Here’s Why the Initial Pendant Continues to Be the Hottest Essential in Jewelry

When some of today’s hottest jewelry designers are making supersized initial pendants for themselves, you know it’s going to be a big trend.

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Ultra-hip Parisian jewelry designer, Marie Lichtenberg, confessed that she wears an extra-large puffy gold “M” initial pendant that was a gift to herself as a symbolic self-affirmation jewel. She wore the new design at the recent Couture Jewelry Show in Las Vegas last month on a long, chunky gold chain, and it was a big hit.

At the same event, designer Emily Wheeler, a tall blond who embodies colorful California style, wore her new jumbo-sized pink sapphire “E” pendant hung from a strand of pink opal heart-shaped beads. “My team thought it was too big, but I loved the scale and made it for myself anyway,” she said.

Initials pendants are nothing new. In fact, back in the 1500s the notoriously famous Anne Boleyn, England’s queen from 1533 until 1536 when she was beheaded, wore a sizable gold “B” pendant on a strand of pearls in her portrait which hangs in London’s National Portrait Gallery. She was ahead of her time.

At some point, just about every girl or woman has owned a diamond or gold initial pendant. It’s a classic like a tennis bracelet or heart-shaped jewel. But the new variations are far more impactful, they are super-sized, statement making and stylized. “Jewelry collectors are shifting away from delicate pieces, and people are craving big, bold designs that make an impact,” says Jesse Lazowski, the founder of Marlo Laz, one of Bleeker Street’s hot jewelry shops in New York’s West Village. She wears extra-large engraved gold “M” and “L” initial pendants. They are the same initials as her mother and brother, so they are packed with meaning.

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“Initials are a bit nostalgic,” says Wheeler, who is based in Los Angeles. Her pink initial has been a hit with her clients, and she’s getting numerous requests for custom supersized initial pendants in different gemstones on chains or bead necklaces.

Initials have appeared in countless variations, including Fulco di Verdura’s 1955 design, which wraps gold rope around a diamond initial pendant, and is still in demand today. New designs come in a range of fonts, including Renato Cipullo’s boxy gold version, inspired by 70s motifs and Italian graphic design, and Brent Neale’s playful bubble letters. Whatever your style, just be sure it’s supersized.

Click here for more photos of initial pendant necklaces.

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