Why tennis jewellery is the must-have everyday luxury accessory

Understanding the history behind a key wardrobe piece—whether for style or sentiment—is an important fashion lesson. For years, what we now call tennis-style jewellery was considered highly aspirational. Continuous strands of diamonds were largely out of reach for the everyday shopper. Pieces such as tennis bracelets, necklaces, earrings and rings were seen as country club staples and status symbols. It’s easy to see why the “ladies who lunch” were drawn to them. Beyond the obvious appeal of wearing diamonds, their charm lay in their simplicity—the single, uninterrupted line of sparkle makes them remarkably wearable. Milo Jewels’ new Tennis Collection is a case in point. It is full of classic sparkle, reimagined for everyday luxury. While it will undoubtedly shine in formal, black-tie settings, its true strength lies in its versatility.

The evolution of tennis jewellery from status symbol to everyday luxury

Every piece in the collection is crafted in 14kt gold and set with lab-grown diamonds, BIS-hallmarked and IGI-certified, in keeping with the brand’s standards across its entire catalogue.

Bhavya Shah, co-founder and designer of Milo Jewels, says, “The tennis bracelet has always carried a certain quiet power—it’s one of those rare jewellery silhouettes that has never really gone out of style. But when we looked at the traditional form, we noticed it had stayed largely unchanged for decades: a single row of identical diamonds, uniform in size, formal in feeling. We were drawn to the idea of keeping that iconic linearity but rethinking who it’s made for,” Bhavya explains.

So how did she reinterpret a traditionally red-carpet jewellery style for everyday wear? “Traditional tennis jewellery was bold, uniform, and declarative. We took the same continuous-line silhouette but refined the proportions so the pieces sit closer to the body, feel lighter on the wrist or décolletage, and move naturally with the wearer rather than commanding attention on their own. We also design exclusively in 14kt gold, which strikes exactly the right balance,” she shares.

Bhavya feels the single-row tennis bracelet in 14kt white gold with round brilliant lab-grown diamonds probably comes closest to the collection’s soul. “That piece best captures what we mean by restrained luxury. It has perfect symmetry, excellent light return, and a weight that makes you forget you’re wearing it until someone stops you to ask. That invisibility until noticed is exactly what we’re after,” she says.

A tennis bracelet from this collection works equally well with a linen co-ord on a workday, layered with gold chains for a dinner, or worn solo against a silk kurta at a wedding function. “The key is the scale—nothing here is so large that it tips into formal-only territory,” she adds.

Prices start at Rs 65,000. Available online.

—manuvipin@newindianexpress.com

@ManuVipin

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