The world of jewelry is becoming less discerning and more Accessible and younger. Over the past few years, top jewelers have started using Gen Z’s beloved celebrities for their advertising campaigns – Cartier showcased hipsters like Maud Apatow, Emma Chamberlain and Austin Butler in a recent Youtube video – with the aim of appealing to millennials and Gen Z shoppers. Meanwhile, an exciting new crop of independent designers is working to expand the definition and concept of luxury. They have built extremely online brands through deliberate irreverence and playful elegant designs that perform well on social media. These are not your grandmother’s diamonds.
Marc Sabino is a symbol of this ongoing transformation. This-year-old Pratt graduate living in Brooklyn, she creates handcrafted pieces that are the perfect blend of nostalgia, internet culture, and masterful design and production. Rihanna in . Sabino’s work is frivolous. A minimalist silver necklace will feature an acorn pendant and pink sapphire diamond inspired by the acorns in the live Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing: New Horizons during the fall. Sabino recently shared with his thousands of followers a model that deftly references Hello Kitty. Three red gems clearly form the Japanese character’s signature bow. Joy is incorporated into Sabino’s designs.
“I think what I want to do for jewelry is Find the same connection between modern accessibility and ‘classic’ design,” Sabino told Vogue . When discussing his influence, he speaks in unmistakable millennial language and references – Supreme, Kanye West, Tyler, the Creator, Instagram. “Similar to what Supreme did [by] opening boutiques outside of skate shops,” he said. “I want people to get the same custom experience as the Diamond District,” Manhattan’s concentration of independent jewelers, “and it feels achievable.”
Sabino is the most famous It’s his jewelry designs, but he also produces equally imaginative and on-trend clothing and objects. So much so last year that Rihanna’s stylist contacted Sabino and said the superstar wanted to buy a frayed and distressed bucket hat featuring the New York Yankees logo Sabino posted online. Shortly after RiRi was photographed going out wearing a hat.
Sabino said000 % of his social media posts lead to commissions – Usually ranges from $66-$99, but up to $1-2, 0 Depends on the complexity of the work. This social media-fueled and Rihanna-sanctioned career is a little surprising to someone who would otherwise be a Nike sneaker designer. Sabino’s entry into jewelry design was accidental, really. When he is , he reached out to people who work at Nike headquarters via LinkedIn and asked what the best way to get a job there was. “They made me study industrial design,” he said. He listened and applied to Pratt. At Pratt, Sabino tried to sign up for the school’s only sneaker design class — but it was full. So he chose his alternate option: jewelry design.
Years later, Sabino has now outfitted our modern fashion icon – while running a business out of his apartment. Perhaps this proves Sabino’s self-promotion. He’s great at using good visual code to play on your phone screen and grab your attention. A passport in the corner of a necklace promo shows that someone is not only stylish but travels a lot. Another ad showed a necklace box, a cup of tea and a silk handkerchief *—the most refined visual shorthand. His dream of collaborating with Nike came true: He collaborated with the sportswear giant on in-store workshops.