More Is More: How To Master Maximalist Jewellery Stacking, The Chanel Way

If your instinct is to reach for something sparkly for a special event or a night out on the town, chances are, you’ll find yourself twinning with someone across the room—or worse, disappearing into a sea of sameness. A smarter move? Deck yourselves with a curated stack of jewellery anchored by geometric and textured designs—like Chanel’s fine jewellery and watches.

Start not with sparkle, but with something atypical: a handsome timepiece first. Next, layer in pieces that defy expectation, like a constellation of diamond-studded stars, or a scattering of quilted rings in mixed metals. How about a brooch too? Not pinned to a lapel or trailing from a shoulder, but instead, glittering from the collar of a plain white tee.

It’s a Chanel-coded approach to accessorising: a little subversive but still polished, and designed to take you from the day to night, and the moments in-between.

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All In the Edit

Is there a limit to wearing too much jewellery? Said limit doesn’t exist, but it can always benefit from a little editing. While the usual advice is to choose one or two areas to highlight with space between them, Chanel’s Coco Crush line goes out of pocket because it looks just as composed stacked on every finger as it does worn singly, like punctuation.

Created in 2015, the Coco Crush line reimagined the Maison’s iconic quilted motif in gold and has since grown to include C-shaped earrings, O-shaped pendants, and bracelets both slim and statement. Each also passes the vibe check, be it spontaneous stacking or mixing with softer silhouettes. 

Case in point: a high-neck white tee and moto leather accents aren’t the obvious canvas for diamonds in the day, which makes it exactly the right one. For nighttime, think about a total glow-up—more rings than you started with, a few extra bangles or even a row of ear cuffs on just one ear.

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Think Outside The Box

How should you wear a diamond necklace during the day? In the least unbothered way you can. While everyone else is clasping theirs primly around the collarbone, you could simply loop it around your waist as a belt—a styling trick that’s always been the vibe at Chanel.

The Maison’s Les Infinis de Comète necklace, with its 52 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 2.50 carats strung across a white gold chain, is an example of such a sneaky link. Later in the evenings, when it’s time to code-switch for your next event, loop it into a bracelet next to a sleek black ceramic J12 watch for an understated flex. Perhaps, long and loose as a sautoir that’s another Chanel-adjacent aesthetic.

Rule Of Thirds

The chronically online might know Coco Chanel’s “Elegance is refusal” quote, but if a dress code requires you to do what needs to be done, take that refusal and layer over it—preferably in diamonds. Think three necklaces, minimum: maybe the C-pendant Coco necklace with its floating diamond, or the Étoile Filante’s sweeping trail of white gold and diamonds, with a shooting star to top it off. Vary the lengths, mix the motifs, and resist the urge to match.

On one wrist, let the J12 keep time, or at least pretend to, while the other carries the weight of your personality in stacked Coco Crush bangles. And if your night out turns into an afterparty, just re-pin your Comète Géode Medium Earrings as brooches on a lapel, glove, or ribbon choker.

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A Sprinkle Of Diamonds

Sleek, sophisticated, and unmistakably Chanel—the men can get their hands on the J12 Watch as it comes with a sizeable 38milimetres watch face. By day, soft-launch your new timepiece with a quiet flash of white gold, like a thin bracelet that peeks out from a sharply cut blazer. Even a glimpse of a Coco Crush necklace over a tank top or tennis polo and a stack of rings that catch just enough light could do the trick.

Come nightfall, hard-launch it with purpose by adding just the right amount of flash. You’d be surprised how much just 0.47 carats of bling can do to beef up a fit.

Mix It Up

Another Coco Chanel bon mot requires that one take one thing off before leaving the house, and that’s usually a ring, which can be easily slipped on or off. The general rule of thumb is to stack across three, five, or seven fingers, as it tends to look the most natural, with one digit bearing a slightly taller pile than the rest.

Mixing metals? Add a third to balance out the tension between the first two. And by day, think pairing it with effortless pieces like leather jackets, denim shirts or a crisp dress to keep the stack feeling effortless; after dark, let your face meet your fingers halfway by swapping gloss or balms for a defined lip in a deeper colour.

A light sprinkling of diamonds across the rings and even the ears also won’t tip the scale. Just be sure to keep your manicure immaculate with nudes and a glassy finish that mirrors diamonds beautifully, so your digits can do the talking. 

A Lesson in Contrasts

Last but certainly not least, a watch stack to complete a fit. Build on contrasts by clashing the sporty black ceramic of the J12 Watch with the cushy, quilted motif of the Coco Crush bracelet. They’re also just like the combination of a white tank and black trousers: clean, foundational, and if you just add one more piece, the entire look pivots completely. 

Photography: Shawn Paul Tan
Creative direction and styling: Windy Aulia
Stylist’s assistant: Brandon Chia
Models: Arlen / AVE and Han / Manequinn
Makeup: Wee Ming
Hair: Colin Yeo and Dorene Low / Tress and Curvy
Photographer’s assistant: Melvin Leong

In collaboration with Chanel.