Sky Arts' daily blog from London Jewellery Week

Final Day

2008-06-15T12:14:00.002+01:00

Today I thought i'd learn, so it was a day to be spent at the Holts Academy of Jewellers in Hatton Garden.

The 4th day

2008-06-15T11:45:00.002+01:00

Today I headed towards another London landmark, The Oxo Tower. "Jewellery 3 at Oxo" comprised of 3 independently run galleries, they have a partnership with Coutts London Jewellery Week and have opened shop with some special exhibitions specially for this week.

The first gallery I checked out was D'Argent, the gallery mainly showcased silver, gold and diamond in they're ranges and they're were some particularly beautiful pieces by Louise Sherman.

Alan Vallis at Oxo showed some amazing Red Sea marine themed pieces, you could really tell he has been hugely inspired by Middle Eastern culture as it really shines through when you look at the detailing in his patterns, colour and form on his pieces.

Studio Fusion specialised in enamel work, it was all very contemporary with some really beautiful pieces. Esther Knobel combines the beauty of the rose with some enameling and produced delicate necklaces, earrings and pendants. They almost looked fossilised and those beautiful pieces would be well worth preserving. Another designer that really shone was Alex Ramsay, whose glass and silver condiment servers showed another side precious design work. The detail and precision of his designs shines and they would simply smash your current set clean off the table.

The 3rd evening

2008-06-15T11:28:00.002+01:00

This evening I decided to check out a designer who has crossed between the fashion and jewellery industry over the last 20 years with some serious iconic and animalistic creations. Sam Ubhi was previewing some re-worked designs from her first collections and some of her most loved pieces.

The pieces really were stunning, they had such a precious ora to them yet the textures of some of the materials added a rustic authenticity.

This is where bling and nature cross over, right here in The Shop at 12 Glenbumle Road, check out her website for images of her collections and tell me I'm wrong.

The 3rd day

2008-06-14T08:24:00.002+01:00

From one landmark mark to another, I began today at the Victoria & Albert museum in South Kensington. The William & Judith Bollinger Jewellery gallery hosts a vast collection of jewellery, spanning room earlier than 1000BC right up to now. The collection is made up from what seems like every material/element on the earth and I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few from further reaches.

The exhibition walks you through by date and covers pretty ch every major event in our histological diary. From the iron jewellery which became status symbols around the Great War in Berlin to the large (huge) carat rings on display from The Hope Collection.

It's a very informative exhibition and even if you glimpse over the cases you'll still, eve f subconsciously, pick up inspiration for your next party, kitchen colour scheme or even an outfit, so go check it out. Admissions is free!

The 2nd evening

2008-06-13T12:02:00.005+01:00

After seeing some well established design work during the morning, I thought i'd check out some new talent that is breaking out in the industry, the event is called Treasure. Treasure showcases some of the very best contemporary jewellery design Britain has to offer in the splendid surroundings already housing some of Britons oldest and most precious jewels, the Tower of London.

I arrived to a baron courtyard and was escorted through to where the event was being held. Complete contrast, the room had more than 30 exhibitors and a bustling crowd buzzing around some great creative talent.

The first collection to grab my eye was the Superfertile collection, the idea just shone, it made sense and looked great. All the pieces looked great and the necklaces were stunning, each piece was illustrated and cut by hand then double dipped in gold to create a mural of a war torn country. The idea was to show there is still more to a country plagued with unsettlement, there is beauty, there is life and I think these pieces showed some incredible imagination and reason.

Sian Evans had a piece on display which harnessed different techniques of creating jewellery from sand-casting to 3D scanning, they all commingled perfected, and could easily have been mistaken for an archeological find. It's artifact jewellery, the patterns and materials raise the questions; wearable? useable? Go have a look and decide for yourself but whatever you think you have to admit it's an astonishing piece of work.

The event also showcased 2008's Jewellery Designer of the Year - Nina Koutibashvili. The textures of her creations really bought her designs to life they look as if they're going to slither right out of the case, have a look at these.

The event is a real mix of talent, boundaries are blurred, there is a lot of character and spirit put into every design. Unconventional materials like Maria Lau's intriguing 'A Skin Less Ordinary' collection really show how jewellery can be manipulated, experimental and playful, yes they are tights and i'll leave this for you to check out.

With over 10,000 visitors expected the show is providing a unique platform for ideas to become reality and individuality to be understood. It shows some real visionary pieces of design exactly what this week is about and the surroundings only complement, definitely be one of the 10,000 plus to check out the show.

The 2nd day...

2008-06-13T10:30:00.008+01:00

After the show last night, I thought it would be best to return to the public exhibition held by Swarovski which was showcasing all the creations from the show the night before, just incase I missed anything.

Amongst all the detail I was taking in there was one designer that really stood out. He's my favourite designer and has won Jewellery Designer of the Year in past, he designs for the stars and everyone of his collections seem as if they've fallen from them. The designer I'm talking about is Shaun Leane.

Shaun Leane is a rising star in the jewellery industry, his work as shown at the Swarovski Runway Rocks Show, has a dark romantic side and is always beautifully crafted, his work has been described by Sotheby's prestigious auction house as, 'antique's of the future'.

His collaborations shout genius and he collections scream desire - desire to be owned! So I went down to London's Selfridges to check out his new collection and for a little chat in the Wonder Room.

As he gets out pieces of his newest collection for me to shoot, Shaun explains why it's important for designers to come together and shine together, although there's still competition, he assures it's healthy competition. His collection designed around a bespoke set of earrings he was asked to design show just how incredible his talent is. The golds hugged the diamonds, while the rubies and sapphires not only entwined but fused deliciously with every design separated from the real world by a single sheet of glass. From talons to horns, beaks to lilies every piece of Shaun's work shone talent and it is a must see collection just try not to dribble while you look at these images below...

The 1st evening...

2008-06-12T11:56:00.006+01:00

Over the last 10 years Swarovski has become a huge patron to the London fashion scene so it only seems fit that they would provide an exquisite performance of show-stopping collections, couture catwalk jewels from the most cutting-edge designers not just from the UK but from around the world.

The evening was spectacular!! AMAZING!! The high profile line up included designers such as:

Erickson Beamon
Alexandra Byrne
Hussein Chalayan
Ana de Costa
Naomi Filmer
Christopher Kane
Shaun Leane
Julien MacDonald
Jonny Rocket
Pippa Small, and so many more!!!

I arrived to a carpet of Swarovski crystals which lead the way to 4 rooms, 2 of which housed an absolutely stunning collection of commissioned designs from around the world, the designers were asked to create their ultimate vision for catwalk jewellery and they created oh so much more! Just take a look at these...

Once I got the crystals out of my eyes, I had a short amount of time to compose myself on a Swarovski sofa before the main event started. I opted for a more chilled approach so we both sat and while someone scurried around to find her a drink the show began.

Super sexy, super successful, amazingly stunning were the words flowing out of my mouth, I was talking to the Queen of Crystals herself, Nadja Swarovski. Once I stopped staring and Nadja was done commenting on my nails the interview began, Nadja has steered Swarovski into one of Austria's most famous export, along with Mozart, The Alps and The Sound of Music and I wanted to know why and how this came about. Nadja spoke recalled as a child so used to play with the beads her father brought home and she's always had a vision of where she wants to take the sparkling company and its bee a really fun task it getting it to where they are now.

Swarovski has can be thanked for helping to launch undiscovered talent like Viktor & Rolf and Christopher Kane, so I wanted to know how Swarovski goes about choosing the talent to support; "It's about passion, their creativeness and business acumen. But most importantly they have to love the product (Swarovski) otherwise it would never look god in their creation."

The interview closed with a quote from her great great grandfather I don't think i'll ever be able to forget, "Diamonds are for royalty, we'll take the rest".

Nadja Swarovski's was a vision of loveliness, so polished and perfect in every way possible, from her immaculate clothing to her flawless complexion, she could quite easily have been cut from crystal herself, she is royalty. Check out the full interview when its loaded up, she deserves that much!!

So after Nadja searched me for my Swarovski she was whisked of so the catwalk presentation could begin. And what a presentation it was, there are no words on the word that could describe the one-of-a-kind creations that emerged on the catwalk, just checkout these pics...

The 1st day

2008-06-12T09:16:00.004+01:00

There are over 130 events going on this week with over 600 participants, so its going to be hard to decide what to go to but I've compiled a list of shows, exhibitions, parties and launches which I think displays the widest range the week has to offer as well as providing an exclusive look into the glitz and glamour you may not get to see yourself.

The first event I went to was the preview of the Orchid Collection at the well established Liberty on Regent Street, it was also the launch of a new charity charm bracelet in conjunction with The World Land Trust. Worth going to see but leave the cameras at home as I was asked not to film in the exhibition room. The Orchid Collection are a fantastic piece of craftsmanship, precious metals are combined seamlessly with gems that sparkle the pieces to life.

After this event I took a quick look around the Elizabeth Gage retrospective exhibition called The Unconventional Gage. It's an exhibition of work spanning over 40 years. The evolution in the designs are amazing, when you get in close and check out the detail you can see why she is such renowned jewellery artist. The collection included magnificent jewels that you wouldn't see normally as they are commissioned pieces for her clients as well as stunning pieces from her private collection. This is a definate must see event, its on till Sunday at 18 Albemarle Street in 'The Yellow Room' from 10am till 5pm.

I then had to make my way home to get ready for the evening event, the big one, SWAROVSKI RUNWAY ROCKS.

The week begins...

2008-06-12T09:07:00.002+01:00

The official launch was last night (Tuesday), and new records were set with Swarovski entering the world records for displaying the most crystals in a fashion display. Hundreds of thousands of tiny sparkling drops of pure perfection adorned the creation and displayed just how much talent this week is going to expose!!

So here we are...

2008-06-11T11:42:00.013+01:00

Ok it was a slow start to the blog but not to the week of June, celebrating and exhibiting one of London's oldest industries - Coutts London Jewellery Week.

Although the official launch to the event is the 11th there have been a few pre-event shindigs and showcases of which i've had the pleasure to attend.

The first on the list was the Shoes & Jewels event held at the Burlington Arcade. It was a collaboration of beautiful jewels from the arcade and the creative talent of London College of Fashion's Cordwainers. It was amazing! The models raised on pedestals were dressed, I say dressed I mean provocatively draped, in cashmere from the arcade but adorned with dazzling jewels and wore shoes provided by so of the Colleges illustrious alumni, such as Jimmy Choo and Linda (LK) Bennett.

The presentation was alight with creative talents, you could smell it in the air, I was lucky enough to have collected some of these thoughts on the event and the week ahead from some of the very prestigious guests: Fashion Designer Anna Konder, One of the World's top shoe designers Beatrix Ong, Head of London College of Fashion Dr Frances Croner, Luxury accessories designer and retailer Trevor Pickett and the Chairman of the British Fashion Council (and owner of Jaeger) Harold Tillman.

Burlington Arcade was transformed into a glamourous piazza where the beauty of the intricate jewellery designs and how they were displayed exceeded expectations and left me in anticipation of what the week holds.

Get lost in the photos below...

Following on from Shoes & Jewels, I made my way over to Mount Street Gardens for the Mount Street Rocks summer garden party. This event was held in the private gardens on Mount Street, while the swing band was playing, the Mayor of Westminster studied what looked like a fallen star. As soon as you enter the private party your eyes were drawn to a tower which appeared to be burning a white flame. As I got closer it became clear, it was a dress, a dress bejewelled by Hand & Lock hand embroidered Swarovski crystals. It was stunning, designed specifically for Coutts London Jewellery Week by the patron of the event - Ben de Lisi. Check it out...

Didn't stay long as the jewels were a bit thin on the ground, so I made way over to Boodles Wonderland Party which was held around the Hay Market Hotel Pool. As we sipped champagne and admired the photography some of Boodles finest pieces, ballerinas posed wearing the actual stunning pieces. They glistened as they eloquently hung of the dainty dancers and every time they moved the sparkles gave a slight chill to the air.