Carrie Bradshaw isn’t exactly a character we’d call utilitarian. Or practical. Or pragmatic. But during a second season episode of And Just Like That… she wears a massive carabiner—the industrial clip commonly seen in rock climbing and construction—on her neck. Today, the carabiner is no longer just an object for rappelling and sailing, as it’s cheekily turning on its gruffer roots and finding a new home in the fine jewelry space.
Carrie’s gold lock, engraved with scenes from the Kama Sutra, was on loan from designer Marla Aaron, whom many credit with starting the carabiner craze. (Sarah Jessica Parker also wore the necklace for an interview with Diane Sawyer.) Aaron, who has been making the pieces since 2003, offers them in a variety of metals and gemstones, from petite “baby locks” to grand pavé designs. And Parker isn’t the only one wearing them. Aaron also counts Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Alanis Morissette, and Queen Rania of Jordan as clients.
While the New York-based designer has been in business since 2012, the rise of the elevated carabiner is fairly recent.
“The carabiner wave has definitely been growing for the past five years,” says Kylie J., who runs the jewelry account @okay_____fine, and requested that her full name be withheld for privacy. “Jewelry design inspired by hardware is hardly a new concept, but around 2018, I feel like every jewelry account I followed sported at least one enhancer in their layers.” But with an increased interest in personalized jewelry—as seen last year with the onset of the charm necklace trend—the carabiner is playing a new role in the jewelryscape. “I do think the latest surge of charm mania has brought more attention to new ways to wear charms, and carabiners do that job very well,” she adds.
For Xarissa B., who runs popular jewelry account, @jewelboxing, and requested her full name be withheld for privacy, the current appeal is twofold: A carabiner is both an unexpected addition to a jewelry collection, and also a piece that can be customized. “Jewelry that you can play with that acts as a fidget toy or a modular element, or a way to individualize your look, gives you creativity that a tennis necklace might not,” she says. Indeed, one can add charms to the lock, or use it to modify chains.