The rise of nail accessories

Nails — once a finishing touch — are now the main event. The increasing popularity of elaborate gel manicures, miniature paintings and bejewelled nail art have brought fingernails — and their tiny canvases — into focus. The inevitable next step: nail rings.

The art of dressing fingertips is not new. In 19th-century China, nail guards were worn by women of royalty to signify they led a comfortable life. The precious decorations in silver, gold and jade conveyed status, wealth and the privilege of not having to use one’s hands. Modern jewellery designers are taking inspiration from these ancient designs and updating them for contemporary tastes.

Berlin-based Räthel & Wolf is one such designer duo. Its Distal rings in recycled sterling silver or 18k gold vermeil (€210, rathelwolf.com), launched in 2017, elegantly outline the nail bed. “It’s like the perfect frame for your nail art or manicure,” says Sari Räthel, co-founder of the label, as I catch glints of her silver tips on my Zoom screen. “It wraps under your nail and holds on securely,” she continues. “It’s a super intimate space to fill, in a way. You never really put anything underneath your nail.”

The brand’s gender-neutral nail rings have struck a chord internationally, proving especially popular with male shoppers in Japan and consumers in the US. The label’s sculptural jewellery has attracted a following drawn to bold, experimental design.

“There wasn’t really anything out there like what we were doing — jewellery that attached differently to the body,” explains Räthel. With co-founder Ricarda Wolf, Räthel looked for physical gaps around ears, nails, knuckles and reimagined how jewellery could fit those spaces. The nail ring design emerged from the same instinct.

In addition to its nine standard nail ring designs, the brand produces bespoke versions, crafted in 18k gold and encrusted with diamonds, for wedding and engagement clients. While all its nail rings come with an adjustable band to fit different fingers, practicality is still not exactly a priority with this particular design. “You also don’t run a marathon in high heels, do you?” quips Räthel.

Nor would it be advisable to run wearing the sharply sculpted nail ring by Paris-based jewellery brand Hugo Kreit. Made of brass and plated in gold, silver or topped with red enamel, the ring (£219, hugokreit.com) extends over the finger tip for a “femme fatale” look. For the designers, who created it in 2023, it was a way to repurpose the classic, hyper-feminine red nails ubiquitous in the beauty industry.

On the brand’s mood board, pictures of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, Kim Cattrall in Sex and the City and Diana, Princess of Wales on holiday sit alongside images from co-founder Nordine Makhloufi’s Berber heritage. “In my culture, I have always seen women wearing big jewellery,” he explains. “So when someone sees our jewellery as big, I don’t see it that way. For me it is normal.”

The trick is to consider nail rings as “an extension of the body” says Jules Volleberg, co-founder of APOC, an online fashion, art and objects retailer founded in 2020. In February 2024, APOC launched a dedicated nail section on its site, featuring stick-on nail art, nail rings and jewellery priced between £65 and £1,450. Each piece comes with an instruction manual, including measures and details on how to wear them.

The section makes up approximately 3 per cent of the platform’s sales today, with bestsellers including the Transparent nail ring by WhyNoen (£80, apoc-store.com), made-to-measure Ophelia Speed of Light nail caps by Sammy Does (£460, apoc-store.com), as well as Räthel & Wolf’s own Distal ring.

“We launched the edit because we saw a surge in nail artists across social media, particularly ones that were approaching nails as a medium for their art,” says Volleberg. He ascribes the popularity of nail accessories on the site to their relatively affordable price and ability to garner attention on social media. “They’re also gaining traction among musicians, stylists and celebrities,” he says.

For other designers, nail rings and jewellery are strongly connected with heritage and traditions. The Camouflage ring of Lebanese generational jewellery house Yeprem ($3,200, yepremjewellery.com) travels up the nail to form a cage design of pink, yellow, white or black gold, resembling the ceremonial bridal henna popular in the Gulf countries.

“Brides in the Gulf region love our rings,” says creative director and managing partner Virna Chakardemian, adding that, in the region, hands are often the focus for adornment, as women’s bodies are largely covered. For some Muslim shoppers, nail rings also provide a practical alternative to nail polish, allowing the hands to remain uncovered for wudu, or the ritual of washing one’s hands and feet before prayer.

For fashion commentator Hanan Besovic, better known as @ideservecouture on Instagram, the popularity of nail jewellery reflects people’s need to find new ways to express themselves. “It’s about strategically embellishing your body,” he says.

What’s more important than the hand we hold out to the world? With a brass nail ring on it — or not.

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