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  • Lylie’s: A new breed of salvage hunter

    Looking at Lylie’s jewellery somewhat transports me back to the classroom; to tales of fallen Roman emperors and jewels unearthed centuries after they were made. And, indeed, it was an exhibition of just such hidden historical treasure that inspired founder Eliza Walter to embark on building her own glittering empire.  

     

    “Seeing The Cheapside Hoard at the Museum of London in 2013 was a pivotal moment for me,” says the designer, who bestowed her nickname Lylie to her jewels.

    The Cheapside Hoard was a similarly seminal moment for jewellery historians everywhere. Uncovered accidentally by workmen in 1912, it is the largest single collection of Elizabethan and Stuart jewellery ever discovered, and had lain untouched and hidden for 300 years until its discovery. The jewels provided insight into how craftsmen of this era worked and helped historians better understand the type of trade routes that were flowing into London at that time thanks to the origins of the gems.

     

    “I return regularly to the exhibition book for inspiration,” says Walter. “I am inspired by history, the idea of buried treasure and craftspeople’s skills, metal textures and finishes.”

     

    Indeed, browse her collections and you’ll find echoes of times past in her roughly textured yellow gold. Celtic-inspired bangles look as though they could have been lifted from an archaeological dig rather than a modern jeweller’s bench, and a barely visible image of Madonna and child peep out from a pendant that has seemingly been eroded by time.

     

    Yet for a jewellery designer enthralled by history, Walters is working in a very modern manner when it comes to sourcing her gold and silver. Like many designers, she prefers to use recycled precious metals for Lylie’s jewels, but rather than simply ordering such bullion at the usual places, she’s pioneering a brand new way of reusing metal in jewellery by plundering gold salvaged from discarded electronics and dental waste.

     

    “In this age of technology, with rapid advances and built-in obsolescence, enormous amounts of electronic waste are produced,” she intones on her website. “A typical mobile holds 0.2g of gold, and, with an average life expectancy of just 22 months, extracting it and refining it results in a lower carbon footprint than primary-mined gold.”

     

    Lylie’s also encourages its customers to scrap their unwanted or broken jewels by sending them in. They receive store credits towards purchases of new Lylie’s jewels for the amount of the scrap price. Not a bad incentive for anyone currently building up the strength for a January wardrobe clear out.

     

    “If the client is recycling any of their own metal, we do ‘can’ casting, meaning we reuse the exact metal and melt it in its own flask,” says Walter. “If more metal is needed, we add additional salvaged precious metal. If gemstones or diamonds are being reused too, then we remove, repolish and then set them into the pieces. Otherwise we use lab-grown gemstones and cultured pearls.”

     

    Lylie’s is very much a British brand. For its main collections – including new line Sea Treasures, which launched at the Christmas Jewellery Pop Up Shop in November and is set with recycled aquamarines, lab-grown peridot and antique diamonds from a 1920s cigarette box recycled by a client – Walter works with wax carvers in London’s Hatton Garden, CAD designers in Sussex, casters in Melton Mowbray and finishers in Birmingham. Her bespoke designs, a process that takes eight weeks from consultation to completion, are all made entirely in Hatton Garden.

     

    The desire to create a very British brand was instilled in Walter when she interned with luxury jeweller Boodles in Liverpool, which she describes as “a wonderfully British business and one I hugely admire”. She also has a shining example of best of British in her mentor, Annoushka Ducas, founder of Annoushka and Links of London – two successful British jewellery exports. “I met her at an exhibition opening,” says Walter of the chance encounter two years ago that led to her having one of the industry’s most respected designers watching over her progress.

     

    And, right now, progress is limited to her downtime, as Walter is somehow miraculously running Lylie’s as somewhat of a side hustle. “I still work full time in the art world and run Lylie’s in the mornings, lunchtimes and weekends,” she says. Walter is a trained goldsmiths, however, having studied at the British Academy of Jewellery after graduating from the University of Bristol. Though her gemmology skills, she admits, come from YouTube. “I couldn’t afford the gemmology and diamond grading courses, so I taught myself through asking lots of questions and YouTube.”

     

    While one imagines it is a somewhat exhausting existence, this dual career is not too different from her life up until now, which has always included jewels in some way. “I have been selling my jewellery in different ways since I was little,” says Walter. “From beaded jewellery to teachers, school friends and in local shops whilst at primary school, to setting up a jewellery social enterprise whilst completing my BA at University of Bristol, which funded a community project called Bristol Art Club.”

     

    Bristol Art Club, she is pleased to report, is still running. As is Walter, as she battles through a current rush of engagement ring orders, keeps up the day job, and continues to shake the jewellery status quo through her history-inspired jewels with a thoroughly modern purpose.

     

  • Carol Woolton to talk on two decades of jewels in Vogue

    Spending a decade and a half as the jewellery editor of British Vogue has given Carol Woolton some unique insights into the world of jewels and gems. At an exclusive talk later this month, the jewellery expert, journalist and author will share some of her behind-the-scenes experiences of the fast-paced world of fashion magazines.

     

    At The Jewellery Cut Live on February 17th, 2020, Woolton will host a morning jewellery discussion based on her book Vogue: The Jewellery, which will be re-released next month in a more compact format.

     

    Within the pages of Vogue: The Jewellery, Woolton showcases jewels featured on the pages of British Vogue over the past century; designs that have encapsulated the fashion zeitgeist of each new age for which they were created. From fairytale romance to Jazz-age glamour, sculptural modernism to timeless elegance, each of the 300 images – taken by some of Vogue’s best photographers, including Norman Parkinson, David Bailey, Arthur Elgort, Corinne Day, Cecil Beaton and Tim Walker – has a story to tell.

     

    Woolton is a leading authority on jewellery, having lectured and written widely on antique and modern jewellery for newspapers and magazines around the world. She is also a prolific author of jewellery books; her growing list of published works also include Fashion for Jewels: 100 years of styles and icons, Drawing Jewels for Fashion and Precious Jewels.

     

     

  • Charlotte Cornelius

    Until Charlotte Cornelius opened her first boutique in Southsea in 2015, she worked from a home studio in a leafy lane, a short walk from the beach on Hayling Island, Hampshire. She continues to be inspired by her coastal surroundings. Fascinated by shape, texture and contrast, she believes that great jewellery design should reflect your personality, and she favours designs that make a statement, expressing a sense of freedom and joy. At her store, Charlotte has her own workshop, where her team of goldsmiths create the most wonderful fine jewellery. As a business, Charlotte Cornelius seeks to operate ethically and with integrity in every aspect, including profit share for its team. All Charlotte Cornelius jewellery is made and hallmarked in England, and all gems are bought from UK dealers who are part of the Kimberley Process, using conflict-free diamonds only. Sourcing ethically mined gems and the introduction of eco and recycled silver and gold are also supported. Charlotte believes it is important to give back to the local and wider community. As a qualified Gestalt counsellor, she has volunteered with, and continues to support a fantastic charity called Off the Record, which offers free counselling to young people. Charlotte Cornelius also sponsors a Christian-based micro-finance charity called Five Talents that gives small loans, mainly to women, in developing countries so that they can set up their own business, just as she has.

  • Ruifier’s new collection is out of this world

    While the rest of us have been stuck indoors, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken got as far away from lockdown as possible, riding Elon Musk’s SpaceX Dragon all the way to the International Space Station at the beginning of the month. But never fear – if you’ve been one of the millions round the world looking up at the stars with a renewed wanderlust, we have the perfect jewel for you.

     

    Ruifier’s new Gems of Cosmo is a celebration of the celestial, but with a fresh twist that moves it on from the star-studded jewels of previous seasons. Its focus is not on the elements of the cosmos we can see, but the one we constantly wonder about. Are we alone?

     

    Inspired by the classic flying-saucer shape of the alien spacecraft that has dominated pop culture since the 1940s, Gems of Cosmo combines 18ct yellow gold and cabochon gems. There are 10 gems used in the collection, each specially cut to mimic the preferred mode of transport of little green men. Each has been chosen not just for its beauty, but a deeper meaning. Opal, for example, represents loyalty and faithfulness, while garnet is an ancient symbol of friendship, and olivine embodies inner strength and radiance.

     

    These tiny precious UFOs have been docked on rings, necklaces and bracelets, and are made for stacking. This is one alien invasion that we’re definitely ready for… beam us up.

  • Five minutes with… Baroque Rocks

    The Jewellery Cut Live in association with Fuli Gemstones is a shopping event dedicated to contemporary jewels, but in one bright corner of the room you’ll find something a little different in vintage gold jewellery curator Baroque Rocks. And that’s ok with founder Emma de Sybel, who very much likes to march to her own beat.

     

    Each season (Baroque Rocks has been delighting our guests at three shows, now), de Sybel brings the gold jewels she has scoured antiques fairs and auctions for under a themed banner. This season at Baroque Rocks, it’s all about talismans.

     

    Expect lucky spinners, karma-restoring turtles and sexy fishes, because – hell – nothing restores the spirits like a sexy fish. Come with us now on a journey through time and space, as we step into the jubilant, kooky, electrifying world of Baroque Rocks and find out more from de Sybel about her starry clientele, DJing and why she thinks we should all Carp-e diem.

     

    We’re so excited you are back with us for another show. What was your best moment from the last edition of The Jewellery Cut Live?

    “Baroque Rocks is so thrilled to have been invited back to add to the sparkle and high-octane glamour that promises to be The Jewellery Cut Live show in 2021. With the benefit of hindsight, February’s glittering event was the last hurrah, really, in the 2020 calendar before the global pandemic Covid-19 took hold. The highlights, as ever, were numerous, from meeting other jewellers and seeing their beautiful creativity to meeting the press and buyers. We were thoroughly delighted when Vogue jewellery editor Carol Woolton bought a pair of our earrings. Going into lockdown, having been part of a tremendously successful show and with the Jewellery Queen literally giving her stylish seal of approval gave us great strength of belief to carry on curating vintage sustainable jewels that are extraordinary in design, scarcity and pure zany funk.”

    What have you been up to since we last saw you?

    “Lockdown was effectively all about prestidigitation; a veritable juggling act between working and steering through the circadian civilian lunacy of home-schooling. We chose to take back control with our ‘own it’ mantra and decided to ply ourselves with sparkling spirit lifters by morphing into a rock DJ and putting our jewels to music. With blue-sky thinking, we created playlists designed to give everyone a much-needed endorphin high layered over a rock-solid gold beat.”

     

    What is the hero jewel of your current Baroque Rocks haul?

    “In terms of our hero jewel, we have recently sourced an artfully articulated amulet of pescatarian awe. Baroque Rocks has been literally fishing around for the right words to describe its 18ct golden sinuous scales that are so so-fish-ticated with its glistening gem-set cabochon eyes. This is one spirit-lifting sexy fish. No need to flounder; recalibrate, pack some panache, a fleck of flamboyance and Carp-e diem.”

     

    Tell us more about your latest curation of vintage jewels.

    “Our latest collection is called Les Talismans de Baroque Rocks – a curation to incite strength and courage during these unprecedented times. The collection is centred around a circa. 1960s 14ct rose gold Lucky Spinner Locket, with space for two photographs, adorned with a horseshoe to bring good fortune, whilst channelling excellent throat chakra. At Baroque Rocks, we revel in sourcing pieces that are completely unique and divinely different, and so we have a multitude of other good luck treasures in our trove, such as our turtle pendant – an enormous emerald-eyed beauty blessed with flippers that waggle and wiggle, propelling positive energies. Effectively, we cannot wait to showcase our brand of indulgent luxury that is good for the soul, imbued with significance and spirituality, but, most importantly, spunk. It is purely for that individual who marches to the current beat.”

     

    Why should people come out and visit you at The Jewellery Cut Live in 2021?

    “If you love jewellery, then you seriously need to come to the show. The indomitable duo behind The Jewellery Cut, Rachael Taylor and Andrew Martyniuk, are the dream team, who have yet again created a diamond of a multi-faceted event with fascinating talks together with 24-carat talent being showcased. This is your chance to mooch with rockstars and cutting-edge glitterati, so up your fashionista credentials and add a dash of indisputable glamour to one’s diary.”

     

    To be the first to know about dates for The Jewellery Cut Live in association with Fuli Gemstones in 2021, as well as other events and news, sign up to our weekly newsletter

  • Is this the smallest diamond ring in the world?

    When it comes to diamond rings, those most often hitting the headlines tend to be the ones with enormous, gobstopper rocks on top. However, the most interesting diamond ring to pass our desks this week is so miniscule you can hardly believe it’s real.

     

    The white and rose gold and diamond ring was created by Vadim Kachan, a jeweller from Brest in Belarus, and weighs just 0.01g. The diamond on top of this gold ring – which has been crafted to the exact proportions of a full-size solitaire ring – weighs just 0.002cts and measures 0.9mm.

     

    Kachan, who runs his own jewellery company, Style, claims that the ring has been made to the same standards he would apply to any of his other, more life-sized, rings. While the making of the ring took just three days, preparation for its construction took months as Kachan drew up plans and gathered the correct tools.

     

    “I have always loved to create small things,” says Kachan. “As a child, I was making knives from thin aluminium wire, and was gluing books 1cm in size from paper. Maybe that is the reason why I have become a jeweller.”

     

    Fifteen years ago, Kachan made a gold ring that could pass through the eye of a needle, but, he claims, “I sneezed and lost it”. The diamond element of this new tiny ring – which he believes is the smallest diamond ring in the world – made the challenge all the more difficult.

     

    “Making a ring without a gemstone is not difficult,” he says. “It is much more challenging to make a gem setting. The hardest part was soldering the frame to the ring.”

     

    In 2008, scientists at the University of Melbourne created what they believed was the smallest diamond ring at just 5 micrometers wide and 300 nanometers thick, but this was created by carving a single sliver of diamond rather than using traditional goldsmithing techniques.

     

    Kachan also believes he has broken Indian jeweller Ashish Verma’s record. According to the India Book of Records, Verma made a similar ring that weighed a slightly heavier 10mg, with a diameter of 2mm.

     

    Watch the video below to see Kachan in action, crafting what he believes is now the smallest traditionally made diamond ring ever created.

  • Chanel high jewellery collection celebrates the spirit of Venice

    For locked-down lovers of Italian culture and la dolce vita, dreams of strolling the currently deserted piazzas of Venice might be a recurrent fantasy. The Floating City, as it is sometimes known, was a favourite destination of Gabriel Chanel and it is to this most romantic of destinations that the new Chanel high jewellery collection transports us.

     

    Chanel Escale à Venise is a playful high jewellery collection that captures the fun-loving spirit of the Italians. The 70-piece collection, which made its debut during Paris Couture Week, was designed by Patrice Leguéreau and is split into four chapters: La Sérénissime, Gran Canale, Isle della Laguna and Spirito de Venezia.

     

    The Chanel high jewellery collection takes inspiration from the city’s waterways, architecture and culture.

     

     

    Chanel

    Escale à Venise Ruban Canotier ring in white gold and rose gold with diamonds, and red and black enamel
    price on application, available at Chanel

     

     

    In the water-inspired Gran Canale, the classic boater hats worn by Venetian gondoliers have been faithfully reproduced as quirky cocktail rings, with ribbons of red and black enamel adding colour to diamond pavé. Meanwhile, strips of blue enamel on necklaces, bangles and earrings pay homage to the striped gondola poles that edge the waterways.

     

    One of Gabriel Chanel’s favourite talismans – and the emblem of her Leo star sign – makes a return in Spirito de Venezia. It is the fifth time that the lion motif has been used in a Chanel high jewellery collection, with the beast making its first appearance in 2013. This time, the magnetic animal has been selected to pay homage to its winged golden counterpart clutching a bible in the arches of Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice. In Chanel Escale à Venise, the lion instead guards a 10.07ct pear-shaped diamond on a one-off Chanel ring.

     

    The azure and golden sky scene painted behind the Saint Mark’s Basilica lion also caught the attention of Leguéreau. To capture it, he used custom-cut tiles of lapis lazuli – a nod to the tesserae of Italian mosaic art – to create articulated colliers, earrings, cuffs and rings decorated with gold stars set with yellow sapphires.

     

    Chanel

    Escale à Venise Secret Lion ring in white gold and diamonds, with 10.07ct pear-shaped diamond
    price on application, available at Chanel

     

    Another classic Chanel motif to appear within Escale à Venise is the camellia, found within the Isle della Laguna chapter. Recognising Venice’s history with the Murano glass trade, the jewels mimic the famous decorative artwork but do so with rock crystal, which is hand carved into the shape of the Chanel camelia flower. The precious Chanel Camélia Vénitien blooms are nestled amongst diamonds and set in yellow gold.

     

    La Sérénissime has a different aesthetic to the other chapters, offering up unyielding geometric lines rather than romantic whimsy. This chapter is devoted to the architecture of Venice, with jewels made up of miniature baguette-cut diamonds or pairs of round diamonds grouped within rectangular settings. The effect recalls the mosaic tiles of Byzantian architecture that can be found throughout the city. The palate of this chapter softens its designs, with Padparadascha and mandarin sapphires bringing warmth to the diamonds, as does the use of warming rose gold.

     

    Though a real trip to Venice might be off the agenda for some time to come, the Chanel Escale à Venise high jewellery collection offers us just the kind of escapism we need, and will keep us dreaming of that magical city on the water until our wanderlust is sated.

     

     

  • Shine jewellery festival to return this autumn

    The annual jewellery showcase Shine will return to The Goldsmiths’ Centre in London this autumn, presenting the work of 10 up-and-coming British jewellery designers and silversmiths.

     

    Shine is now in its sixth year, and this year will run from September 19th to November 1st, 2019, at the Goldsmiths’ Centre, which is just a few minutes’ walk from Farringdon station. During this time, the jewellery exhibition will be supported by a series of selling events and experiences that will allow visitors to touch the jewels, meet the designers and buy direct from the makers.

     

    The designers selected for the 2019 Shine showcase are: Aillie Anderson; Akansha Sethi; Aurelie Dellasanta; Elena Lara Bonanomi; Ella Fearon-Low; Harriet Morris; Holly O’Hanlon; Leszek Sikon; Suzanne Seed; and William Sharp.

     

    A highlight of the Shine festival will take place at the nearby Goldsmiths’ Hall during Goldsmiths’ Fair. Here, design and art critic Corinne Julius will host breakfast sessions on September 24th and October 1st during which the 10 designers will introduce their work and share stories of how the pieces were conceived and made.

     

    “Shine is an opportunity to meet the best emerging talent in jewellery and silversmithing,” says The Goldsmiths’ Centre public programme manager Charlotte Dew. “The 10 makers in the 2019 showcase demonstrate innovative and high-quality approaches to design and make high-quality work. Their enormous potential and talent is evident. We believe they are the ones to watch.”

     

    Details and tickets for further upcoming selling events at the Goldsmiths’ Centre in October and November will be released shortly. Full details can be found here. (Main image on home page: Monkey King necklace by Aurelie Dellasanta)

  • Alison Macleod gold, aquamarine, ruby, sapphire and diamond Catkin Happenstance Horseshoe necklace

  • Looking for an ethical jeweller? Try a B Corp

    For London jewellery store EC One, attaining B Corp status was not about “flogging more stuff”. The certification is a continuation of the ethical practices that have long fuelled the business.

     

    “I think we are quite reflective of our customers,” says Alison Skeates, who runs EC One with her husband Jos Skeates, who is currently studying for a masters degree in sustainability and responsibility. “You know, you think about where things come from and you care where you spend your money. Our customers are very much the same. You want to spend your money with, and align with, people who have the same core values.”

     

    Long before it aimed for the certification, the store in London’s Exmouth Market became an ethical jewellery pioneer when it made the first ever piece of Fairtrade gold jewellery in 2011. It has since pledged to work only with Fairtrade gold or recycled gold in its on-site workshop. It also runs an assessment of all the contemporary jewellery designers it stocks, which include sustainably minded jewellery brands Ellie Air, Natalie Perry and Pyrrha.

     

     

    EC One achieved B Corp, or B Corporation, status in the summer of 2019. To win this certification, the jeweller had to go through a vigorous accreditation process that assessed the business’s entire social and environmental performance, from how it treats its staff and community to its impact on the environment.

     

    Becoming a B Corp is not an easy process. There are many hoops to jump through and standards that must be set, with a legal contract put in place to ensure pledges made are maintained. There are just four jewellery companies that have achieved B Corp status so far – EC One, Yala Jewellery, Fenton and Form.

     

    B Corp describes its process as such: “Certified B Corps are a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. This is a community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using businesses as a force for good.”

     

     

    It took EC One a full year to get the business ready for assessment. “You have to revisit everything you do – all of your processes, sourcing, every element of your business, literally everything,” says Alison. “You then get assessed and there is a minimum bar you have to reach, a certain number of points, before they will assess you properly.”

     

    B Corporations are given a score, so shoppers can get a feel for just how well they are performing on ethical practices. The average score for B Corp businesses is 50.9, but the jewellers within the scheme are outperforming this. EC One is currently scoring 87.7, while Yala has a sore of 87.6, Form has 86.6 and Fenton has 84.9.

     

    While Alison is keen to point out that gaining the certification was not about boosting sales, she says that some ethically minded customers do seek the store out because of B Corp. “And I’m sure that will only increase,” she says.