Gone Fishing: Why Sea-Inspired Jewelry Is Everywhere

Today, we’re diving into one of jewelry’s most playful current obsessions: fish, shells, coral, and everything under the sea.

The Catch of the Season

Fish and shell jewelry has been steadily swimming back into fashion, appearing on runways, in designer collections, and around the necks of particularly stylish women.

For Spring/Summer 2025, Chloé showed layered shell jewelry, while Roberto Cavalli sent an oversized swordfish necklace down the runway. Fashion editors have since singled out fish, shells, coral, and other nautical motifs as some of the season’s most noticeable jewelry trends.

The look ranges from tiny sardine charms to enormous gold shells, sculptural starfish, glossy coral branches, and strands that appear to have been assembled from treasures found along a Mediterranean shoreline.

Part of the appeal is pure escapism. Sea-inspired jewelry brings to mind long lunches overlooking the water, striped umbrellas, weathered fishing villages, and suitcases filled with treasures discovered abroad. Even when worn nowhere near the coast, it carries the carefree spirit of a holiday.

It also arrives at the perfect moment. After years of restrained, barely-there jewelry, fashion is embracing pieces that feel more expressive, individual, and amusing. A dangling fish or oversized nautilus shell has wit. It turns a simple white shirt or linen dress into a look—and often starts a conversation.

More Than a Summer Souvenir

Image: Laura Gray Paloma shell earrings with pearls and coral

Of course, marine motifs are far older than any current trend. Shells have been worn as adornment for thousands of years and have carried associations with protection, prosperity, fertility, status, and connection to the natural world. Cowrie shells, in particular, have served as both decorative objects and currency in parts of Africa and Asia.

Fish are equally rich in symbolism. Across different cultures and traditions, they have been associated with abundance, good fortune, resilience, freedom, and transformation. That history gives fish jewelry the feeling of a talisman—something chosen not only because it is beautiful, but because it may hold a private meaning for the wearer.

Image credit: Harper’s Bazaar

Perhaps that is why the best examples never feel overly themed. A vintage silver fish charm, a pair of gilded shell earrings, or a coral-shaped brooch can feel whimsical and elegant at the same time.

They also tap into nostalgia. Shell jewelry recalls beach holidays, treasures collected as children, and the wonderfully eccentric costume jewelry of the 1970s and ’80s. Today’s versions feel less like seaside souvenirs and more like small sculptures.

How We Like to Wear It

Image: Nautilus shell purse by Studio YAY!

The easiest approach is to let one marine-inspired piece do the talking.

A substantial fish pendant looks especially chic against a crisp button-down, simple tank, or black dress. Shell earrings can bring warmth and texture to an evening look without feeling too formal. For the more-is-more inclined, layer pearls, coral tones, turquoise beads, and gold chains to create something that feels collected over years of travel.

Image: In Palm Beach wearing Laura Gray Ariel earrings and teal raffia bag with nautilus shells

Mixing eras keeps the look interesting. Pair a vintage fish necklace with a contemporary crystal strand, or wear dramatic gold shell earrings with an old bangle and a relaxed linen shirt. The goal is not to look as though you are attending a nautical-themed party - it’s to suggest that you may have just returned from somewhere fabulous.

From the Kimono Dragon Jewelry Box

Naturally, we have a few sea creatures of our own.

The Vintage French Green Shell Necklace: natural, pearly green shells on a simple cream-colored cord.

For a playful interpretation, the French Pearl and Amazonite Fish Charm Necklace mixes the playful motif with polished pearls and sea-colored stones.

For those who prefer shells, the lightweight Kiki Scallop Shell Earrings are handmade in Athens and feature classic shell forms in gold plate. They are bold enough to transform an outfit, but comfortable enough to wear throughout a long lunch—or an even longer dinner.

And for the committed maximalist, an enormous Genuine nautilus shell necklace offers the kind of unapologetic statement we will always find irresistible.

These are pieces we love not simply because marine jewelry is having a moment, but because they feel timelessly eccentric. They carry a little fantasy, a little history, and plenty of personality.

In other words, they pass the Kimono Dragon test: Is it fabulous?

Absolutely.