Cast your mind back to the early 2000s. Louis Vuitton monogram everything. Paris Hilton carrying a Birkin like a carrier bag. That era had one rule: if you’ve got it, flaunt it.
Fast forward to 2026, and the aesthetic has changed entirely. Quiet luxury has replaced logomania as the ultimate status signal. Understated cashmere, minimal jewellery, no visible branding. The new rich don’t announce themselves and it turns out, there’s a very practical reason why women with real wealth are increasingly choosing to keep the diamonds at home.
Two of the UK’s biggest influencers have recently spoken out about locking their most valuable jewellery away rather than wearing it in public.
Molly-Mae Hague, whose engagement ring is estimated to be worth between £200,000 and £600,000, recently addressed fan questions about why she’s never seen wearing it. Her answer was simple: “My ring isn’t even with me, it’s somewhere far away, locked away and very very safe. It’s almost too special.” For Molly-Mae, it’s partly sentimental, but the context matters too. She and Tommy Fury were victims of an £800,000 burglary at their Manchester home in 2021, a traumatic experience that clearly changed how she thinks about displaying her wealth publicly.
Image credit: Molly Mae Instagram
Lorna Luxe shared something even more poignant. After losing her husband John earlier this year following a brave battle with stage four cancer, she revealed that one of his final wishes was about keeping her safe. “I’ve put all of my diamonds in a safe deposit. It was as per John’s request; he did leave a list of things that he’d asked me to do, and that was one of them, I think, more just to protect me a little bit. I’m not gonna wear diamonds in London anyway, cos I just do not feel safe wearing them in London and for now I’m living on my own, so he was just like, don’t make yourself a target.”
Image credit: Lorna Luxe Instagram
Street robbery in London has been rising sharply, and so-called lifestyle robberies where victims are targeted specifically for the jewellery or designer items they’re carrying have become increasingly common. The designer handbags that were aspirational back in the day are now gaining attention for all the wrong reasons.
Fashion and lifestyle influencer Lydia Millen recently revealed that she wore a fake engagement ring for 2 years and nobody noticed, people buy replica rings for travelling or safety when travelling in a city. Lydia is renowned for having expensive taste but she says when people didn’t notice it wasn’t real, it changed everything for her and her relationship with luxury jewellery.
Image credit: Lydia Millen Instagram
And it’s not just the super-wealthy feeling this shift. Financielle co-founder Holly knows the feeling well. Like many millennials, she once coveted and bought the ultimate “girl done good” trophy: the classic flap Chanel handbag. Now? “I actually turn my Chanel handbag inwards so the logo isn’t facing out. Gone are the nights out where I would wear it with pride at a fancy wine bar. My weekends are spent on muddy football pitches or at family days out, the Chanel handbag is very much sat collecting dust in its ironically named dust bag, and it’s probably where it will stay until a fancy night out, which genuinely takes place once a year.”
The content produced by Financielle is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice