With a background in luxury swimwear, Greek designer Marianna Goulandris has recently turned her hand to luxury jewellery. Consisting of refined yet statement-making gold pieces, her debut collection has caught our magpie eye, and is destined to inspire all other who encounter it. Recently, Twin had five minutes with the woman herself – here’s what was discussed:

What made you want to move into jewellery design?
It was a natural transition from swimwear. Starting a company so young you grow and change and what turned out being a hobby on the side ended up becoming full time! The continuity of heritage and ancient Greek influence is also strongly shown in the jewellery.

How would you describe the collection in five words?
Quirky, chic, glamorous, gold, luxury.

Who is you customer?
It often ends up being a confident woman who is sure of what she likes. She can immediately target the piece she likes and wears it then and there.

Which is your favourite piece from the collection?
I love my spiral earrings that come in small and large size.

Tell us about the materials you have worked with for this collection and why…
I have worked with a lot more gold vermeil. I wanted to create a luxurious goddess collection with affordable prices!

Can you give us a clue as to what’s in store for next season?
Moving away from the Greek heritage and looking at other forms of good luck charms, not only the Greek mythological matti (eye).

Mariannag.com

Tags: fine jewellery, Greek, Marianna Goulandris

The London-based jeweller Jessica McCormack has launched her Couture Bridal Collection, and with universal appeal, the range mixes the whimsical with the avant-garde, the cerebral and the innocent.

Consisting of six couture pieces, these can be created bespoke around different diamonds, from 0.20 carat to 20.00 carat. Each ring design carries the traditional sentiment that you must start with the diamond and then everything else fits into place. In McCormack style though, expect a touch of the contemporary to go with this traditional tendency.

“I want to create engagement rings that speak to the uniqueness of each woman. A ring that you wear every day is more than just a symbol of love. It is also a reflection of personality and history.” Jessica McCormack

Jessicamccormack.com

Tags: bridal, fine jewellery, Jessica McCormack

Alice Waese is not your typical fine jewellery designer. Despite founding an eponymous cult jewellery line that ranges in price from £1,900 to £6,500 – she has received critical acclaim from numerous fashion magazines including Vogue and Interview and exhibited her work at Frieze London 2015 – Alice’s propulsion of fine jewellery leaves it’s mark by revelling in the subversion and whim of all-that-glitters-isn’t gold cocktail sparkle. Her unisex gold and silver pieces, which are hand crafted in limited editions of 90, are subjects of her diverse research stimuli: birds, trees, roots, skulls, rock formations and limbs.

“The glowing and vivid palette os my Spring Summer 2016 collection is based on a series of paintings I created, they explore the visual intensity and subsequent symbolism of various stones. Alchemists consider the emerald as a symbol of hope, wisdom and as a preservation of love. The ruby is believed to be the most powerful jewel, and is associated with passion, vitality and courage—I incorporate them all in this collection,” she said.

At 20, Alice Waese moved to New York, her current base, to intern for the jeweller Maria Cornejo and was later hired as a design assistant there. She then moved to London where she studied Fine Art at Goldsmith’s College before turning to jewellery full time. Alice describes her interest in fine jewellery as in fact a fascination with “artifacts and heirlooms, the weight of an object with intrinsic value. I consider what happens to an item that is loved, given away, passed on and worn daily. I am inspired also by the materials themselves, the transformation from wax to gold is something really satisfying both on an aesthetic level and a tactile, physical level. I also work from my drawings, an internal world of fantasy and narrative”.

Drawing from life is the basis of Alice’s work, as she truly believes that knowing the dimensions and details of objects and space are key to later constructing something fine and precious out of that which was once mundane. In conjunction with research of the fine jewellery field, Alice eagerly sketches and has published her surrealist watercolour drawings in a series of hand printed hardbound books, each containing a single piece of jewellery hidden in the cutout.

For Spring Summer 2016, Alice Waese’s launches a fine jewellery and ready-to-wear collection that is available exclusively at Hostem.

Alicewaese.com // Hostem.co.uk

Tags: Alice Waese, fine jewellery, Hostem

London born and based jewellery designer Rachel Boston showed her first fine jewellery collection at London Fashion Week. Full of beautifully wrought, geometric pieces, the items in the collection have the potential to become treasured heirlooms. Twin chats to the New Designer of the Year nominee.

When did you decide you wanted to go into jewellery design?
I knew that I wanted to design jewellery from very early on. I always liked working with my hands so would use my parent’s toolbox and take apart my sister’s jewellery and put it back together in different ways – which I’m sure she didn’t enjoy too much. I then started basing all my projects in my Design and Technology class around jewellery so that I could build up my portfolio and work towards getting in to a jewellery course at university, which I did.

Why did you decide to study at the Gemological Institute in New York rather than stay in the UK?
I grew up in London and also stayed here for university at Central Saint Martins, so really felt like I needed to experience what it was like to live somewhere else, even for a short while. New York has always had such an allure to it for me that when I found out they did the course there it seemed crazy not grab the opportunity. It was the best decision I ever made. I met so many amazing people on the course from all over the world but also met my boyfriend whilst living out there and we’ve been doing long distance for almost 3 years now, which seems crazy to most people but works really well for us.

You showed your first fine jewellery collection at LFW; why did you decide to move into fine jewellery?
Making jewellery that wasn’t trend based and seasonal has always been very important to me. I’ve wanted to create pieces that could be worn forever and passed on as gifts to others so I decided it was necessary that the materials reflected this also. The price point is higher because it’s 18ct gold now instead of plated, but you have the reassurance that these are pieces that will not tarnish, the gold will not fade and you can theoretically pass these onto your grandchildren and they will stay in good condition. The history and the meaning that is given to jewellery and how people become attached to it is one of the reasons I fell in love with it in the first place, so making fine jewellery has happened very naturally.

Do you craft each piece by hand yourself?
I do. As of right now every piece is made in my studio off Hatton Garden (London’s jewellery district) and all the materials are sourced locally. As the business keeps growing this won’t be feasible for me making every piece as it’s a huge amount of work but I’d like to keep it in the studio and based in the UK as I’m a big supporter for British craftsmanship.

What is your favourite piece so far?
It changes all the time but from the new fine collection I think the Jera ear cuffs or the hinged Dagaz ring. The hinged ring is really comfortable and I barely notice I’m wearing it so it’s a great statement piece you can wear everyday. I love the Jera earrings because they fit the ear really nicely and I have the white sapphires specially cut here in London so I they’re very special because it’s such an unusual cut to have.

What is your favourite item of jewellery? Earrings, necklaces, bracelets or rings?
With me more is always more so I like layering necklaces, playing with different lengths and piling rings on for more of a statement. I tend to dress quite casually for the studio, generally just jeans, plain tee and a leather jacket so I love wearing a lot of rings to create more of a statement.

What are the key jewellery trends coming up for SS15?
The market is definitely leaning more towards fine jewellery these days, which I’m really happy about. I think people are starting to realise how much better it is to invest in one significant piece then spending lots of little bits of money on high street jewellery which falls apart so quickly.

What are your plans for your brand – where will you be this time next year?
I’m doing a lot more bespoke engagement ring work which I adore doing. It’s a huge honour to be asked to create someone’s ring that they intend to wear forever and I love working with couples to create something unique, so I definitely would like to do more of that. Otherwise I want the brand to keep growing both in the UK market and internationally and at some point open a small store in London.

What would your advice be to someone who wants to go into jewellery design?
I think it’s important to learn patience and how to figure out your own path and style. I definitely think you have to build a strong foundation on the technical side as well and not just fob it off and give everything to someone else to do for you, you don’t learn that way and you don’t end up pushing yourself.

Who is your ultimate jewellery/fashion inspiration?
Most of my favourite fashion muses are from bygone eras but I love the androgynous style of my heroines like Patti Smith and Joan Jett; they exude this amazingly powerful energy and are such strong women so anything they wear looks automatically cool.

rachelboston.co.uk

Tags: Design, fine jewellery, jewellery, LFW, Rachel Boston