Happy faces: we’re all smiles about this joyful jewellery trend
There’s plenty to smile about this Autumn, as jewellery designers bring cartoonish countenances to their designs. From necklaces with Smartphone emojis to gem-studded smiley face pendants and pearly earrings daubed with comically creepy caricatures, this season’s style mantra is ‘grin and wear it’.

Jiwinaia: There’s something spooky about the Milan-based jewellery label’s most recent collection – new to Dover Street Market London this Autumn. Korea-born Marisa Jiwi Seok’s latest offering features freshwater pearl earrings hand-painted with bright enamel. Pairs resemble floating ghosts or freaky frowning clowns. Boo!
Happy & Sad Clown Chunky Earrings in 18-ct gold plated rhodium and brass with baroque pearls hand-painted with enamel, by Jiwinaia
Wald: Berlin-based Joyce Binneboese and Dana Roski first came to our attention with their range of beachcombed jewellery pieces, featuring crystal embellished shell necklaces and earrings. Wald’s latest capsule collection features DIY-focused styles strung with pearls, colourful pebbles and 1990s smiley face beads, the ultimate in raving revelry.
Smiley Dude Pearl Necklace, by Wald
Alison Lou: Got an affection for your emoji keyboard? We suggest you splurge on one of Alison Lou’s series of pendant charm necklaces, each of which charts a different emotional facial reaction, from a suggestive wink to a scintillating smooch. Our favourite is the Angry Face pendant, for when you’re keen to channel your rage through an uplifting smattering of pavé rubies.
Angry face necklace in 14-ct gold with pavé rubies, by Alison Lou
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Inside Kazakhstan’s brutalist Tselinny cinema – now a hub for contemporary culture
Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture, a modernist landmark redesigned for its new purpose by Asif Khan, gears up for its grand opening in Kazakhstan
-
Oliver Spencer’s orbiting installation offers a meditative shopping experience during London Design Festival
At Oliver Spencer’s Shoreditch store, a sensory light installation by Studio Rhythmics offers a calming moment during LDF
-
These benches are made from £2.5m worth of shredded banknotes
You could be sitting on a fortune this London Design Festival, as the Bank of England Museum explores the creative repurposing of waste with furniture made from decommissioned banknotes