Text by Yael Reisner
In January 2025, a new jewellery collection at Objects Beautiful, titled Rocks & Locks, was unveiled – dedicated to the art of hair-scape and born from an extraordinary response by 34 jewellers to the gallery’s director Yael Reisner’s brief, issued five months earlier.
Hair, as part of the body’s intimate landscape, is deeply tied to romance and sensuality, just as much as the neck or ears. Yet, for almost a century, it became a forgotten site for jewellers. With Rocks & Locks, we are delighted to revive the enchanting tradition of hair jewellery, rooted in ancient history.
Rocks & Locks was first exhibited by Objects Beautiful Gallery in London in February at Collect 2025, at Somerset House, followed by Schmuck 2025 at Frame, in Munich.
Watch the video below to see highlights of selected pieces from Collect 2025.
Hair jewellery was widespread in the ancient world – from Egypt and Assyria to Rome, Greece, Sweden, China, India, Japan, and beyond. For example, a range of hair ornaments were found in Egyptian burials, including combs, hairpins, mirrors, and other hairpieces. The presence of these items among tomb goods indicates how hair and hairstyling have held significance since ancient times.
Interestingly, across cultures such as Chinese, English, and French, hair decorations symbolised a promise of love. In China, for instance, when lovers were forced to part, they would often break a hairpin in half, each keeping one piece until they were reunited – the hairpin serving as a token of love.
Throughout the 20th century, artist-jewellers showed little interest in either creating adornments for beauty or ornamenting hair. Historically, this may be linked to the democratisation of political systems, when tiaras became associated with monarchy and aristocracy, or to the rise of mass-produced hair accessories – efficient, practical, and popular – made first from stainless steel and later from plastic. These designs became globally prevalent in the second half of the 20th century, echoing the modernist mantra form follows function, which defined what was perceived as the objective task of design.
The concept of beauty, not only slandered since the 1950s but gradually turned into a taboo, became emptied of its meaning – once characterised by being profound, elegant, and enigmatic.
Fascinatingly, the experiences of romantic love and beauty – two of the most enigmatic human emotions – have often been intertwined throughout history. Research conducted in 2011 by Professor Semir Zeki, a world expert on the neural correlates of beauty and romantic love at UCL’s Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology, revealed that the same part of the emotional brain is activated by romantic love (when we fall in love) and by the experience of beauty – whether found in nature or in art. Zeki found heightened activity in the brain’s pleasure–reward centre, where dopamine, the ‘feel-good’ transmitter, is released. “The reaction is immediate,” he noted – the same response occurs when we experience romantic love.
In summary, hair-scape jewellery is associated with romance and sexuality, and our new, large Rocks & Locks collection includes some celebratory pieces, some for daily beauty experience, and some for expressing romance.
Participating artists: Carina Shoshtary, Daphne Krinos, Deganit Stern-Schocken, Ela Bauer, Gitte Nygaard, Healim Shin, Heejoo Kim, Huimin Zhang, Inca Starzinsky, Ineke Otte, Isabelle Azaïs, Jana Machatová, Jenny Jansson, Jessica Winchcombe, Katja Prins, Kayo Saito, Ketli Tiitsar, Liana Pattihis, Margo Misiak Orlovic, Mari Ishikawa, Maria Valdma Härm, Marion Delarue, Michael Becker, Michaela Pegum, Michal Oren, Oles Tsura, Peter Machata, Sam Tho Duong, Sarah Powell, Seonyong Lee, Tanel Veenre, Ute Decker, Wenyin Jiang, Xiaozhe Huang.
The hair jewellery is available to purchase in our online shop.
All pictures by Patrick Gunning, except for the following: Michael Oren – photo by Rhoni Cnaani; Carina Shoshtary – photo by Pia Simon.