Precious stones: Vault of gems rocks the world of couture

This February, London Fashion Week welcomed a new arrival to its Somerset House venue. Like a UFO landing, the incongruous angular box structure perched on the terrace of the former royal palace by the Thames. Outside a sign read: “British Fashion Council Rock Vault.”

The number of security guards at the entrance hinted at what was inside: valuable jewels and plenty of them – not of the costume or fashion jewellery kind that make a cameo appearance on the catwalk but fine jewellery more typically seen behind plate glass windows.

As the music from John Rocha’s catwalk show thumped away, fashion editors and buyers cooed over carved chalcedony, diamond rings and precious chokers. The admiration between the aliens and fashion-lings was mutual. They may not consider themselves of the same race, but they have a lot in common. The official coming together of these two very different ways of adorning the body was masterminded by Stephen Webster, veteran of the cool jewel.

“As a London jewellery designer and a craftsman, it gives me great pleasure to be curating Rock Vault,” said Mr Webster. “This is an area dedicated for the first time to the rising stars of the UK jewellery industry under the umbrella of the BFC. Over the past 10 years, jewellery has become an integral part of both men’s and women’s wardrobes. This meteoric rise has meant jewellery designers have been crying out for inclusion within the established fashion platforms. Rock Vault offers such an opportunity. We are all very excited to realise this vision.”

Like all the best ideas, it started as a dinner table chat when Mr Webster, who has an almost rock star following of fans, found himself near Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council.

“We were talking about how the situation with jewellery at London Fashion Week [LFW] was so fragmented and no one was taking it seriously. We weren’t attracting the buyers, particularly those from abroad. I said there was an opportunity for LFW to put young fine jewellers on the map and that was the spark. All it needed was someone to champion the idea and I found myself doing it.”

When the International Palladium Board committed itself to sponsorship, the idea took flight and the panel, made up of eminent members from the worlds of fashion, retail and design selected 10 jewellers from 35 applicants, all of whom had to have been in the business for less than eight years and were based in the UK.

“These aren’t kids straight out of art school and we were looking for brands that are relevant to the fashion world and connected to the more fashionable consumer,” says Mr Webster. “All the exhibitors have been chosen for their design and craft integrity, but with their own strong identity,” he says. The 10 exhibitors were Tomasz Donocik, Fernando Jorge, Hannah Martin, Alexandra Jefford, Husam El Odeh, Jo Hayes Ward, Hillier London, Jordan Askill, Melanie Georgacopoulos and Sophie Bille Brahe.

“For jewellers like me,” says Fernando Jorge, “who want exposure to the fashion industry, this was a very smart move. The reason I came to London in the first place was because here people are willing to consider new ideas and young talent as well a being a great platform for international business.”

Mr Jorge says Rock Vault is part of a larger trend of the coming together of the fashion and jewels. High-end fashion boutiques such as Matches and Brown’s in the UK and Colette in Paris, are taking on more fine jewellers and at the same time, the big names in fashion such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Chanel are increasingly adding to their offer of fine jewellery.

“I saw this happening, but as a small brand I didn’t know how to go about it.” Rock Vault seems to be the answer and Mr Jorge says he achieved good international press coverage from the event and signed up with LuisaViaRoma, the Italian online luxury fashion retailer. “It’s pretty much established that jewellery has a place in fashion, but London is taking the first step in making it official with the biggest fashion event.”

Hannah Martin was another London-based fine jeweller present at the Rock Vault. Nathan Morse, managing director of this young company, which has an edgy look favoured by the likes of Pete Doherty, the singer, remarks: “The difficulty has always been showing fine jewellery in the very seasonally led world of fashion. But Rock Vault gave us the opportunity to showcase fine jewellery alongside other designers with the same integrity, without detracting from our main focus.

“Until now, we have never had the right platform at fashion weeks. We would find ourselves next to a handbag brand and that doesn’t work for fine jewellery. It is more than just about what each of us does as designers but about being British and it is our best chance in the face of all the blue-chip brands.”

Mr Webster says the next Rock Vault display will take place at London Fashion Week in September, and he hopes it will travel to similar events in Paris and Hong Kong. He would also like to see Rock Vault at jewellery shows such as the “Couture” jewellery show in Las Vegas.

He says: “Small jewellery brands just can’t afford the space at the big international fairs and, at the same time, buyers don’t want completely new discoveries but something new to show in their stores. They can come to us and see something exciting and new, all in one place.”