I love jewelry, but I love crystals even more. Who doesn’t love a place where you can get a two-in-one deal? That’s why when I discovered JiaJia, my jaw dropped. Jia-Jia Zhu may be a successful jewelry designer now, but she started her career as a buyer. Between working at Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue, she learned a lot before stepping out to create her own brand. I am planning some jewelry purchases for 2024, so I decided to ask if she could inform us of the trends to know this year. Below, she absolutely delivered.
Can you tell us what inspired the creation of JiaJia?
JiaJia was inspired by my connection to spirit and the universe when I was on my year-long spiritual journey in Bali. I had left my corporate job behind and booked a one-way trip to become a yoga teacher and practice meditation in Bali. This experience cracked open my heart, and I learned to follow my heart, my intuition, and joy each day. It taught me how to live and connect intentionally. The openness brought me kismet experiences and teachers along the way that guided me toward the path of creating our crystal jewelry brand. I had a vision toward the end of my journey in Bali where I was meditating with crystals in a copper pyramid. I unlocked my third eye, and it showed me inner joy and support from the universe. I wanted to share this with the world somehow, which brought me to the largest gem show in the world.
I met a crystal miner who then gifted me crystals, which are the crystal quartz we work with. He said, "Go see what you do with them." I learned that these crystals are the highest-vibration crystal quartz in the world. They were not cut, polished, or treated in any way. They came out of the earth after 200 million years naturally when it is ready, and we cleanse them with water. I saw these crystals as a vessel of energy that holds the magic and intention of the earth and a vessel to share the story for us to follow our heart, jump into the unknown, and trust ourselves—trust the voice within us all. My first collection was then picked up exclusively by Net-a-Porter as one of their first Jewelry Vanguard designers.
Tell us about your career path. How has your experience as a buyer influenced your designs?
My journey as a buyer supported me in making my designs playful, collectible, span generations, and allowing them to be giftable. My first design was our crystal quartz diamond chain necklaces. They were priced in the thousands. When I was working a corporate job, that was not an accessible price point for me to purchase. It was a big investment. I also knew they were beautiful and energetic. I thought [with] these higher-price-point [pieces, the] customer might need some time to learn the history of it and the vibrations of the stones. I wanted to layer in color and play at a more accessible luxury price point with approachable designs, so I introduced our Arizona collection alongside our Crystalline collection. The Arizona collection consists of colorful precious stones like emeralds, sapphires, and rubies that start at $340 and under $1000. It was inspired by the dynamic colors and personality of the Arizona desert, where I enjoyed spending time hiking.
Our beaded jewelry has become a big following for us now, and our clients love coming back and collecting more for them and gifting friends and family. I love the creative process behind it, from designing to doing our photo shoots. It's all about choosing what feels good, and the layers of crystals adapt to how our clients are feeling that day and how they want to layer it. I absolutely love it when our clients send us pictures of how they style their jewelry and how they bring it to life.
Can you explain to someone new to crystals why they're worth collecting and where their power comes from?
I see crystals as works of art that are gifted from our earth. It takes millions of years to form a crystal, and they hold ancient information, which I believe is priceless and beautiful. Each one is unique and one of a kind, and I love when people choose a crystal and then look up the meaning, and it's usually the crystal for them at that point in time. There is a magic behind that where one feels seen and connected to a piece of our earth that has been growing for many years. The power comes from the earth, and it is amplified when the beholder connects with them. I love collecting them for the beauty they hold, their intentions. I have created altars around my home with crystals, and we move them around when we feel the need to. That itself is a beautiful practice. It brings a sense of ritual to our lives to slow down and to feel how we want to take care of our home. I love wearing my crystal quartz every day, as it simply feels good. When I feel disconnected, I can touch my crystal and know that I am connected to the world around me even when I am not feeling it.
Below, discover the five jewelry trends that Zhu convinced me to purchase ASAP.
1. Intentional Jewelry
“Intentional jewelry continues to be big, and crystals fall under this category. People want to know what they are buying and what it means—we all want to connect. My whole line is very intentional, especially when it comes to crystals. I really find that that's been such an anchor for our brand. People really want to feel connected. All of our crystals are one of a kind, and our clients love that because it's almost like this crystal finds them, and they can seek meaning in it for what they need in their life.” — Jia-Jia Zhu
2. Chains With Custom Charms
“With charms, a customer can really personalize and customize a piece of jewelry—make it their own. Our birthstone series does so well because there's a sense of connection and you can layer and collect it in our own way. Charms have been like the anchor of the brand for that collection, where we see people buying multiples, like a charm that resembles their children's birthday, their birthday, and even their dog’s. With chunky chains, you can click on charms whether it's from one brand or other brands—and that's been really popular.” — Zhu
3. Mixing Metals
“I'm starting to see that mixed metals, like gold and white gold, do really well. I remember in my 20s, I would either only wear gold or only wear silver. It’s always been something people stay away from, but now, people are not as held back when it comes to mixing the metals anymore. It looks very cool, very chic. There's a sense of confidence that comes with it. I personally love it.” — Zhu
4. Pearls
“Pearls have never really gone away. They’ll always be such a classic, especially your classic pearls done in a modern way, in a way that's joyful, approachable, and not too serious. Don’t forget to layer. There are so many different types of shapes of pearls, different colors, and you can make them in so many creative ways now. We're doing a choker and then collars.” — Zhu
5. Pastel Pink
“Soft colors like pink have been a big focus this season as well. We’ve shuffled through a period of that Barbie pink, a fuchsia pink, and I think now it's more of a subtle pink. We have a stone called rhodochrosite, and it's a really beautiful example of this. We saw basically all of the major retailers pick up on that.” — Zhu
This post was published at an earlier date and has since been updated.
