The newest wonder material in fine jewellery is nothing less than the toughest, strongest metal on earth: titanium. An unlikely interloper in the traditional world of platinum and gold, titanium – industrial, inexpensive and super high-tech – represents barrier-breaking technology that is liberating design and stimulating creativity.

A featherweight but durable metal used in the aerospace industry, state-of-the-art surgery and high-performance cars (not to mention the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao), titanium first sparked excitement in the high-end jewellery market four to five years ago, when new ways of manipulating it brought it to the attention of leading artist-jewellers.