First, it was the bag charms, the jangly paraphernalia that comprised cherries, carabiners, Labubu plushies and the like. Then gloss keychains were clipped onto Stanley tumblers. And now, it seems sunglasses are getting their own embellishments as designers are turning eyewear into jewellery. Beyoncé wore crystal-studded frames throughout the Renaissance Tour. Fendi sent diamond-dusted sunglasses down its spring/summer 2024 runway. On TikTok, the quest for over-the-top frames has spawned its own content vertical—the once-geeky #glasseschain is officially back in style, racking up 4.7 million views—proof that eyewear accessories are having a major moment.
Cult South Korean brand Gentle Monster, which last year dropped a collection of eyewear featuring pearl and bow charms, now has eyewear—with names like Carat and Glitz—as part of its 2025 jewellery collection. And only last week, at the Schiaparelli autumn/winter 2025 show in Paris, Doja Cat grabbed some eyeballs with sunglasses that come with their own fluttery gold eyelashes.
The trend isn’t entirely new. In 2021, Sotheby’s auctioned a pair of 17th-century glasses from the Mughal era reportedly cut from a 300-carat Colombian emerald. Soon enough, Tiffany created their own pair inspired by the regal design and, in the process, drew the ire of those who called them out for not citing their historical inspiration. But now, a slew of homegrown designers are making maximalist eyewear mainstream. Bhavya Ramesh, known for her gilded frames, counts Rashmika Mandanna, Raja Kumari, and Alok V Menon among her fans. Jewellery brand Aulerth has a Baroque-inspired version created in collaboration with textile specialists Ekaya Banaras. And newbie designer Vedansh Goyal, who belongs to a family of jewellers and launched his namesake eyewear line in 2024, also has a set of pearl-accented frames. “It’s all about bold, expressive eyewear now—a reaction against the hyper-minimalism,” says Goyal of the OTT eyewear. Ramesh agrees: “Eyewear, much like jewellery, has evolved beyond its functional purpose—it’s about making a statement, getting noticed, and having fun with fashion,” she says.
Here, 12 styles that belong in your jewellery box.
