Floral jewellery on Sloane Street: the late-summer pieces to see
High summer is no time for restraint. The gardens are showing off, the terraces of Chelsea fill up by six, and jewellery has decided to join in, sprouting petals, palms and pollen-heavy charms wherever you look. The joy of a botanical piece is that it never wilts and survives a heatwave far better than a peony. Sloane Street's floral jewellery edit gathers the best of the season, and here is how we would shop it, starting small and working up.
Start with the bag
The easiest way into the trend is a charm clipped to a handbag strap, which does a season's worth of work in a single gesture. Fendi's floral bag charm is £710, and Louis Vuitton's is £695. Fendi also makes the case at the neck with its Gardening silk foulard, at £440, a hand-drawn potting shed of anemones, tulips and wheelbarrows edged with the logo, which knots just as happily around a bag handle. Keep the rest of the outfit plain and let the print do the talking.
The full garland
For maximalists, the season's necklaces and bracelets string blossoms shoulder to shoulder. Picture pink petals along a gold chain, or a sculpted flower rising from ropes of pearls; Valentino's entry in the edit is £1,760. Dolce & Gabbana's Sicilian charm bracelet, which rattles with coral, majolica and velvet pom-poms, is £2,650, and would be the most talked-about thing at any garden party. At the top end, the Boodles Blossom bracelet is £11,600, and the Tiffany Victoria Vine tennis bracelet is £60,000. For a smaller commitment, Annoushka's malachite charm is £825, and a Louis Vuitton ring is £135, the most accessible piece on the list.
Petals with an edge
Earrings are where the trend gets interesting. Anabela Chan, who has said she is at her most creative in nature, conjures orchids and palms from lab-grown gems; her earrings are £1,360. Kiki McDonough sets pink tourmalines inside halos of diamonds, at £7,900. And for anyone who likes their florals with a hint of menace, Jessica McCormack's blackened gold and diamond daisy hoops are £17,000, as modern a take on the flower as you will find this year.
Why now
Late August is a good moment to look, while the summer edit is still fresh and before the autumn collections dominate attention. Many of these designs are not strictly seasonal, either: a floral charm or a pair of daisy hoops will look just as good with a dark coat in November as with linen in August. A garden-party piece bought now is also a head start on Christmas gifting.
Shopping it
Sloane Street runs from Knightsbridge station down to Sloane Square, with the jewellers and fashion houses spread along both sides, and plenty of the season's jewellery can be seen within a few minutes' walk. Our guide to Sloane Street shopping maps the flagships. As ever, availability of individual pieces varies, so call ahead if you have your heart set on one.
