The Forgotten Art Of Friendship Jewellery

Nearly a decade ago, three of my closest friends and I all bought each other the same bracelet from a very zeitgeist-y Australian jewellery store. We were all somewhere in our early careers, full of disposable income and delusions that our lives would be like Sex And The City. 

Fast forward and, of course, it didn’t work out like that. Separated by hundreds or thousands of kilometres—some of us with kids, others others moving across oceans—our friendship now plays out largely in text chains, meme dumps and voice notes. And while I don’t know if they all still have their friendship bracelets, I still have mine. And every time I look at it, I think of my beautiful friends whom I love so much. 

In romantic relationships, unlike friendships, jewellery has become an embedded part of the partnering ritual. We don engagement rings and wedding bands, we get heart-shaped jewellery on Valentine’s Day or expensive anniversary gifts in the form of gilded Cartier Love bracelets.

This jewellery is a demonstration of both our relationship status and our commitment to the other. But, perhaps more so, it’s a grounding token we carry with us as a reminder that we’re loved. 

As kids, most of us swapped friendship bracelets or other mementos for this same reason. We wanted to stake our bonds and tell the whole playground who our bestie was. We also wanted tell our besties that they were with us, even when they weren't.

In 2023-2024, we saw a version of the ritual at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, where (mostly) women of all ages swapped friendship bracelets with gleeful abandon. It was a better time. 

And while these colourful, plastic bands may have fallen out of our daily accessory rotation, the concept of a friendship bracelet doesn’t have to. (Nor must it be confined to a bracelet. Let's spare a moment for friendship rings, necklaces, and anklets, too.)

There are now dozens of stylish, luxe and affordable jewellers stocking chic, grown-up friendship jewellery to share with your bestie. And at the risk of sounding too much like Valentine’s Day marketing, why not blow them away with a gift they can cherish? 

Swipe through to see the gifts we'd love to buy our best friends.