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From gem-set crucifixes, to ‘coffin’ diamonds, these Gothic jewellery designs are eerie fables all their own

The resurrection of ancient crafts with a 21st century point of view signals new wave in Modern Gothic jewellery

As winter creeps in, dramatic crucifixes, jet-black chains and various Gothic symbols edge alongside it. This month, at PAD London, the Paris jeweller Elie Top unveiled his most dramatic crucifix designs to date. And, on Louis Vuitton’s S/S 2025 Paris runway, there was nothing particularly sunny about Nicolas Ghesquiere’s oversized, huge, matt-black chains. So far, so bohemien…

Deep in the Sussex countryside, a very different expression of medieval craftsmanship has emerged in the form of the artist and jewellery designer Natasha Wightman’s haunting designs, such as her ‘A Call to the Wild’ jewelled hair comb, pictured above. Her deep fascination with the wild nature, woodlands and corvids that surround her home has drawn Wightman into the rarefied world of ancient English artistry.

Today, the artist works directly with a handful of master craftsmen whose precise design philosophy and understanding of ancient, organic materials add a medieval frisson to her gold and boxwood jewels, and goldsmith-made chains. Each design is created beyond the idea of pieces being simply handmade. These seriously studied, museum-worthy designs amounts to beautifully eerie fables all of their own.