I am always giving advice to people wanting to be jewellery designers. Mostly, it is to be patient and get some good training from an expert.


What advice would you give to students starting out? I’m always giving advice to people wanting to be jewellery designers. Mostly, it’s to be patient and get some good training from an expert. This may seem a little traditionalist but this is a slow traditional business with very few overnight stars. However, if you make it, it is also one of the greatest industries to work in. We work with the fi nest materials, create things that make people happy and, if you’re really lucky, you get to see the world too. My journey is a perfect example as I had no backing at all when I started out.


The thing is, if you’re passionate about the industry, you can set up alone easily by working for someone else and having the funds to cover the cost of your materials.


Who has inspired you most during your career? When I see someone who excels at what they do. These people come along every now and again and really make you ‘light up your game again’.


place for my stuff . Jewellers looked at it and said: ‘Where does it fi t in?’ But then I showed the guys at Garrards, the world’s oldest jewellery shop, what I was doing and they were incredibly enthusiastic and in 1996 they gave me a one-man show which took place over a month. Then, in December 2008, I was signed up as Creative Director.


You have a lot of A-list clients. How did that happen? The fi rst piece of jewellery I ever sold was to Elizabeth Taylor when I was working in California. She’d seen a ring that had a lavender stone in it, one that I’d made myself, not just designed. That’s why she bought it.


It was rose gold and I’d engraved all these roses around the rings with thorns, which are so iconic to me, and little diamonds in between all the roses. She bought it and although I never met her, she commissioned a bracelet to go with the ring. That was in 1983 or 84.


A bit later, I was contacted by Madonna who’d seen something I’d done and wanted me to meet her. Then I eventually made wedding rings for her and Guy Ritchie.


12 telephone orders: 0845 100 1122


Your most recent award came at the Las Vegas Couture Show at the beginning of June. What was the inspiration for your one-of-a kind cocktail ring which took 1st prize? I’ve only entered the competition twice and won on both occasions! The ring is called ‘The Temptation of Eve’ and portrays the devilish serpent from the story in the book of Genesis. Made of 18k gold, the serpent’s head is set with six carats of colourless diamonds and the coiled tail features a single fi ve- carat brilliant cut Forevermark diamond.


You were among the world’s fi rst 20 jewellers to launch Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold last year. Why were you so keen to be involved? I’ve been a jeweller for 37 years now and have always worked with gold. When there was fi rst talk of ethically sourced gold I was up for that. I wanted to know how the fl ow to business would be managed as we had once before signed up for some sustainable gold only to fi nd out later that the supply chain was not sustainable.


Partly due to my enquiring mind and never one to miss an adventure, I put it to Solidaridad, a Dutch NGO (International Network Organisation) and Fairtrade that a trip to the source would help to spread


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24