Hemmerle

Hemmerle is the house to see if you think fine jewelry has to look expensive to be serious. Brothers Joseph and Anton Hemmerle founded it in Munich in 1893 by taking over a goldsmith that made medals and orders, and it made ornaments and medals for the Bavarian royal court. The modern Hemmerle look is far from court regalia. Its pieces often pair important gemstones with unorthodox materials such as copper, iron or wood, so a rare stone might sit in a dark, matte setting that makes its color glow. It is still run by the family, now in its fourth generation, from its own Munich atelier rather than as a global chain, which makes it the connoisseur's pick on this list and a useful counterweight to the big Paris names.