Give us one good reason why jewellery isn’t the best gift ever? You probably can’t. That’s because it is, in fact, the best. In all honesty, what can you can you add to your wardrobe that feels as personal as a great piece of jewellery? Find the right piece and you’ll wear it every day; invest that little bit extra and it lasts a lifetime.
Granted, we’re suckers for dropping major dollars on fashion (yes, we just cleared our bank balances in the Net-a-Porter sale, but that’s not the point). When it comes to make a grown up purchase, there’s no question that our attention narrows in on jewellery. Just think of how sentimental the collection you already own is. You know, the classic piece you were given when you came of age; the heirloom item you were passed down when you hit that big milestone. As much as we love to think of fashion as an investment, let’s get real here for a minute: even the most classic piece begins to depreciate in value the moment we start wearing it (that’s before you start counting those cocktail spills here and there) and needs considerable love and TLC with age. Shirley Bassey was on to something when she said diamonds are forever and London-based designer Georgina Boyce is the force behind some of the most covetable gems we’ve seen in a minute.
When she opens the door to her West London pad, she’s dressed head to toe in black rather than a colourful bijou of an outfit you might expect from a fine jewellery designer. As we sit at her dining table and she rolls out package after package of jewels, it instantly becomes apparent that it’s with jewellery rather than fashion that her personality comes to the fore. Don’t be fooled though, her pieces are the epitome of paired back minimalism, all simple bands and restrained designs; but as a gemmologist, it’s the jewel side where things become interesting. Let’s just say you’ll never find a run of the mill stone in a Georgina Boyce piece. If everyone’s doing white diamonds, she’s playing with the most beautiful (and unusual) brown stones. Enough said.
The world of jewellery isn’t anything new to her either. She spent the last decade honing her eye at some of the UK’s leading fine jewellers before walking away from it all to start up on her own. Her mission? To design modern fine jewellery that will last you a lifetime without breaking the bank (prices for her ready-to-wear collection range from around £250 to £1,995). When we met up with her at her home, which doubles up as her design studio, she told us that for her, jewellery should be a true reflection of our personalities and truly fit into our lifestyles – which is probably why most of her time is spent trawling through the Instagram and Pinterest accounts of brides-to-be when working on commission orders for engagement rings.
Has starting out on her own been easy? The short answer is, well, no. But that’s not stopping her. “. If you are truly passionate about what you do and your brand, those sacrifices, although they hurt at the time, are almost a pleasure because you that you’re fulfilling your dream. I want to succeed. I want this to work. I will stop at nothing to do so, even if it means seeing clients at 9pm on a Sunday night after a seven-day week. It’s all worth it!”
WHERE HER LOVE OF JEWELLERY BEGAN: I coveted the pieces my mother had and used to tinker about her dressing table playing with them from as young as I can remember. Usually, my sister and I would bicker over who got to wear what around the house. In fact, to this day we still tussle over who gets to wear what! As soon as I started to dress myself, jewellery became an integral part of my style, which has evolved with age. There is something carnal about jewellery. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment. I couldn’t imagine getting dressed without it. Every piece tells a story!
With my ready-to-wear line I really wanted to create ‘affordable’ fine jewellery. I was fed up of seeing jewellery being sold at extortionate prices. The more access people can have to fine jewellery, the better. Granted, I still want people to covet and treasure their pieces but I don’t want young professional women feeling like wearing fine jewellery was something unobtainable. It really doesn’t have to be.
THE PIECES SHE TURNS TO EVERY DAY: I have so many – I literally have a dressing table dedicated to my jewellery. Some are things I’ve picked up in flea markets in Berlin, others are family heirlooms and some pieces I have been lucky enough to make myself. I have a little jewellery uniform that I wear every day without fail. A signet ring left to me by my wonderful great uncle, a seventies bombe style diamond ring and a diamond eternity ring (both worn on the same finger). In my ears I have multiple piercings and I keep the same white diamond studs in all the higher ones. I’m always changing the two I wear at the bottom. The rest of my daily jewels are definitely subject to change. I use them to style my outfits or as an extension of how I am feeling that day.
CUTTING HER TEETH IN THE JEWELLERY WORLD: I had the opportunity to work for a wonderful established independent jewellery when we they were still a very small team. I was fortunate enough to work with small repairs to very luxurious commissions. This allowed me to experience every facet of the business. Being part of such a small team meant we were hands on in every department. Form emptying the bins to sorting through piles of gemstones and meeting with clients. Over time, I ran the production, which gave me the most invaluable knowledge and experience. We had to do workshops runs every day (travelling from Chelsea to East London) to visit up to twenty different workshops at a time and while most thought of it was a chore, I reveled in it. This was my moment to learn. I wanted to know the intricacies of jewellery production and manufacturing, learning about how setting worked and metals etc. I was able to source some of the most delicious gemstones and learn about them from the most passionate and knowledgeable people in the trade on the way. The tight knit community of fine jewellery in London is wonderfully untouched. The workshops are as they have been for decades, the craftsmen are still the same and the paperwork is all on paper. The whole trade relies entirely on trust. It’s fabulous. Everything I learned there, I put into practice in running my everyday business – even what not to do! I think you take the relevant parts of what you have learned and make them work for you. I have made them my own.
DECIDING TO SET UP ON HER OWN: I have always been very driven and ambitious. My father has always worked very hard and has seen successes from doing so. I think I got some of my drive from him. I also want to prove to my parents (and myself!) that I can be a success, particularly, as a woman. Like with any boutique business, there’s only so far you can go and develop so I think once I had reached that, and there was nowhere else for me to go, the most obvious answer for me was not to go and work in a bigger corporation, but to do it for myself. I felt ready – I was eager for the challenge, albeit terrified! It was then that I embarked on official my gemological training. I felt it was very important to grow the knowledge I had from work relevant and get the paper qualifications that people acknowledge and trust. I think it was also a form of protection should my business not thrive; I would have something to fall back on just in case.
ON KNOWING WHEN TO LAUNCH HER LABEL: I had evolved enough as a person. Aside from being ready in my career and feeling qualified to move on, I had reached a crossroads in my life where I wanted something of my own to nurture and curate. I had a great time working for other businesses in my younger years. I saw the world, worked hard and played hard. I grew into the role of wanting my own business because I watched the amazing women I worked for and saw their passion. It was something I knew I wanted for myself. These women were committed. They had lives and families and still fought tooth and nail for their passion and their business. I made a point to get as much experience and knowledge as possible before taking the leap. If I hadn’t waited and learned as much as I could, I don’t think I would have felt ready.
WHY KNOWING YOUR STONES IS EVERYTHING: It’s genuinely the most important element to my business. The main feature of the jewellery I make is often the gemstones. You have to understand the variables that affect the cost – particularly in diamonds. My clients are investing hard earned money into these pieces. Often, particularly for engagement rings, this is the very first thing they have bought that does not directly benefit themselves. It is the most expensive purchase of their lives (aside from their first car) so I don’t take that lightly. I think it’s very easy to become flippant about budgets and stones when you work in this trade. I’m still very grounded and realise the importance of knowing exactly what I am selling and what it means to my customer.
Aside from being ready in my career and feeling qualified to move on, I had reached a crossroads in my life where I wanted something of my own to nurture and curate. I had a great time working for other businesses in my younger years. I saw the world, worked hard and played hard. I grew into the role of wanting my own business because I watched the amazing women I worked for and saw their passion. It was something I knew I wanted for myself. These women were committed. They had lives and families and still fought tooth and nail for their passion and their business.
ON OFFERING SOMETHING DIFFERENT: With my ready-to-wear line I really wanted to create ‘affordable’ fine jewellery. I was fed up of seeing jewellery being sold at extortionate prices. The more access people can have to fine jewellery, the better. Granted, I still want people to covet and treasure their pieces but I don’t want young professional women feeling like wearing fine jewellery was something unobtainable. It really doesn’t have to be. The production experience I have definitely helped with that. I know what I can to do bring costs down, make things lighter, or by designing a piece so a stone seems seem bigger than it is. I also wanted to break some boundaries and conventions. I use stones that are often less popular like brown diamonds and I toy with the conventional use of form. I like jewellery to have an appeal from all angles. It needs to be interested no matter what way you’re looking at it.
BALANCING THE OLD WITH THE NEW: It’s a very fine balance. I think you have to be aware of fashion trends; if you aren’t making jewellery that people want to wear, it won’t sell. But if you make your pieces too seasonal, they won’t come back. I think it is important to rely on the traditional origins and styles of jewellery and give it a fresh twist. Twist being the operative word – a few tweaks and adaptations to make it more relevant, without going too far. I think it’s also important to make sure there’s balance. So if I’m using more unusual stones, for example, I’ll always make sure the design is classic and vice versa.
ON HER FAVOURITE PART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS: It totally varies – no piece has the same journey. With commission pieces, sometimes my client will have a very firm idea of what they would like. My job is to turn their shopping list into a piece within their budget. I also get clients that allow me to have a free reign, which I love. I try and get an idea of the type of piece they would like or the gemstones they love and take it from there. First, I sketch some very rough freehand designs before picking my favourites and creating more refined technical drawings to show. This part can be very collaborative. If they like the element of one with a part of another, we can create something entirely unique and bespoke. I see clients in my home – often with a gin and tonic in hand – and walk them through the options they have, my suggestions or show them previous pieces I have made for inspiration. I like to educate my client at this stage too, telling them how we make the pieces and what the elements of the stones mean, especially if they’re buying a diamond. Then comes the stone sourcing. This is without doubt one of the most important parts of the process because the size has a big impact on the end design. My mechanical drawings are entirely by hand and to scale, down to 0.01 of a millimeter. When you are creating something on a small scale, the importance of precision is paramount. I will usually show my clients a selection of stones so they can make an educated decision. Once the technical drawing has been signed off, it goes off to the workshop and I’ll sometimes make a wax version of the piece, just so they can try it on and have a play before the final design. Handing over the jewel at the end is wonderful.
THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECTS OF STARTING A BUSINESS: There’s a lot of competition – I think that’s a challenge that will never fade. Staying relevant and growing into a brand that people aspire to own is difficult too. Seeing your hopes and aspirations come to life is incredible. When my stationery arrived, I was over the moon. It’s the little things that get you through in the early days: seeing your packaging, stationery and your website finally come together. Little mini goals getting ticked off the list help because the rest is such a struggle.
THE ADVICE SHE’D GIVE ASPIRING DESIGNERS: Keep going! I’ve had months where I have barely invoiced a pound. I have had to miss countless birthdays and weekends away because what few pennies I did have were going back into the business. If you are truly passionate about what you do and your brand, those sacrifices, although they hurt at the time, are almost a pleasure because you that you’re fulfilling your dream. I want to succeed. I want this to work. I will stop at nothing to do so, even if it means seeing clients at 9pm on a Sunday night after a seven-day week. It’s all worth it!
THE MANTRA SHE SWEARS BY: My mother always says ‘Count your blessings’, which is so important when you’re starting a business. It’s terrifying, it’s expensive and it’s exhausting. At the beginning, you will make mistakes. You have to learn from them. Just count your blessings. You are doing this for you. It’s all yours; your baby. Enjoy it.