that, in some ways, has really helped us,” Molofsky says. Educated customers are excited by the invest- ment opportunity inherent in a one-of-a-kind piece valued above $10,000, while the con- sumers most affected are those who normally buy from a designer with a price point between $1,000 to $4,000, according to Molofsky. However, that doesn’t mean designers who continue to use all gold are not feeling the effects of the precious metal’s high price. Molofsky says collections may be smaller, but the pieces that are created and sold are intentional and thoughtful in their design direction and the story they tell. Lichtenberg found herself in a battle over her brand’s response to the increasing price of gold. Rather than increase the prices on her existing pieces, she halted production of the brand’s current collection, created a new collection exclusively in 18-karat gold, and indexed it on the new price of gold. “For us, the only way out was the way up,” Lichtenberg says. “What I’m going to do now is bring to the table new crafts- manship, new ways of making jewelry, but not because it’s less expensive. We’re going to try to make beautiful things in a more healthy way.” It would not be genuine if Marie Lichtenberg suddenly started selling simple and light jewelry; the brand’s DNA is intricate, bold, and heavy gold pieces. In this new collection, she chose to create more gold pieces using chain rather than her signature silk cord be- cause of the perceived value of jewelry. “You need to be coherent with what you’re making because if you have an 18-karat gold locket at $10,000 or $15,000 on a cord, I think it’s really cool, but a lot of peo- ple don’t understand that. They prefer to spend $10,000 more to have a full gold version,” Lichtenberg explains. “No matter what we’re doing, it’s going to be expensive so let’s go big because when it’s big, the perceived value is easy to understand. [The price of gold] changed the perspective, it changed the client, it changed everything.” Like what Molofsky has seen, Lichtenberg is no longer producing as many pieces as she previously did. “We don’t have the money. We are not Cartier. We can’t buy too much gold in advance,” Lichtenberg says. Rather than working a whole collection together at the same time, she is breaking up its development into parts with more expensive jewelry set to release at Couture and entry-level pieces coming later. She says, “Even buying some gold at this price, maybe the price is going to crash at some point? We don’t know. We just have to be super good on design. That’s the only way to make a difference.” TOUCHES OF GOLD Using other precious metals isn’t a replacement for gold, but an addition. Platinum might seem like the answer because its price per ounce is lower than gold, but its production costs are higher. “It’s harder to work in and sometimes we’ll price things out in platinum, and they end up being very simi- lar to what it would be in gold,” says Molofsky. For example, Harwell Godfrey’s platinum watch bracelet is smaller than the 18-karat gold version yet is a similar price. Lichtenberg has dabbled in silver but explains that because of her craftsmanship standards, her silver offerings will not be inexpensive. She is slated to release a new version of her “Magic 8 Ball” pendant as a sterling silver objet d’art that will retail for $16,800. A collaboration with Mattel, Lichtenberg's Magic 8 Ball creations are high-end versions of the popular fortune-telling toy. The 18-karat yellow gold Magic 8 Ball pendant, which won a Couture Design Award in the “Best in Innovative” category in 2023, retails for $36,900. Designer Stephanie Gottlieb began designing silver and gold vermeil jewelry via her “All Hours” collaborative collection with 58 STATE OF THE MAJORS 2026 Boucheron’s “Quatre Sand” capsule collection consists of four 18-karat yellow gold bracelets and three with black sand 3D printed in a “Clou de Paris” pattern over 18-karat yellow gold (price upon request). (Image courtesy of Boucheron) Continued on page 60 “No matter what we’re doing, it’s going to be expensive so let’s go big.” —Marie Lichtenberg THE STATE OF DIAMONDS Marie Lichtenberg’s “Touch Wood” scapular featuring a 0.57-carat diamond and ebony set in 18-karat yellow gold and styled on a “Rosa” classic chain ($35,760). COLORED STONES RETAIL JEWELRY DESIGN
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