9 Female-Led Brands To Add To Your Fine-Jewelry Collection

“Inspiration for me is less about what I see and more about what I feel is needed,” says By Pariah founder Sophie Howard. “I look at what’s missing – in my own collection, in the wider fine jewelry landscape – and work backwards from there,” she explains. Crafted using raw, natural materials and recycled metals, Howard’s designs incorporate a mix of traditional stones like diamonds and emeralds with agate and smoky quartz in organic, contemporary shapes. The result is personal, considered jewelry designed to be collected and cherished for a lifetime. Howard’s most-worn pieces include a belcher chain and a rotation of pendants, including the brand’s signature diamond-encrusted ‘Sticks and Stones’ necklace and ‘Amara Bell’ charm, engraved with her initial alongside that of her husband and son. “Becoming a mother changed how I think about jewelry – it made me want to make pieces that carry the people you love most,” she shares.

Ilaria Icardi inherited her love of jewelry from her late father, Umberto, a jeweler from Valenza, Italy who established his own business in the 1960s. And while she didn’t immediately follow in his footsteps (she pursued a career in fashion design instead and has worked for some of the industry’s most influential brands), it felt inevitable that one day she would return to her roots. Established in 2020 alongside her brother Lorenzo, Icardi’s eponymous fine jewelry brand reimagines pieces from her father’s archive through a modern lens, each realized in 18-karat gold with diamond, carnelian and enamel accents. “I would describe my designs as refined and timeless with a modern sensibility. Each piece is created to feel elegant yet effortless,” says Icardi, who finds inspiration in art, architecture and nature. “I love jewelry that can become part of someone’s everyday life while still feeling special.”

Ileana Makri’s designs are laden with mythical symbols – from snakes to evil eyes and lucky four-leaf clovers – inspired by the designer’s upbringing in Greece, where mythology is a huge part of everyday life. “Each piece is conceived as a modern talisman, something quietly powerful and personal,” says Makri. A study in contrasts, the designer’s jewelry blends the timelessness of diamonds and 18-karat gold with colorful gems that bring depth and individuality to dainty drop earrings, sculptural pendants and stackable rings. “I like the tension between clarity and color, light and richness, bringing different energies together in a way that feels balanced and alive,” she says.

Marlo Laz founder Jesse Marlo Lazowski has been fascinated with jewelry from a young age, thanks to her great-aunt, an antiques dealer, and her grandmother, who gifted her a brooch that she transformed into a necklace when she was just 13 years old. It’s a love story that has continued ever since. “I was captivated by the way a jewel could become a memento of a person, a moment or a place – how it could transcend time and evolve into a family heirloom,” says Lazowski. Working from her studio in New York, the designer draws on a breadth of design periods, as well as personal memories and travels around the globe, to create meaningful pieces bedecked with charms, symbols and colorful gems that she hopes will become cherished keepsakes. “I imagine my designs being worn by the Marlo Laz woman as she moves through her beautifully cultivated life… always accompanying her on her journey, gathering her stories and illuminating her path, wherever the day may take her.”

Foundrae’s designs are rooted in symbolism, with each piece representing one of 10 tenets developed by founder Beth Hutchens as a means of self-expression and connection. “Every day I have the incredible opportunity to meet people in our stores, to hear their stories, to see which pieces resonate with them, and to be inspired by the way they personally style their jewelry. These meetings are the biggest inspiration for me,” says Hutchens. Based in New York, the brand’s chunky chain necklaces, bracelets and signet rings all feature spiritual and mythological symbols decorated with colorful enamel and an array of precious and semi-precious gems.