of gold kept rising, designer Marie Lichtenberg ele-
vated her brand from 14- to 18-karat gold and quit using silk cord, a 
signature component of her locket and scapular necklaces.
Instead, the designer has been embracing leather with her “Lasso” 
baby locket bracelets, which debuted in January, featuring Italian calf 
leather and 18-karat gold accented by a diamond, ruby, or emerald. 
“It’s a little step into the leather world that we’re going to explore 
a bit more,” Lichtenberg says. 
However, she notes that using leather won’t bring down the cost 
of her pieces because the price of production drives it up.  
“Whatever pieces we’re doing are a pain in the ass, meaning that 
everything is complicated, intricate, difficult to make, difficult to 
produce. The baby locket is 18-karat gold, intricate opening and 
closing, heavy, [and] expensive. 
“The ‘Lasso’ necklace that we are making, the clasp on  
everything, they are handmade in heavy gold. It’s not inexpensive. 
This is very expensive,” says Lichtenberg. 
At the 2025 Couture show, she debuted a 
khaki-colored suede leather bandana 
featuring 18-karat yellow gold,  
rubies, and diamonds. 
It was crafted at a workshop 
in Bologna, Italy, by the same 
craftsmen who have done 
the embellishment work and 
embroidery for Prada for the 
last 14 years. 
The high jewelry bandana 
retails for $282,840.
“Whatever we’re going to use, 
we want to use it in the best and 
most luxurious way,” Lichtenberg says. 
“Now it’s leather but maybe it’s going to be 
cashmere in two years. I don’t know.”
Lichtenberg also 
is playing with the idea 
of using glass, resin, and 
wood—with the latter an already 
existing offering—in future designs. 
Nanis Italian Jewels also debuted 
an 18-karat gold and leather col-
lection of bracelets, necklaces, and 
rings in January. 
The “Duo” pieces feature leather 
straps in three colors with the brand’s 
“boule” motif in 18-karat gold as the 
clasp, set with stones like onyx, turquoise, 
malachite, or pavé tsavorites and green 
sapphires, diamonds, and blue topaz. 
In a press release, Nanis President and Creative Director Laura 
Bicego explained that the Duo collection belongs to neither gender; 
it is the meeting of “softness and structure, technique and instinct.”
Its name is a metaphor for a balance of two materials, leather and gold. 
THE ONLY WAY OUT IS UP
Pricing has been an issue because the 
cost of gold has rapidly increased, 
causing many to home in 
on the intrinsic value of 
their pieces. 
Molofsky explains that 
a piece’s intrinsic and 
investment value has vali-
dated her designers’ decision 
to continue using precious metals, 
diamonds, and colored gemstones. 
“How it stands the test of time, how these 
pieces don’t go down in value. In fact, we’ve only 
seen them go up. It’s sparked a conversation 
NATIONAL JEWELER          57
Marie Lichtenberg’s “Love You” spinning 
scapular with sapphires, diamonds, and 
blue enamel on 18-karat yellow gold is 
styled on a “Lasso” cord using black calf 
leather with 18-karat yellow gold findings 
($28,920).
Nanis’ large “Duo” ring featuring blue topaz and 
Swiss blue topaz pavé in 18-karat rose gold on a 
leather band ($5,130).

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