Vanity Fair UK 07.08 2022_downmagaz.net-1

SOME ENCOUNTERS YOU WEAR FOREVER. RINGS, EARRINGS AND NECKLACE IN BEIGE GOLD, WHITE GOLD AND DIAMONDS.

Haute Joaillerie, place Vendôme since 1906 9 NEW BOND STREET - HARRODS - SELFRIDGES www.vancleefarpels.com - +44 20 7108 6210

Lina ballerina clip White gold and diamonds.















A FAMILY STORY Yasmin and Amber Le Bon wear Raindance

Showcase On Jewellery /2022 Features 74 70 92 T H I S PAG E : P E N DA N T B RO O C H A N D C H A I N BY F RA N C I S D E L A RA . E A RRI N G S I N G O L D , D I A M O N D A N D C H A LC E D O N Y BY B O G H O S S I A N . B O DY S U I T BY S A N G YO O N . B L AC K H A LO S HAW L B O DY C AG E BY HE ATH E R H U E Y. C OV E R : D R E S S BY D I O R H AU T E COUTURE. HAIR BY BJORN KRISCHKER AT THE WALL GROUP USING SEBASTIAN PROFESSIONAL. MAKE-UP BY ADAM DE CRUZ AT ONE REPRESENTS USING DIOR FOREVER FOUNDATION AND CAPTURE TOTALE SUPER POTENT SERUM. NAILS BY CHISATO AT Family Jewels Hello, Dalí C A R E N U S I N G S I S L E Y. P RO D U C T I O N BY H O L LY RO S S . D I G I TA L O P E RATO R : S A RA H M E RR E T T. L I G H T I N G A S S I S TA N T : L I LY S A D I N . S T Y L I N G A S S I S TA N T S : RA P H A E L L E H E L M O R E , LU DY G R E E N W O O D A N D M I C H A E L P I E T R Z Y K . R E TO U C H I N G : LOV E R E TO U C H . BY ANNABEL DAVIDSON BY MELANIE GRANT Stephen Webster’s happy clan. Piaget’s surreal Dalí twist. 72 94 Wild at Heart Perfect Harmony BY KATE MATTHAMS SPENCER PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAN WELTERS Chaumet’s naturalistic jewels. Olivia Dean and the beauty of Chanel’s 1932 collection. 74 98 Feline Grace Play and Display PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAMIAN FOXE BY FELIX BISCHOF Erin O’Connor’s lithe elegance. With its electric, eclectic look- 84 at-me vibe, costume jewellery is having a moment. Miner Scale 102 BY ANNABEL DAVIDSON Shining Example Brazil’s sought-after gems. BY MING LIU 88 Silver is making its mark Pattern Recognition as an alluring alternative to gold. PHOTOGRAPHS BY ISABELLE BONJEAN Dior’s Victoire de Castellane translates fabric into jewels. 50 On the Cover 17 Editor’s Letter 18 Contributors Power Dressing Photographed by Damian Foxe. Styled by Elad Bitton. 104 Harry Winston’s Erin O’Connor wears necklace in gold, rubellite, onyx BY MAZZI ODU and diamonds; ring in gold, rubellite, onyx and Shades of Blue diamonds, both by Cartier Beautés du Monde. Nigerian women invest in collection. jewellery on a major scale. J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2 14 VA N I T Y F A I R O N J E W E L L E R Y





Editor’s Letter I met Alyona Kiperman, the founder of make such a beautiful case for its resurgence. ultra-cool Kyiv-based jewellery brand For the first time ever, we’ve covered costume Nomis, shortly before Russia invaded jewellery in a big way. Felix Bischof’s feature Ukraine. The designer was in London covers a designer making costume versions meeting potential retailers and press, of renaissance jewels, Giovanna Engelbert’s and as I’d recently interviewed her over masterful new direction at Swarovski, Daniel the phone, we got together in person. As Roseberry’s genius at play at Schiaparelli, and we said our goodbyes, she mentioned all the new costume jewellery designers you that I must visit Kyiv, its thriving design need to know. scene, and her newly opened boutique. Tech writer Günseli Yalçinkaya translated the mystifying and confusing world of the NFT metaverse for us, while Simone Brewster spoke to American art jeweller Robert Lee Morris about his fascinating life. Alyona Kiperman, like so many, has yet to return to Kyiv. One day she will—and when she does, I hope to join her. It would be just one week later that residents of the capital awoke to the ANNABEL DAVIDSON, Editor sound of bombs falling on their city. Millions of Ukrainians fleeing the war had little time to pack their belongings, and little space to store them. A few clothes, essential medication, whatever food and water they could grab, precious canisters of petrol, pets, and jewellery were common items to take from home. Jewellery is a common source of transportable wealth—it always has been. But it’s so much more than that. Our cover star, model Erin O’Connor, cites a humble shamrock ring as one of her most treasured possessions—not because it’s valuable, but because it’s a token of her Irish background. For many people fleeing war, the emotional value of a trinket that reminds them of home far outweighs any material value. I recently traded a Georg Jensen Reflect silver necklace I bought for a beautiful hei tiki in pounamu (New Zealand jade) by the talented carver Joel Buck Marsters. This particular hei tiki is in a variety of pounamu known as Kahurangi, the most prized of varieties to Māori. The fact that Joel Buck and I traded jewellery added, for me, an important layer of meaning to my hei tiki. That Joel might tell people who ask about his necklace that he traded with me for it makes it seem so much more than just a jewellery purchase—it makes it feel like a jewellery story. Speaking of silver, Ming Liu has written about the “other” precious metal in her first feature for VFOJ, and the designers she has interviewed VANITY FAIR ON JEWELLERY TASAKI/JONNY COCHRANE. Editor Annabel Davidson Executive and Managing Editor Holly Ross Creative Design Director, CNX Scott Moore Deputy Art Director Anja Wohlstrom Photo Editor Tanjya Holland Parkin Chief Sub-Editor Stephen Patience Sub-Editor Ashley Pegg Business Manager, Travel & Lifestyle Charlotte Taylor Commercial Director, Watches Vikki Theo Account Manager, Watches Dawid Matowski Commercial Director, Head of Jewellery, Style Ana-Karina de Paula Allen Account Director, Style Emily Goodwin Senior Production Controller Helen Crouch Senior Production Coordinator Leonie Kellman Publisher & CBO, Travel & Lifestyle Simon Leadsford VA N IT Y FA I R O N JE W E L L E RY J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2 17

Contributors Clockwise from left: Adam De Cruz with Erin O’Connor, Melanie Grant, Isabelle Bonjean, Günseli Yalçinkaya, Tom van Schelven, Ming Liu Adam DE CRUZ Melanie GRANT Isabelle BONJEAN ADAM DE CRUZ: JOHN PAUL PIETRUS. TOM VAN SCHELVEN: AMANDINE NEYSES-VAN SCHELVEN. GÜNSELI YALÇINKAYA - ALEX PETERS. “FELINE GRACE”, P. 74 “HELLO, DALI”, P. 92 “PATTERN RECOGNITION”, P. 88 A self-taught make-up artist who The luxury editor of the Economist’s As a child, Isabelle Bonjean wrote began his career on the show circuit, sister publication 1843 Magazine says constantly—and then she was offered a Adam provided Erin O’Connor’s chic she is on a mission to dismantle the camera and put down her pen. Her minimal beauty looks for our cover boundaries between jewellery and art, work as a photographer covers a wide shoot. His work can be seen in titles so was ideally placed to document variety of fields, from still life to beauty. such as Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar Piaget’s surrealist tendencies for us. It has won several prizes, including the and on the style pages of The Times, She is also the author of Coveted: Art Jasmin Award and the Silver Medal Guardian and Financial Times. and Innovation in High Jewelry. Society for Publication Designers. Ming LIU Tom van SCHELVEN Günseli YALÇINKAYA “SHINING EXAMPLE”, P. 102 “FAMILY JEWELS”, P. 70 “A CHARMED EXISTENCE”, P. 66 Ming Liu writes about jewellery and Growing up, Tom split his time A features writer at Dazed and a watches for the Financial Times, the between Manchester and the contributor to publications such as New York Times, Vogue and Hodinkee. Netherlands, and there’s a distinct AnOther, Elephant Magazine and Vogue, This issue she examines the rise of element of Dutch directness in his Günseli Yalçinkaya focuses on internet silver as a cool alternative to gold. photography. He likes to strip down culture and technology. For this issue She recently co-authored the book commissions and find the simplest way of VFOJ, she delves into the mysteries Winged Beauty: The Butterfly Jewellery to get the message across, as with this of non-fungible tokens and the Art of Wallace Chan. issue’s portraits of Stephen Webster. jewellers who are dealing in virtual art. 18 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2



jack de boucheron and quatre collection

SHOWCASE ON JEWELLERY 2022 “The most sought-after YELLOW DIAMONDS have long been part of Graff’s DNA.” LEGENDARY JEWELLER GRAFF never does anything half-hearted; its ethos is very much on the “go big or go home” side of things. The new high jewellery collection Graffabulous takes that notion to the extreme, consisting of six chapters replete with more precious gems than most of us can imagine. There are white diamonds, of course— more than 3,600 carats of them—but runner-up in the numbers stakes are yellow diamonds, of which 678 carats have been used in this astonishing array of nearly 50 pieces of high high jewellery. “The most sought-after yellow diamonds have long been part of our DNA and a signature of our high jewellery creations,” says Francois Graff, the jeweller’s CEO. “With their luminous beauty and incredible fire, they are at the heart of the Graffabulous story.” Sunny side up? n A.D. VA N IT Y FA IR ON JE W EL L ERY J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2 21

Showcase /News Natural SELECTION 1. SARAH ROYCE-GREENSILL looks at the most spectacular, sparkling trends of 2022—starting with some animal magic 2. T he ancient Egyptians wolf (bravery) and the hawk 4. prized scarab beetles; (freedom), each animal spirit for Victorians, snakes is believed to bestow its 3. and flies carried symbolic energy upon the wearer. significance. Bees, birds and “I recommend choosing the charms by Annoushka 5. RAINFOREST: GHISLAIN & MARIE DAVID DE LOSSY/GETTY IMAGES. butterflies have fluttered emotion or characteristic Ducas, inspired by a trip to around jewellery boxes for that is relevant at that Kenya and Rwanda. At 6. centuries. Now, contemporary moment,” says Shaun. Harry Winston, cabochon designers are revisiting the “Wearing the bull ring every gemstones, custom-cut 7. tradition with a dollop of day through a challenging diamonds and hand-carved spirituality: the modern-day period in my life brought me onyx come together to create 9. menagerie is more fantastical so much strength, courage birds about to take flight, 8. than ever. and comfort.” their expressive figures the 1. Shakti Ellenwood Thunderbird Amulet result of years of meticulous 2. Harwell Godfrey Dragonfly pendant San Francisco-based The animals of the wax carving and 3. Annoushka Monkey Charm 4. Brent jeweller Lauren Harwell Chinese zodiac appear to hand-craftsmanship. Neale Snail pendant 5. Shaun Leane Bull Godfrey of Harwell Godfrey clamber all over the hulking, Signum ring 6. Bibi van der Velden Two has unleashed The Menagerie: gothic-tinged rings that are Cartier’s legendary Dragons Facing the Moon earrring seven one-of-a-kind bejewelled the brainchild of Michèle panther is not the only beast 7. Cartier Indomptables de Cartier Tiger beasts featuring her distinctive Lamy and Loree Rodkin, who that prowls throughout the and Giraffe bracelet 8. Hunrod Tiger ring rainbow-hued geometric inlay. launched their brand maison’s archive. The new 9. Harry Winston Blue Magpie brooch “I chose the animals for their Hunrod in 2014. The Indomptables (meaning compelling forms and for diamond-set rat, pig, monkey, untameable) collection what I feel they represent,” she snake and tiger are part of a pays homage to the tradition says. The range includes a capsule collection for of tête-à-tête bracelets, psychedelic owl, representing Carpenters Workshop which were dear to wisdom and vision; a gazelle, Gallery, and will be exhibited visionary creative director for agility and grace; a crab, in the company’s new Jeanne Toussaint in the meaning protection and Ladbroke Hall gallery. Bibi 1950s. Zebras, giraffes, tigers, prosperity; and a snail, for van der Velden also looked crocodiles and panthers patience and perseverance. to the Chinese lunar calendar come head-to-head in Also celebrating the when crafting a pair of sculptural bangles, symbolism of the humble snail earrings dedicated to the swapping characteristics is Brent Neale, whose Slow Year of the Dragon. Two to create hybrid beasts. A collection includes a range of intricately carved dragons zebra with crocodile glossy gold molluscs with coil around organic baroque scales, a crocodile with carved hardstone shells. pearls, representing “the zebra stripes, a giraffe with “Good things take time, and yin-yang forces of dualism, panther spots… the chimeric that applies to so many things opposing and complementing gold, diamond and onyx in life,” she says. “The snails each other, with the pearls jewels are worthy of are a message to the wearer as the moon shining contemporary mythology. that it’s OK to take your between them”. time—eventually you will get there.” In Devon, jeweller Shakti Ellenwood handcrafts After building a connection Fairtrade-gold amulets with a fox and her cubs during imbued with the sacred lockdown, British jeweller symbolism of ancient Shaun Leane delved into the cultures. The Thunderbird is pagan traditions of his Celtic an all-powerful, revered ancestors and their belief in creature in Native American the kindred spirits of animals. culture, and her Rainbow His latest collection, Signum, Serpent, an ancient symbol of pays tribute to nine creatures, fertility, came to her while in gold, platinum and meditating with an Australian enamelled rings and pendants. Aboriginal tribe. More earthly From the butterfly (hope) creatures—gorillas, elephants and the hare (intuition), to the and monkeys—appear as 22 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2



Showcase /Trends 5. 4. MASTERS whose shapes are drawn 1. Darius Mini Dendera from the Babylonian Zodiac Scorpio charm of the Universe zodiac. Milamore’s 2. Marlo Laz Zodiac Wave George Root takes an bands 3. Briony Raymond Starry-eyed 1. 3. abstract approach in Classic Birthstone Memoir jewellers look to 2. articulated charms, with locket 4. Milamore Leo the zodiac for single earrings whose Diamond Zodiac Charm divine inspiration astrological forms only necklace 5. Milamore become apparent when Given the popularity hand-engraved and worn. And Marlo Laz’s Cancer Zodiac of astrologers, it’s customised with the Wave bands are designed Constellation earring no surprise that wearer’s birthstone and to be stacked: choose from zodiac jewellery continues zodiac sign. LA-based textured gold or coloured A Brush its rise. Briony designer Darius has enamel and spell out your Raymond’s intricate new launched brushed-gold, sign in a 1970s-style WITH BEAUTY Memoir Lockets are diamond-set pendants typeface to truly evoke the Age of Aquarius. 1. Going with the Flow 2. From lace-like openwork to Belle Epoque bows, it has always been a 3. FRESCO: ALFREDO DAGLI ORTI/SHUTTERSTOCK. WORDS BY SARAH ROYCE-GREENSILL. mark of a master jeweller to make solid gold and gemstones resemble “I love the contrast between the intense sparkle of diamonds and brushed gold— the trimmings of couture. Contemporary designers are breathing new there’s a subtlety to it that feels low-key and cool,” says New York-based jeweller life into the tradition. Liv Luttrell’s latest editions feature fluid curves Jade Trau, for whom brushed gold is a style signature. Her latest range, Poppy, of hand-engraved gold, their sinuous edges traced with diamonds, sees marquise, pear and brilliant-cut appearing as supple as silk. Alice Cicolini has developed a new diamonds clustered between industrial- chic links for a decidedly non-girly take marbling technique, with artistic swirls of enamel as the fabric-like on florals. And she’s not the only one 1. backdrop to one-of-a-kind gemstones. A trip to Uzbekistan inspired drawn to its pared-back beauty. For Fraser Hamilton, brushed gold provides Silvia Furmanovich’s new Silk Road collection, in which the rich the perfectly imperfect backdrop to one-of-a-kind face pendants and finely patterns of traditional ikat and suzani fabrics are detailed hand jewels. Fellow Londoner Shola Branson finds a brushed finish the rendered in the designer’s wooden marquetry. ideal way to channel the “paradoxical modernity of ancient design”. His sleek The fabric becomes the jewel in a series of signet rings and heavyweight diamond- set chains epitomise the contemporary, earrings featuring traditional tapestries genderless appeal of satiny gold. created by Uzbekistani carpet weavers on 1. Fraser Hamilton Poise Sapphire a loom. Each pair comprises more than Mask pendant 2. Shola Branson Diamond Edge Cushion Signet ring 1,600 tiny knots, typical of Furmanovich’s 3. Jade Trau Poppy Hoop earrings mission to celebrate the beauty of traditional craftsmanship. 3. 2. 1. Silvia Furmanovich Silk Road earrings 2. Alice Cicolini High Sari Marbled ring 3. Liv Luttrell Stratum bangle 24 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2



Showcase /Trends Take a BOW 2. 1. Anabela Chan Aqua Bardot Bow earrings. Flowing, feminine 1. 2. Sophie Bille Brahe and sophisticated, the bow perfectly ties up 3. Rosette de Diamant earring. any ensemble 3. Loquet Lover’s lopped off, leaving a sharp trail Knot locket. Sophie Bille Brahe’s design of diamonds. Elsewhere, Sophie 4. Sophie Keegan modus operandi is to contemporise Keegan’s pretty asymmetric bow Bow earrings. classic jewellery tropes. The latest earrings appear to be freshly tied from motif to receive a Scandi makeover is her precise pavé, as though one tug at a 4. the bow, formed of varying sized pearls trailing end could send the diamonds and tied off-centre in a charming riff on scattering. Loquet’s new Enduring traditional, romantic symbolism, her Peggy pearl necklace. “Bows can Love collection riffs on the bow’s wrapping a heart-shaped locket in pavé feel a bit twee, but I’ve always found diamonds. Anabela Chan interprets something tender and pure about the bow in maximalist style; her them,” says Brahe. “It’s about hands aluminium ribbon earrings are studded and fingers—the intimacy and caress of with diamonds and strung with touch.” Bezel-set diamonds add laboratory-grown coloured gemstones, pared-back purity to this inherently like the most precious gift wrapping. feminine motif, and nowhere more so than in the Grand Tennis Enlacé earring, in which the loops are SPECTRUM Games 3. RAINBOW: SHARON McCUTCHEON/UNSPLASH. RIBBON: GETTY IMAGES. MATCHESFASHION.COM. WORDS BY SARAH ROYCE-GREENSILL. 1. Gold chains and rainbow colours are two of the biggest contemporary jewellery 2. 4. trends, and combining them creates 3. Happy Landings jewellery magic. Dior’s (1) new Color Dior collection melds Victoire de Castellane’s The Smiley is celebrating its 50th technicolour style with an industrial-chic anniversary this year, with a raft of 4. sensibility, with the house’s monogram art, fashion and beauty collaborations dedicated to the pop-culture icon. becoming a pared-back link, which is And it’s most cheering, obviously, in coated with lacquer to reveal a new colour bejewelled form. Messika’s (1) official collaboration with The Smiley of the rainbow with every move. Also Company sees the beaming face cut invigorating the paperclip chain is Melissa out amid 7.90 carats of pavé yellow Kaye (2), who daubs her signature neon diamonds. Rosa de la Cruz’s (2) simple diamond smiling face has long enamel onto the streamlined links of the been one of her best-selling designs, new Kira bracelet. Lauren Rubinski (3) whether on a ring, pendant necklace takes a painterly approach, splashing or XXL-sized on a chunky gold chain. Annoushka (3) is celebrating the vibrant enamel onto her glossy gold anniversary with two new smiley-face chains, while Italian brand Eéra (4) does charms, with pearl or black sapphire away with gold altogether, coating the eyes. And Jessica McCormack’s (4) links of its Lucy necklace with fluorescent button-back gold smiley-face pendant, with its oval-diamond eyes, is best pink enamel. strung on a rope of pearls for pure good-time vibes. 2. J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2 1. 26 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y

SPARKLES AND SPRINKLES, PLEASE! HANDMADE IN LONDON SINCE 1980 15 New Bond Street, Mayfair. +44 (0)20 7499 6814 hirshlondon.com

Showcase /News Plenty of SOURCE For today’s cerebral designers, provenance has become just as important as aesthetics Banking On It ALL IN THE MINE From top: Peace of Mined Last November, Ruth Tomlinson celebrated Q ueen Elizabeth II and necklace; Peace 20 years in business by throwing her latest Elizabeth Taylor shared more of Mined ring work into the Thames. She’d created the than a name: their most rings using precious materials sourced while famous diamonds originated from traceable diamonds, bought as rough mudlarking along the river. But one of her South Africa’s Premier Mine. The and cut and polished in London. The OffeRings remained on dry land, and is now 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, still new Peace of Mined collection part of the permanent collection at the the largest gem-quality diamond features sharp, geometric designs Victoria & Albert Museum—along with two ever discovered (the biggest cuts of inspired by the Queen’s most other designs, from 2005 and 2010. The which adorn the Crown Jewels), and spectacular jewels, each piece Time Capsule OffeRing comprises Roman the Taylor-Burton diamond are created around a Cullinan stone. glass beads, a shard of glass and the shell of among the stonking stones a tiny river creature, paying homage to the produced by the prestigious mine. HEART OF GOLD preciousness of time. “These objects have But you needn’t be Hollywood or As a child growing up in Ghana, Emefa Cole existed for hundreds of years before us and actual royalty to enjoy the spoils: (below) was enthralled by tales of people will continue long into the river’s future,” Boodles has partnered with the finding nuggets of gold in the soil. says the jeweller, who is marking her entry Cullinan Mine (as it was renamed in Geological treasures remain a fascination into the V&A’s hallowed jewellery gallery 2003) to offer customers fully for the London-based designer, whose latest with WondeRings, a new collection of range, Sika, takes its name from the Akan one-of-a-kind pieces Spoilt word for money. A tribute to gold as coinage crafted around unusual and the extraordinary wealth of Mansa stones she has FOR CHOICE Musa of the Mali Empire, the textured initial amassed over the medallions are crafted from Single Mine last two decades. Origin gold, sourced from the Yanfolila “Each stone holds a mine in Mali. “This is gold that has history, story for me, and it that is steeped in humanity,” says the felt like the right designer in typically poetic style. “This time to let them is gold with the heritage of Africa.” back into the world on their next adventure.” Above: Sika pendants in From left: Time Capsule SMO gold ring; WondeRing J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2 Attention From left: Bezel QUEEN ELIZABETH II: THE PRINT COLLECTOR/GETTY IMAGES. Seekers ring; Violet Flower EMEFA COLE: RONAN MCKENZIE. WORDS BY SARAH ROYCE-GREENSILL. Jewellery insiders have long been obsessed cocktail ring with the work of Jean-Noel Soni, aka Top Notch Faceting. His 44,000 Instagram fans Lab-grown versus natural diamonds, follow his tattooed fingers cradling recycled versus Fairtrade gold: responsible one-of-a-kind coloured gemstones, cut and polished in inimitable style by the self-taught sourcing debates can feel ferocious, lapidarist. London-based jeweller Sophie not to mention baffling. So bravo Alex Breitmeyer sets his distinctive stones flush in Monroe, whose new collection of one- wide bands of glossy gold, all the better to of-a-kind rings champions informed show off their silhouettes. From Vietnamese choice, with no judgement. Featuring spinel to Madagascan sapphire, each natural, lab-grown, antique and Ocean stone is cut to maximise its diamonds, the Diamond Library collection depth of colour, and celebrates the beauty found across the crafted in the UK into sourcing spectrum. Each piece carries a “right hand rings” Carbon Footprint metric, highlighting the that threaten to hog relative environmental impact of different the spotlight. stones. “Our aim was to champion choice while being totally transparent, allowing Top Notch Pink Spinel customers to make a personal decision cocktail ring based on what’s important to them,” 28 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y says the designer.

A S P R E Y. C O M T H E DA I S Y H E R I TAG E J E W E L L E RY CO L L E C T I O N 3 6 B R U TO N S T R E E T, M AY FA I R , W 1 J 6 QX

Showcase /News Future FACING Bold, architecturally FENNELL IS inspired forms are bringing Melanie Eddy FIGHTING FIT international fame After 25 years on Fulham Road, stalwart Theo Fennell has opened his new Melanie Eddy’s CV is enough perfecting her signature Melanie Eddy. showroom at Belgravia’s Chelsea to make anybody feel like an style for 15 years. Her Left: gold and Barracks. The rejuvenation of the underachiever. Goldsmith, architecturally inspired diamond ring 19th-century barracks chimes with the award-winning designer, designs are sparse yet utterly for The Radiance jeweller’s ethos of combining lecturer, curator, writer, distinctive; whether in traditional craftsmanship with witty, academic and activist: with unadorned gold or sculpted by Couture. original design. His boutique also so many strings to her bow around unusual coloured serves as a gallery, showcasing his it’s no wonder the gemstones. For her latest within the fine jewellery masterworks and silverware, all London-based Bermudian is project, Eddy has turned her industry, The Radiance handcrafted by his seven-strong team. so in demand. Over the past attention to diamonds; showcases the work of 13 year she’s exhibited at specifically, traceable contemporary designers, Floral Sotheby’s, Elisabetta Cipriani diamonds with De Beers including Eddy’s fellow Tribute Gallery and Mahnaz Code of Origin, which Londoners Kassandra Collection; worked as part of feature in a capsule Gordon and Lola Fenhirst. It’s 10 years since Louis the Jewellery Futures Fund collection of faceted rings Vuitton unveiled the Idylle to award grants to those created for The Radiance by “Having worked under the Blossom collection, a underrepresented in the Couture. Born of Couture’s radar for many years, I’m bejewelled tribute to the industry; lectured at Central Diversity Action Council used to being behind the maison’s instantly St Martins and the University mentorship programme to scenes,” Eddy says. “But I recognisable flower monogram. In for the Creative Arts—all address the lack of diversity realise it’s important to stand yellow, white and rose gold, the range is while continuing to handcraft up and show the true more versatile than ever thanks to 14 new her meticulously conceived, diversity of this industry, so diamond-set pieces, from ear cuffs and sculptural jewellery. others can see what is studs to tiny hoops and a tri-metal ring, possible.” With high-profile designed to be layered and worn daily. Bold abstract gold is huge commissions in the works, right now, but Eddy has been this might finally be the year she feels comfortable enough to refer to herself as an artist. MAKING WAVES Great Bundles HIT THE From top: LOUIS VUITTON: ALIQUE. THEO FENNELL: COURTESY OF Chaumet sets sail this summer with a high BIG TIME Maggi Simpkins THEO FENNELL. MELANIE EDDY: RONAN MCKENZIE. jewellery collection dedicated to the high OF JOY Los Angeles-based WORDS BY SARAH ROYCE-GREENSILL. seas. Among the nautical treasures are a designer Maggi gold and range of brooches inspired by sailors’ Van Cleef & Arpels’ Perlée range has its Simpkins made diamond rings tattoos. Although named Encre, meaning roots in the 1920s, when golden beads headlines when she in lapis; pink “ink”, here the artworks are rendered in framed precious stones. The decorative created a million-dollar opal; Australian precious materials: a diamond seagull accent became a motif in its own right; pink diamond ring for soars in a turquoise sky; a gold, ruby and from the celebrated Couscous designs the Sotheby’s exhibition opal; and sapphire anchor splashes into diamond-set of the 1940s to the Twist range of the Brilliant and Black. Her turquoise. waves; a rock-crystal bottle holds a 1960s. With the launch of Perlée latest range continues heart-shaped ruby. Finely decorated with in 2008, the beads took her fascination with plique-à-jour enamel, each brooch carries a centre stage, and this colour and diamonds, romantic inscription: the lighthouse design summer, new additions albeit in a more reads L’amour me guide (Love guides me). celebrate the joyful bulbous pared-back way. Inspired forms, whether bordering by bubble-like vintage curves of colourful gypsy rings, she sets hardstones or heart, pear, marquise forming an and emerald-cut open bangle diamonds in chubby topped with bands of glossy gold, coral or lapis. their silhouettes Perfect for outlined by coloured Riviera outings. hardstone or opal. 30 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2



Showcase /News 1. ONE EMPORIUM to Rule Them All Still revolutionary after 18 years, Dover Street Market is home to innovation in abundance 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. D over Street Market comes of age this year, and it’s still Meet the DSM Old Guard just as much a “mecca of modernity and relevance” as it was described when it first opened its doors in 2004. 1. Elizabeth Gage (est. 1964) 5. The Great Frog (est. 1972) COURTESY OF DOVER STREET MARKET. WORDS BY SARAH ROYCE-GREENSILL. The store has long championed agenda-setting jewellers early The lowdown: One of the The lowdown: The second- on in their careers, such as Repossi, Delfina Delettrez, Sophie industry’s most celebrated generation family jeweller has been Bille Brahe and Ana Khouri. And within the sleek vitrines of designers, Elizabeth Gage created handcrafting rock’n’roll jewellery its jewellery hall are a roster of distinguished designers who, her first commission for Cartier in from its London base for musicians between them, clock up more than 280 years of experience. 1968 and went on to win numerous and punks for more than 50 years. “The ethos of Dover Street Market has always been to awards. She still designs every Signature piece: Sterling-silver combine established brands with new talent,” says director of jewel, each one unique; testament skull rings, which sit alongside jewellery Mimi Hoppen. “You might see the contemporary to her boundless creativity. precious-metal versions of their diamonds of Magnus Thorud’s Kolours alongside 20th- Signature piece: Her pageantry- gothic knuckledusters. century vintage Cartier.” The latter comes courtesy of Harry inspired Templar rings are much Fane, who established his private London gallery, imitated but never equalled. 6. Harry Fane (est. 1978) Obsidian, in 1978. He curates a collection of The lowdown: Recognised as a sought-after vintage watches from the 1940s to 2. William Welstead (est. 2000) world authority on Cartier, Fane the 1970s, offered alongside vintage Bulgari The lowdown: Former cashmere has been collecting vintage and Cartier necklaces from the same period. designer Welstead became jewellery, watches and objets d’art Renowned among jewellery insiders for his fascinated by the precious stones for more than 44 years, unearthing unique gemstones, William Welstead has been he encountered on trips to India rare and sought-after pieces from all working with Dover Street Market founders Rei and Nepal. Decades on, his over the world. Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe since its early years. He minimalistic 22ct gold pieces Signature piece: Vintage Cartier sets antique diamonds and coloured gems in minimal 22ct showcase their natural beauty. gold and diamond Turbo Gas gold rings; a style that Hoppen describes as “understated and Signature piece: Beautifully necklace from the 1950s. timeless yet incredibly special”. Welstead says,“It is an honour simple engagement rings featuring to be chosen. I enjoy the freedom to present what inspires me “wonky” antique diamonds. 7. Jacqueline Rabun (est. 1990) and I don’t have to produce multiples of the same design.” The lowdown: American jeweller A newer arrival is Elizabeth Gage, whose celebrated career 3. Raphaele Canot (est. 2014) Rabun has been stocked at spans more than 58 years. Her one-of-a-kind Templar rings The lowdown: Former Cartier Dover Street Market since its very are on every jewellery aficionado’s wishlist, whether and De Beers designer Canot has beginning, offering sculptural, intricately engraved around a coloured stone or decorated a knack for creating instantly iconic organic pieces that are a reflection with vibrant enamel. “She took some persuading as she had designs. When she launched her on the human experience. never stocked at other stores, but took a chance with us,” own brand in 2014, Dover Street Signature piece: Black Love ring, says Hoppen. “Her work is instantly recognisable, and Market was the natural home featuring two bulbous seeds clients are often surprised as it’s so unexpected to see the for her light-spirited take on forming a heart to symbolise love, contrast of her work alongside a Comme des Garçons dress.” classic diamonds. justice and equality. Signature piece: Set Free earrings, with drilled 8.Solange Azagury-Partridge diamonds shimmying freely for (est. 1990) maximum sparkle. The lowdown: Starting with her own rough-diamond engagement 4. Disa Allsopp (est. 1996) ring, Azagury-Partridge is The lowdown: Inspired by celebrated for her subversive, witty ancient jewellery, Allsopp turns to designs. Formerly creative director traditional techniques to handcraft at Boucheron, she constantly her organically hewn pieces, often challenges the fine jewellery rules. featuring colourful stones inspired Signature piece: The Hotlips ring, by her childhood in Barbados. designed in 1995, is an icon that’s Signature piece: Coloured on display in the Victoria & gemstone cocktail rings, designed Albert Museum, and is constantly to be stacked. reinvented in new colours. 32 VA N I T Y F A I R O N J E W E L L E R Y J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2

Recycled 18ct Gold, Diamond and Sapphire Rings Annoushka Boutique 41 Cadogan Gardens 1 South Molton Street 0800 138 1659 annoushka.com

Showcase /News 1. TROMPE 2. Cause for Card 3. 1. Chunky C E LE B R AT I O N 5. Lifecycle choker Nadine Ghosn’s 2. Jade Building The brands that are marking witty designs 4. big anniversaries this year deceive the eye Block ring 3. Bold Building To celebrate 60 Nadine Ghosn years since it was wears her Blocks rings founded, David treasures 4. Gluten Free Morris has stealthily. Only those Veggie Burger crafted six with a keen eye would be one-of-a-kind able to spot that the huge ring pieces inspired by olive-hued studs 5. Pencil and BIC archive designs. Swinging Sixties sparkling beneath her exuberance is represented by a bold baseball cap are ultra- bracelets collar centring on a 41-carat black rare green diamonds, or opal, while decadent 1980s glamour is that the hefty biker chain definition of luxury,” she Her meticulously epitomised by a Paraiba tourmaline layered over her says. “I try to create fun, engineered Lifecycle cocktail ring. “When my parents cashmere jumper is hewn conversation-starting biker chains are all about opened their first boutique in the early from 300 grams of solid pieces that capture the moving forward. “Every 1960s, they were using materials and gold. And that’s the way playful nature of our collection is tightly linked gemstones that other people weren’t,” she likes it. The designer, inner child.” to my personal journey says Jeremy Morris, who took the who launched her brand and evolution, as well as helm in 2007. “Innovative designs and in 2016, has a knack of There’s substance capturing the zeitgeist,” unusual jewels are still very much elevating the mundane behind the whimsy: those Ghosn explains. In this what we’re known for.” into cult jewels: from her toy bricks remind us that way, her jewellery tells a supersized burger our lives are constantly tale of our time—upbeat A decade after stacking ring to solid- assembled and symbolism with a healthy leaving antique gold paperclips, pencil- disassembled—“We can dose of irreverence. jewellery specialist shaped bangles and always keep building.” Humphrey Butler hardstone Lego-style to launch her bricks. “I am inspired by Playful Pieces Among the own brand, NADINE GHOSN: DARREN LEOW. WORDS BY SARAH ROYCE-GREENSILL. everyday objects and 75 pieces of London-based unexpected things that “Even the poorest of us jewellery Bear Brooksbank has become the invite us to revisit our can have riches/ in the created by go-to jeweller for a fashion-forward smell of lemons,” writes Chopard to mark aesthetic realised with exceptional For Olivia Eugenio Montale in I the 75th Cannes Film craftsmanship. She’s seeing in 10 years Young, founder of Limoni, the poem that Festival is a pumpkin with a new series of engagement rings Ouroboros, a inspired Faraone blanketed in spessartite including her most decadent Gypsy perfect gemstone Mennella’s new Lemon garnets and tsavorites, ring to date, with a 2.42ct emerald-cut should look good enough collection. An ode to the with a coiled aluminium diamond set in chunky polished gold. to eat. And the test proves island of Capri, the stem encasing a Look out for vintage drops too, fruitful in her cheeky playful pieces have an miniature diamond sourced with her expert knowledge of Sexy Fruits range, distinctly slipper: a fanciful fairy antique jewellery. featuring juicy carnelian Italian tale of a jewel. and rhodocrosite gioia di Rainbow confetti peaches, glossy vivere. at the ready: chalcedony olives and colour-loving carved amethyst Chelsea jewellery aubergines. house Robinson Pelham is marking 25 years with a bevy of new collections. From romantic messages spelled out with diamond shapes (a marquise-cut eye, heart and half-moon U) to miniature mazes to wear as cocktail rings, and one-of- a-kind rings set with tessellating diamonds, the founders might be too busy to party, but at least they have the jewellery for any occasion. 34 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y J U LY / AU G U S T 2 02 2



Showcase /News Blasts from THE PAST 1. From ancient amulets to Eighties excess, contemporary designers look to the past for inspiration—there’s an era to suit any style CIVILISING 1. Jemma Wynne Snake ring INFLUENCES 2. Roxanne Rajcoomar- Hadden Swivel pendant Archaeologist turned goldsmith 1. 3. Lucy Delius Trombone Loren Nicole’s 22ct-gold pieces chain are a window into history. Bronze 2. Age arrowheads and ancient 2. Egyptian faience are showcased in 3. satiny brushed gold, while smooth 3. Roman rings and earrings 4. featuring her fine gold granulation 1. Loren Nicole Goddess Victoria PRINCIPLES are based on the jewels worn by Faience pendant 2. Aymer bygone civilisations. Also Maria Pilastro VI ring 3. Kiaia Amodernised take on Victorian jewellery is what rehoming age-old artefacts is Lucy Delius does best: “It was such a productive and Francesca Ruggiero of Kiaia, Mark Antony bangle inspiring period in terms of technique and design. whose pieces feature coins dating 4. Ming Ruby ring I wanted to create something that felt modern but still used from the 5th century BC. Ruth those strong silhouettes.” Her debut line includes pavé- Aymer Marten of Aymer Maria diamond T-bars, originally tucked into a buttonhole to hold a looks to the architecture of ancient watch chain in place, alongside gemstone-covered watch fobs Greece in her Pilastro rings, replete and a modernised take on the Victorian trombone-link chain. with the mathematically ingenious Roxanne Rajcoomar-Hadden is also inspired by an details of classical columns. And antique aesthetic—her Matrescence range features an angular London-based Ming Lampson of swivel pendant modelled on the swivel fobs that bore the Ming fuses past and present in her wearer’s intaglio seal. Snakes were all the rage in the 19th one-of-a-kind ruby pinky ring, century thanks to Queen Victoria’s serpent engagement ring; inspired by ancient coiled rings. Jemma Wynne’s contemporary iteration is bedecked with Wrapping the finger in polished star-set diamonds, another antique trope. gold, it’s made instantly modern thanks to a border of black enamel. 2. 1. California VICTORIA: GRANGER/SHUTTERSTOCK. QUEEN NEFERTARI: SEPIA TIMES/UNIVERSAL Dreaming IMAGES GROUP/GETTY IMAGES. MODELS: EDWARD STEICHEN/CONDE NAST ARCHIVE, 1. Lily Gabriella 2. BERT STERN/CONDE NAST ARCHIVE. WORDS BY SARAH ROYCE-GREENSILL. Vortex ring The work of American 2. Pragnell 1. Marlo Laz Southwestern goldsmith and jeweller Sean Sardinia necklace Gilson evokes the heady 1. Pyramid 2. Sean Gilson cuff creativity of the Swinging Rainbow ring Sixties. Coral, turquoise, aquamarine and rutilated quartz DOWN TO A Fine Art appear in bold, abstract designs that attest to his fine arts With a vast selection of antique, vintage and retro jewels across three background. The era-defining showrooms, family-run jeweller Pragnell is spoilt for choice when it paisley motif is pared back to a comes to creative stimulus. The Pyramid collection was inspired by the teardrop-shaped smudge of bold, modernist work of French jeweller Raymond Templier in the kunzite and two dollops of 1920s and ’30s. Pyramids of glossy yellow gold are highlighted by chrysoprase set atop a cuff of diamonds and coloured stones: simple yet striking. Also channelling creamy lavender agate; a the geometric elegance of the Art Deco era is Lily Gabriella, whose beguilingly retro colour scheme Vortex ring riffs on the black-white-green colour scheme so redolent of long hot American emblematic of the time. A tsavorite is accented by diamond and summers. Paisley also features enamel crescents, with a line of pink sapphires adding a playful twist. on Marlo Laz’s oversized Southwestern Charm letters, engraved into the gold as an ode to the designer’s continued enchantment with the American West. 36 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y

1. MOOD RINGS 1. 2. She may be a millennial, but there’s something of the flower child about 2. 4. Noor Fares, whose work celebrates the healing power of gemstones. The Prisma EXCESS Yourself collection explores the meditative play of light through hand-faceted gemstones; P ower dressing calls for power jewels; Emily P. new hoop earrings feature a psychedelic Wheeler’s (1) new Bernadette collection delivers in rainbow of kadam wood. Jessie Thomas spades. Created in celebration of the self-purchase, has a vast archive of inspiration thanks to interlocking gold-and-enamel statement studs and bold, the work of her father, master goldsmith technicolour bangles evoke the high-octane glamour of the 3. David Thomas. Echoing his love for 1980s. Tasaki (2) also serves retro vibes in the latest designs textured yellow gold and sculptural forms, by Melanie Georgacopoulos. Freshwater pearls are sliced her Sputnik-like ear climbers take their open and lined with gold, forming a silhouette that’s an shape from a 1970s ring. Former Céline ultra-luxe yet unmistakable likeness to that arcade-game and Victoria Beckham designer Ilaria classic, Pac-Man. Icardi’s jewellery also references her late father’s 1970s style: she revitalised the jewellery house he founded in Valenza in the 1960s, reimagining chunky chains and hardstone signet rings with the help of her gemologist brother Lorenzo. Meanwhile Tiffany & Co is reintroducing Elsa Peretti’s iconic Bean design, originally created in 1974. Symbolising the beginnings of life, new versions of the bean are crafted in green jade, silk and gold lacquer: pair with a kaftan and the floppiest sun hat you can find. 1. Tiffany & Co Elsa Peretti Bean pendant 2. Jessie Thomas Starburst ear climbers 3. Noor Fares Luminescence Rainbow earrings 4. Ilaria Icardi Carnelian ring Now or Never The Time Traveller’s WAIF Then there are those N ineties fashion is back, and how better to jewellers who are accessorise than with the diamond-set arm cuff by Diane Kordas? Sharp and minimal, the resolutely of the moment. nostalgic style is best worn with a slinky slip dress. Elsewhere the designer sets diamond-pavé shards in Nikos Koulis is one: the chokers of aura quartz and gold beads, or Apple Skin leather (a new fruit-based, vegan material) for an upmarket Greek jeweller combines take on Y2K dressing. Having grown up in the 1990s, Eugenie Niarchos of Venyx looked to childhood shark’s- references from antiquity to tooth necklaces when designing her new Into the Deep collection. Imperfect gold teeth appear alongside fossilised Art Deco in his profoundly real shark’s teeth, strung from diamond-set chains: an elevated interpretation of grunge. original contemporary designs. His Together collection combines woven gold chain with baguette-cut KATE MOSS: KEN TOWNER/ANL/SHUTTERSTOCK. MODELS: ARNAUD DE ROSNAY/ diamonds and opals in ARTHUR ELGORT/CONDE NAST ARCHIVE. NAK ARMSTRONG: DAGNY PIASECKI. WORDS BY SARAH ROYCE-GREENSILL. pieces with airy volume Nak Armstrong and sensual silhouettes. Sea Anemone Traditional motifs such as earrings flowers and hearts are almost unrecognisable in the hands of jewellery designer Nak Armstrong, 1. who fuses colours and cuts with artistic abandon. His 1. Venyx Into The stone plissé setting makes Deep Bianca baguette-cut gemstones necklace 2. Diane Kordas arm cuff imitate the ripples of fabric, 1. while his one-of-a-kind 2. emerald and opal Sea 2. Anemone earrings 1. Nak Armstrong are otherworldly in Tote earrings their brilliance. 2. Nikos Koulis Together earrings J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2 37

Profile /Mckenzie Liautaud Clockwise from left: galleries, where I discovered my love Mckenzie Liautaud; Power of crystals.” Crystals necklaces and ring. It is crystals—and the way Liautaud Leader of the CRYSTAL SET sets them—that have really seen his brand fly. Taking pointed chunks of Hand-crafted with an eye on the future, Mckenzie Liautaud’s rock crystal, smoky quartz, rose quartz luxurious crystal talismans have the in-crowd swooning and tiger’s eye, he hangs them upside- down from gold chain or necklaces of By Annabel Davidson gemstone beads, and studs them with diamonds and other precious gems, T minerals runs much deeper than often bespoke for clients. Some are MCKENZIE LIAUTAUD: JAYSON KEELING. POWER CRYSTALS PORTRAIT: DAYANE OHIRA. celebrity placement. dinky, while others are really quite giant, more like huge talismans “As a young boy, I was always than jewels, imbued with meaning curious about nature and would collect and symbolism. rocks, seashells and feathers. I saved marbles I had found buried in my “My Power Crystals collection is parents’ backyard,” Liautaud tells me. hand-crafted using natural diamonds “My favourite class trips were to the and 18ct gold and is very glamorous,” he American Museum of Natural History. explains. “Some people associate I would get lost in the mineral crystals with street psychics and fortune-tellers, but my collection THERE’S SOMETHING SWAN-LIKE about “Some people combines high fashion, spirituality and New York city jewellery designer associate crystals wellness. My followers and clients are Mckenzie Liautaud. On the surface, he with PSYCHICS personal practitioners of positive glides slowly—serenely even—without but my collection thinking and manifestation.” making a ripple, speaks softly and combines FASHION, exudes peacefulness. But underneath, His clients aren’t exactly street out of sight, he’s all go; liaising with spirituality psychics and fortune-tellers, either. Lil power stylists, preparing to move into a and wellness.” Nas X has a vast collection of Liautaud’s new, bigger showroom, and seeing his pieces, and the singer’s stylist, Hodo Power Crystal jewellery on everyone Musa, sees them as more than just eye from Coi Leray and Jessica Alba to candy. “Mckenzie’s jewellery is Maluma and Lil Dre. But his love for fashion-forward and futuristic,” Musa tells me. “He’s the first modern-day jeweller to connect the mystical power of crystals with the luxury of natural diamonds. We used his jewellery all through the making of the Montero album and Lil Nas X always felt empowered and strong while wearing it. It’s magical.” Not bad for someone who only launched as a brand eight years ago. “I launched the Supearlstar collection in 2014, with gumball-sized freshwater pearls punctuated with hand-carved haematite stars,” he says. He considers his big break to be the day that Saks Fifth Avenue stocked his designs. “It was a full-circle moment,” he recalls. “It was meaningful on so many levels, not only for my brand. My parents, who had both emigrated from Haiti, had both worked at Saks when they arrived in the United States.” Full-circle moment, or divine manifestation? Only the crystals know. n 38 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2

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Essay/New Designers Generation GAMES Ananya A new cohort of young Nina Runsdorf Lotus pink opal earrings. designers are making their Radiant Pointer diamond ring. mark with playful takes Anita Ko on refined one-off pieces Octavia Elizabeth Hepburn emerald neckace. Ivy Eternity sapphire ring. By Sophie Quy Emily P. Wheeler Sarah Ho Love sapphire earrings. HIGH JEWELLERY HAS traditionally been Solar tourmalines, opal and diamond earrings. snapped up at Paris’s grandes maisons Fernando Jorge by those who travel with bodyguards Savolinna Fernando High Flare diamond bracelet. and attend galas in tiny principalities. Scala Ear diamond climber. Fast forward to 2022, though, and the Kamyen category has loosened up a little. A Vak Marquise diamond and tanzanite choker. younger breed of independent Lotus Pond emerald and ruby ring. designers are creating their own versions of high jewellery; still dripping J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2 with gems and of the highest-quality craftsmanship, but more playful and less stately than we’re perhaps used to. The new breed creating one-off pieces are having fun, and while you can still wear their designs to that black-tie event in Monaco, their jet-set clients are also throwing them on with jeans and T-shirts for dinner at the latest hotspot in Dubai. It’s white diamonds that make GEN-Z’s hearts flutter. There’s a distinct pink theme running through many of these brands’ newest pieces—pink opals at Ananya, candy- coloured hearts at Emily P. Wheeler, pink sapphires at Octavia Elizabeth and pink everything via Sarah Ho’s Solar earrings, as well as a major deep pink hit at Vak. Elsewhere, it’s white diamonds that make Gen-Z’s hearts flutter, as seen in Nina Runsdorf’s deliciously bold pointer ring, Savolinna’s ear climbers, Kamyen’s black-enamel accented choker, Fernando Jorge’s Flame cuff and Anita Ko’s chokers, with or without a major coloured stone drop. So to get the Gen-Z vibe just about anything goes—as long as it’s white or rose. n 40 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y



Profile /Francesca Grima The Stone Clockwise from top right: modernist light that ROSE inspired the design of Francesca Grima’s Adored by both royalty and dioptase and pearl rings; drag divas, Francesca Grima Dot ring by Francesca cuts her own path in homage Grima; Grima in a dress to her famous father by Nicholas Oakwell; ammonite pendant by By Nicholas Foulkes Francesca Grima. “I “I WALKED INTO his office drinking iced He was always sketching on whatever “My parents travelled everywhere tea out of a carton, and when I finished, was to hand, be it an airline ticket or the with me; we went on business trips FRANCESCA GRIMA: SI MELBER. LAMP AND HAND: FRANCESCA GRIMA. GRIMA ARCHIVES. I just knotted the straw and left it on his back of a menu. “That was the great around the world. I used to miss desk, as you would as a teenager. He thing in those days: you didn’t have hundreds of days of school, but my looked at it and thought, ‘Oh, that iPads and iPhones,” Francesca father thought that I’d learn so much would make a lovely brooch.’ He ended remembers. “I would show up with my more from going on these trips with up making variations of it with different little bag of pencils and my paper and them than I would at school. types of knots and different lengths of we’d have design competitions in Which was true.” straw.” With her Edie Sedgwick-like restaurants. That’s how I was kept crop, etiolated Bambi limbs and gamine entertained at the dinner table. One of the first lessons she learnt was frame, 42-year-old Francesca Grima an appreciation of the better things life looks barely older than the teenager she “My father was a huge presence in has to offer. “There were amazing was when she unwittingly vouchsafed my life. I think it’s because he was 59 hotels. And he didn’t believe in her famous father the inspiration for when I was born, so he wanted to have travelling anything but first class—it one of his most celebrated designs. me around. There was nothing about was not an option. I remember sitting children being seen but not heard, and with Mummy in our suite at the Andrew Grima was jeweller by going to their rooms after seven o’clock Mandarin Oriental, watching him appointment to Swinging London’s in the evening. being interviewed on television in elite, selling to the royal family and the Hong Kong. I just thought that my Peter Sellers set alike. From a Jermyn Francesca Grima provided the inspiration for father was a superstar. Street shop that looked like a cross her father’s gold and diamond Straw Brooch. between a Barbara Hepworth “By the time I was 15 or 16, I really sculpture and a Ken Adam set for a knew that this was something that I Bond film, he built a global retail wanted to do.” Her mother, Jojo, empire. To describe him as jewellery’s Andrew’s second wife, would have great modernist is to damn him with preferred Francesca to complete faint praise: he played with texture, university before deciding on a career. treated semi-precious stones as if they Andrew believed otherwise. “When I were gems, experimented with first joined the business at 18, we set up abstraction, and, recalls Francesca, Saturday mornings for him to sit with never stopped working. me and teach me how to design—but those never really happened, because 42 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y

he designed on a whim. It was difficult does not accent with diamonds. And Left: Francesca Grima ring. Above, from left: to set a time for it.” As she cheerfully whereas many of his pieces were Queen Elizabeth II with a Grima brooch; Bimini admits, “he never really taught me identifiably organic—a film from the about the business side of things.” 1960s shows Andrew driving his Aston Bon-Boulash wearing a Grima necklace. Martin into the woods to find lichen on However, those Saturday mornings which to model jewels—she prefers brand’s rich heritage. As well as taught her the importance of charisma. more rectilinear, architectural forms. A acknowledging the power of her father’s “I think his charm sold the jewellery, talented amateur photographer, she is charm, she recognises that it imposed and you can’t really teach charm. You influenced, often subliminally, by limitations. “There was a time when it either have it or you don’t. If I have one things she has shot: a Niemeyer was super big. But I think what percent of his charm, I’ll be happy.” She building, or a lamp at Soho House. But happened then, was that as my father has no need to worry. she is quick to add that the old Grima was the charming designer/salesman, style is alive. “My mother designs very the clients wanted to see him. They’d “It’s impossible not to be influenced much in his style, so we still work a lot see pieces for sale in say New York or by my father,” she says. But while she with textured gold wire, and all the Zurich and then they’d say: ‘Is Mr permits her father’s memory to guide Grima here?’ ‘Well, no, he’s in London.’ her, she does not let it techniques that he pioneered.” ‘Oh, we’re going to London anyway overshadow her work. “I try As well as making next week, we’ll go and buy from him and keep his ethos, but there.’ He became such a big part of it transform it into modern- contemporary jewellery, that they wanted to see him.” day design. There was Francesca and her mother buy never a time when I and sell vintage pieces. “We are Today Grima is even more recherché thought I have to design in very excited when we see than ever. “People like discovery the style of my father, something and we can buy it nowadays. They like discovering niche because I know that he back. But when we show pieces” brands. And I would say that we are wouldn’t want me to. He —either privately to clients or at probably one of the longest-standing wanted me to do my own thing.” Masterpiece—“we never differentiate niche brands. We’ve managed to stay between old and new unless someone incredibly exclusive, probably because In practice, this means that asks. Nowadays, it seems that people we haven’t been bought up by some Francesca’s work evinces less in the way aren’t that bothered if it’s vintage or not, huge company.” And that is the way of texture, and unlike her father she you know. They like the design and Francesca intends it to stay. “I like the they’ll buy it.” freedom to express myself through my Clockwise from bottom left: Andrew Grima It is this approach that defines jewellery. I don’t want someone to show pearl ring from 1970; Francesca Grima and her Francesca’s attitude towards the up and tell me to design 50 engagement father, 1991; Andrew Grima brooch from 1965; rings, because that’s what’s selling.” Andrew Grima’s Jermyn Street boutique. And the client list is as varied as ever, GRIMA ARCHIVES. THE QUEEEN: RICHARD POHLE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES. BIMINI BON-BOULASH: MARCIN KEMPSKI. with Grima trending with high and hype society alike. “The Queen was wearing her Grima brooch at Prince Philip’s memorial service and Bimini Bon-Boulash from RuPaul’s Drag Race was wearing a Grima necklace on the cover of GQ Style. From HM the Queen to a drag queen… and that’s within a month. I don’t think any other brand could match that,” she says proudly. Forget one month—it is hard to think of a jewellery brand that could match that level of diversity in a month of Sundays. n J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2 43

Making of/Hemmerle Herbal ESSENCE From left: Strawberry earrings in demantoid garnets, aluminium, copper and white gold; Avant-garde German jewellery house Hemmerle takes the Rosemary earrings in tanzanites, bronze and principles of botanical observation to charming heights in white gold; Lemon Myrtle earrings in its new nature-infused collection. By Annabel Davidson demantoid garnets, diamonds, aluminium, bronze and white gold; all by Hemmerle. A Munich jeweller Hemmerle is born of INFUSED JEWELS ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROSANNA TASKER; COURTESY OF HEMMERLE AND ROSANNA TASKER. A PANDEMIC SEES Bavarian goldsmiths all these elements, and more. cushiony tanzanites wrapped in taking their tools home to work alone; a patinated bronze sprigs of rosemary herb house creates a bespoke tea blend Infused Jewels is a many-layered, become earclips, dozens of ginger from lavender, cinnamon and rose; a 13-piece collection by the family-owned flower buds in diamond pavé with little girl in a cold concrete world sips German house known for its avant- delicate pink anodised aluminium tips warming ginger tea made by her loving garde use of materials and featherlight cascade from earlobes, hyper-realistic grandmother; a new collection by use of metals, from aluminium to gold and aluminium mint leaf earrings bronze to gold. Floral forms are demand to be touched. naturalistically rendered; plump The many layers of Infused Jewels FLORAL FORMS are a delightful miscellany. The poet and author Greta Bellamacina was are naturalistically invited to write a fairy tale in its rendered; tanzanites honour, Rosanna Tasker was commissioned to illustrate it with her in bronze sprigs whimsical drawings, and the royal of ROSEMARY Bavarian porcelain manufactory become earclips. Nymphenburg was tasked with making tea caddies for the bespoke tea, as well as the tiny porcelain bisque flowers in the orange-blossom earrings. Hemmerle creates jewels to surprise even the most jaded gaze—and in this case, its cup runneth over. n 44 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2

DISCOVER BEAUTIFUL BRIDAL COLLECTIONS Engagement ring collection AND LUXURY JEWELLERY BR ANDS AT YOUR LOCAL MAPPIN & WEBB SHOWROOM mappinandwebb.com

Profile /African Entrepreneurs Kings of DIAMONDS Introducing the newest faces in South African gems By Annabel Davidson M MEET DESMOND RATSOMA from South Africa and Robin Bhebhe from every door looking for premises, Desmond Ratsoma (seated) and Robin Bhebhe, THE DEBEERS ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT/GARETH JACOBS. Zimbabwe—co-founders of Kimberley’s funding, machinery, etc.” co-founders of the diamond-processing OC Gems, a burgeoning diamond- facility Kimberley’s OC Gems. processing facility they’ve dreamt of Help came in various forms; the De setting up since 2015. “I thought Beers Enterprise Development Program, in New York city this March, when they diamonds came out of the ground government schemes, Petra diamonds attended stellar events like the Gem already shining and blinking,” says and CS Diamonds—who sponsored Awards and the 24kt Club dinner, the Ratsoma. “All I knew about diamonds them to exhibit at a trade fair in Las latter as guests of Eddie LeVian (of the I’d learnt from American rap music Vegas. “We were the only Africans,” eponymous jewellery brand). videos,” says Bhebhe. they recall. “A young diamond-cutting and polishing company from Kimberley. “We are glad to help share our “I grew up on one meal a day,” Our first time on the international stage.” long-established industry connections Ratsoma says. “When I got a job at a to open doors for newer, high-quality diamond manufacturer in Polokwane I It would turn out to be one of the best players who would like to join the woke each day at 4.30am for the bus.” It moves they had ever made. “That’s diamond industry,” says Mr LeVian. turned out that Ratsoma was such a where we met people like Ronnie Take another look—these are the new natural at the polishing wheel, he sped Vanderlinden,” Bhebhe says of the faces of the diamond industry, and through the ranks at lightning speed to diamond-industry stalwart who showed you’ll be seeing a lot more of them. n become a trainer himself, even learning them around his state-of-the-art facility sign language. He would eventually move to Kimberley, where one of his students was Bhebhe, and the two became business partners. “Between 2015- 2017,” says Bhebhe, “we knocked on “All I knew about DIAMONDS I’d learnt from American RAP MUSIC videos.” 46 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Green LIGHT GOLDEN AGE Artisanal expertise and touches from antiquity elevate From far left: Nicholas wears the Amorini Cleopatra’s Bling’s newest collection, Green Hearts in Sun earrings and Diana necklace; Carol wears the Donna Bianca earrings and Khepri chain I NSPIRED BY A love of travel, the deep glow of malachite, emerald and necklace. Jewellery, from top: Yunu necklace; ethereal and the symbolic, resin with statement earrings, golden Pandaia earrings; 18kt gold Patrika ring; Cleopatra’s Bling combines an pendants and strings of silvery pearls. Aquitaine earrings, all in 18kt gold plate. ancient aesthetic with jeweller Olivia Touches of the artisanal elevate each Cummings’ signature modern, design, from handmade golden beads in separately as statement pieces, hues of maximalist style. After a childhood the Diana necklace to the twisted gold green and blue bring calm and serenity surrounded by trinkets and treasures, and blue resin of the Kuaneos earrings. to the wearer, enhancing any outfit. Cummings’ sense of adventure took her to Paris and then to Istanbul, where she Each creation combines luxurious, This collection dissolves outdated learned from the artisans that frequent sustainable materials and impeccable dichotomies of masculine and the Grand Bazaar, hammering metals craftsmanship, handmade using ancient feminine, old and young, as evidenced and sourcing stones while sipping wax moulding techniques and ethical in the accompanying campaign. The Turkish coffee. In Naples, she found processes. Whether layered or worn shoot pays homage to the celebration mosaic-covered plazas and conceived of eastern art forms, referencing the collections that spoke of the myths of the The latest collection 1969 Soviet-Armenian art film The Mediterranean: jewels emblazoned with centres on the DEEP Color of Pomegranates. The collection Gorgon faces, ancient Roman designs GLOW of malachite, is showcased by two models, Nicholas and the shimmer of precious stones. emerald and resin, and Carol; the latter is a former member of the Australian Ballet company who Various sellout collections have with EARRINGS, has been training in dance for more followed since, melding influences pendants and pearls. than 60 years. The unexpected pairing from east and west to create timeless yet of a masculine model and a ballerina wearable pieces. The latest collection, in her 70s perfectly encapsulates the entitled Green Hearts in Sun and timed boundary-breaking design for which for Spring/Summer 2022, centres on the Cleopatra’s Bling has become known. Cummings has even written original poetry for the collection, her verses conjuring poignant images of love and loss, channelling the spirit of freedom and exploration of Green Hearts in Sun. View the collections at cleopatrasbling.com

Profile /Anabela Chan Pearls of WISDOM By collaborating with an eco-sensitive pearl supplier in French Polynesia, Anabela Chan’s sculptural pieces have been designed in natural harmony By Kim Parker P PEARLS HAVE ALWAYS had a special significance for Anabela Chan. “My gems. Now known for her From left: Dew Drop earrings with Tahitian A N A B E L A C H A N : FA B I O A F F U S O . C H A N FA M I LY : A N A B E L A grandmother wore her string of pearls nature-inspired jewels pearls; Anabela Chan; Chan’s great- C H A N FA M I LY A RC H I V E . religiously, even if she was just visiting wrought from recycled grandmother; her grandmother. the market. I always admired that,” says metals and carefully the London-based jeweller, who recalls considered gemstones, the growing up in Hong Kong designer is working on her surrounded by elegant, first (as yet unnamed) pearl-wearing collection dedicated to rare relatives. “For every Chinese auntie it was and colourful pearls. “I’ve pearls over wanted to do this for years, but diamonds any day. could never find the right supplier There was something that harvested spectacular pearls in a so romantic about it.” way that aligned with my values,” When Chan was a reveals Chan. Then, during the 2020 teenager, she attempted to lockdown, she was quoted in an article cast her dream pearl piece for about ethical jewellery alongside the a school assignment, aided by gemologist Laurent Cartier, who the renowned designer Andrew Grima: a yellow-gold pocket square, encasing a single grey Tahitian pearl. Sadly, it never materialised. “The pocket square was too fragile to hold its shape, and the ideal pearl never came my way,” she says. Some 20 years later, Chan’s latest undertaking promises to fulfil her childhood obsession with the nacreous 48 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y

From top: Diamond “I loved the idea From top: Anabela Chan in her workshop; Grass brooch in gold; of elevating a leaf a bag of Tahitian pearls ready to be Pearl Grass brooch with into a SCULPTURAL worked with from her French Polynesian a Tahitian pearl; Blade PIECE; in the same supplier Kamoka. earrings with Tahitian way that an oyster pearls and emeralds. are so fantastically rare and beautiful,” can transform says Chan. “I’d never bought lauded the efforts of a a grain of sand gemstones without holding them in my boutique, family-run into a PEARL.” hand before, but I spent hours on Zoom sustainable pearl with the Humberts, choosing the JEWELLERY AND WORKSHOP: ANABELA CHAN. farm called Kamoka perfect ones. It was heavenly.” Pearls, based in French Polynesia. “I researched Chan’s unicorn pearls will be the Kamoka and their work to centrepiece of a 20-piece collection of conserve the waters around the Ahe earrings, pins and rings set to launch atoll, and I knew I’d found my perfect later this year. Inspired by the plants in collaborators,” says Chan. Chan’s own garden, recycled aluminium and yellow gold have been fashioned Located 300 miles northeast of into delicately curling fern leaves, or Tahiti, Kamoka was founded in the sleek blades of grass, embellished with early 1990s by the Humbert family, gleaming pearl “dewdrops”, lab-created who have pioneered some of the diamonds, sapphires and garnets. “I strictest levels of sustainable pearl loved the idea of elevating something farming over the ensuing decades. The humble like a leaf into a sculptural high-powered hoses used to clean piece of art; in the same way that an oyster shells by commercial operations oyster can transform a grain of sand (which alter the pH of seawater and into an amazing pearl,” says Chan. And disrupt the local ecosystem) have been just as she envisioned her gold pocket replaced with native fish species, which square as a unisex accessory, these pick the oysters clean. As a result, pieces are also designed to be worn by Kamoka’s native marine population, anyone. The pocket square itself may including previously endangered even stage a comeback. “I’ve finally species, is now thriving, bolstered by a found the perfect grey pearl which protected breeding reserve. What’s could be set inside it,” enthuses Chan. more, by only using oyster mother-of- “Watch this space.” n pearl shell nuclei in its cultured pearls (rather than mussel shell nuclei), Kamoka has created gems of unparalleled hue and lustre. “They’re called ‘unicorn’ pearls, because they J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2 49

Profile /Nigerian Collectors Jennifer Obayuwana, Polo Limited, the pioneer luxury store executive director of founded by her father John Obayuwana luxury goods retailer in 1987. “My father gifted me a Cartier Polo Limited, wears necklace when I was 16 and said, ‘Don’t pearl and diamond wear it yet.’ And I didn’t wear it until I necklace, earrings, turned 24,” she says about her first ring and bracelet, all piece, a gold Panthère collar that by Yoko London; heralded her love of animal designs. tanzanite and The pause allowed Obayuwana to diamond ring by develop her own curatorial point of view Amrapali; one which she shares with her clients and Panthère de and her 170,000 Instagram followers. Cartier watch. “I wouldn’t say my jewellery journey has been entirely a classic one,” she POWER Dressing notes. “I like David Morris, Van Cleef and I collect old Fred rather than Mingling heritage pieces with contemporary designs from commercial Fred, and who doesn’t like Africa or the maisons of Place Vendôme, Nigerian women Graff?” she says, laughing. “But I’ve invest in fabulous jewellery on a major scale—and wear it also looked at Indian and Pakistani with absolute pride. By Mazzi Odu women and never really understood why they liked the style they did, and so C CAN ONE LOOK at the jewellery I delved into Amrapali. It wasn’t love at DANIEL OBASI. sensibilities of an entire country— first sight but now I have a few Amrapali especially one as large and culturally pieces, too.” Her taste for the novel varied as Nigeria—through the lens of coupled with her curiosity has segued just two collections? The answer, into her business where, alongside Place perhaps, is yes, if they belong to Vendôme heavyweight brands such as Jennifer Obayuwana and Onari Duke, Chopard, Cartier and Messika, she for their decisions point to wider stocks niche fine-jewellery houses jewellery trends in a nation that is including Yoko London, Tessitore 1888 arguably a lodestar of economics and and Firenze Ferrari. tastes in Africa as a whole. OBAYUWANA DOES OF course have “Sophisticated Nigerian women preferences for the type of pieces she want to be part of the global aesthetic,” collects: “Rings and bracelets every says Obayuwana, executive director of day!” There’s a pattern of provenance, too, in her love of Italian pieces. “I have 50 VA N I T Y FA I R O N J E W E L L E R Y a big collection of Palmiero; Carlo is an artist. His designs are poetic—it’s quite emotional for me. A ring can be a flower and you can literally see it blooming. The dégradé and the colours… a paraiba going into tanzanite,” she sighs. Asked to name her favourite piece, she replies speedily: “Roberto Coin, the Princess Flower collection. I think I wear it every week. And I love Bulgari too.” Of the new African designers that draw upon their heritage, Satta Matturi and Vanleles are much admired, “probably because I am into the classic aesthetic”. There is an infectious ebullience in how Obayuwana engages with jewellery and embraces its potential for self expression, and acts as both guide, conduit and inspiration for her clients to J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2



Profile /Nigerian Collectors do the same. Her approach Onari Duke with her daughter Nela Ekpenyong. While her European and DANIEL OBASI. in many ways embodies Onari wears ruby and diamond necklace Japanese jewellery suggests 21st-century African and earrings by Bulgari. Nela wears coral an advocate of minimalism, boss-lady energy; love what her heirloom pieces reflect you do, be it at Baselworld necklace from the Bob-Manuel royal collection; the elaborate craftsmanship or Paris Couture Week, and jade, coral and diamond earrings from a beloved of Kalabari royalty. ensure you do it with “Where I come from, the commitment and élan. Lebanese dealer; pearl and gold bracelet and only colour we do is coral, so pearl and gold ring, both by Assael. I grew up with that.” There FOR ONARI DUKE, the former are rules for the way pieces first lady of Cross Rivers Jewellery.” Completing her canon of are worn although, Duke State in Nigeria, “jewellery classics are some “pieces from Chopard, notes, “it is not as strict as it is an art—and I have always such as a citrine and diamond pendant, was. Nela [her younger loved art”. The lawyer, and a ruby and diamond suite by Bulgari daughter, an environmental philanthropist and country that were gifts from my husband.” activist] wore just the double director of Empretec coral neckpiece at her Nigeria Foundation has a There something traditional wedding, but collection founded on two ALLURING in seeing there are other pieces that principles: pieces that are she felt were too much for uncomplicated and able to an individual her.” Part of the astonishing cope with the demands of express their parure is a coral crown, her schedule—“I might have POWER and armbands and an additional a meeting with market inviting others to necklace, all dating back to women, and later attend a bask in its radiance. the 18th century, some formal function in the possibly earlier. Duke notes evening,” she says. These the tension in being a complement her heirlooms custodian of pieces that have as a Kalabari princess from a native religious aspect to the house of Bob-Manuel. their use. “When you talk “During ceremonial about the spiritual element of occasions you don’t wear the jewellery, it is complex. A your own jewellery, instead lot of these pieces symbolise you wear your great-grandmother’s Mami Wata, or the water spirit, so as a jewellery, which shows that it didn’t Christian I pray over them.” Mami Wata start with you—you have heritage. is a goddess from the sea who appears in Every woman is expected to have her folklore across west Africa. own collection. So as soon as I started working I knew I had to start collecting. HERITAGE, BE IT local or international, The salary comes and you must split it and a love of creative artistry underpins into three: savings, jewellery and the collections of Nigerian women. This personal upkeep,” she laughs. desire to show off talent is perhaps reflected in the country’s art scene too, For Duke, her working quandary was which is having a moment globally. best served by pearls. These pan-cultural There is something alluring in seeing an perennials are the gemstone of choice for individual— be they a business titan, leaders, be they hereditary or musician, statesman or artist—express democratically elected. “I love the fact their power, and inviting others to bask you can take it up or you can take it down in its radiance. It is a quintessentially a notch—they are so versatile,” Duke Nigerian trait. Duke notes that explains. The majority of her pieces are storytelling resonates for her, as it’s from Japanese heritage house Mikimoto, associated with time and geography: with some custom pieces sourced in “Jewellery tells a story, and without Lebanon. However, like Coco Chanel, stories who are we?” she muses. The Duke is not averse to mixing cultured metaphysical message is clear: in Nigeria pearls with faux. “Right now, I am there is space for all, but only the truly returning to costume jewellery—I like fabulous are fêted and remembered. n both costume and Chanel High 52 VA N I T Y F A I R O N J E W E L L E R Y J U LY / AU G U ST 2 02 2