Solo producers revel in their creativity and flexibility

To the passionate but unknown jewellery designer entering the market, going up against industry legends backed up by huge luxury conglomerates or chain stores with wide-reaching retail networks can be daunting. Yet many independent jewellery designers have emerged and flourished in a challenging climate that nevertheless remains receptive to talent and creativity and seeks out the unique, the innovative and the individual.

JAR, also known as Joel Arthur Rosenthal, is perhaps one of the most revered names in high jewellery. He operates independently, existing without the backing of a corporate infrastructure. In many ways, he has created his own myth around his jewellery, by virtue of its exclusivity. The Paris based 
Rosenthal is notoriously private.

His salon just behind the Place Vendome, where the big  players, the  heritage brands – Chanel, Dior,  Cartier, Poiray, Repossi, Chaumet and Buccellati, among them – dominate the elegant arcades, has no signage. His business model is completely at odds with the rest of the industry, as he refuses to advertise or design collections or lines per season. He simply creates, piece by painstaking yet breathtaking piece, each one new and different and exclusive to only one person.

Admirers and rivals alike have called his creations the most exquisite jewellery in the world. JAR, however, inspiring and revered, can be as daunting as the heritage brands to a newer crop of jewellery designers pursuing an independent path. Yet many of these independent designers would not have it any other way.  

“As a designer I feel that being independent is vital,” says Kara Ross, the New York-based jewellery and accessories designer whose line is sold at her own Madison Avenue boutique as well as exclusive outlets around the world, including Barneys, Harvey Nichols and Luminance.

“I definitely have more room for creativity and also experimentation. I love working with alternative materials like jet, wood and even lava, as well as lesser-known gemstones, as in the raw apatite necklace and uvarovite earrings. As an independent, you don’t have to answer to anyone else in terms of creativity of design or pricing; it’s easier to take risks. We are not as concerned about designing for a specific price point or what will sell the fastest. I design one-of-a-kind pieces that will find the right owner.” 

The freedom to work and create without impediments,  as well as indulge his passion for rare, unusual antique stones like old Greco-Roman coins and jewels from a Japanese samurai’s sword during the Meiji era, eventually spurred Marc Auclert, who came from a heritage jewellery background – his resumé includes stints at Chanel, Sotheby’s and De Beers – to establish his own business. Maison Auclert opened in 2011 on the Rue Castiglione in Paris, the street that leads to the Place Vendome.

“There comes a time in life when you need something more than the company can offer,” he explains. “When the way you want to develop products, image or business at large is held back by an organisation that doesn’t follow your vision or outlook; the politics of the group are more hurdle than help, for instance. You used to see the company as a wonderful pool of knowledge and savoir-faire you could learn from, that’s true, but when all you see are obstacles and oddity, it is the time to leave and fly with your own wings in order to express your creativity in design and business.” 

It would seem that the market is in fact responding to this creativity. PJ Pascual, a former fashion editorturned-stylist based in New York, points out that women today wear jewellery on a daily basis and want  jewellery that works day and night. “There is a time and place for show-stopping pieces, but certainly jewellery that can be worn every day, that stands out for its design, has become a necessary investment, desired for its versatility, quality and wearability.” 

The heritage jewellery customer, he notes, wants to try something new. “These are clients who are tired of their jewellery. When these consumers discover new designers, they feel ahead of the game. It becomes a good conversation piece at parties and social gatherings. “These clients feel that these pieces are the new highend costume jewellery. The designs are memorable.” Luxury online retailer Moda Operandi’s ultra-stylish co-founder, Lauren Santo Domingo, echoes Pascual’s sentiments.

“Our top-tier customers, who once only wore the most established, luxury designers, are now craving young up-and-coming designers like Yves Spinelli, Noor Fares, Elie Top and Eugenie Niarchos, who have all been well-received because one can actually wear their pieces every day.” “Jewellery is like art,” Pascual adds.

“It needs to speak to me. Whether the designer is new or old, I pay attention to the following: design, detail and craftsmanship. Independent designers have the advantage of having full control and, as a result, there is present a level of creativity you may not always find in a heritage brand. The designer doesn’t have any limits, creatively speaking.” 

Joanne Ooi is the woman behind Plukka, the fine jewellery retailer that started out online in 2011 and expanded to include a physical retail presence, first in Hong Kong and soon in London and Paris. Plukka tends to stock independent brands, such as Jack Vartanian, AS29, Christina Debs, Bernard Delettrez, Bochic, Vassiliki, Ashu Milpani, Jennifer Creel and Tana Chung, to name a few. “I’m not necessarily attracted per se to independent jewellery designers,” says Ooi.

“I’m attracted to creativity, originality and exclusivity, meaning that rather than work with very a established and famous designer, I frequently opt to work with a designer who is completely unknown if I perceive that he or she has what it takes to continue to create fantastic, genuinely original designs in the future.” 
It’s still a business, after all. And as Pascual says, “in any business, sustainability is tough.

The designers need to hire the right people to help the company grow. Public relations, sales, brand marketing and product development are some of the elements to keep a business going.” These are, in fact, elements that heritage brands and the support of a luxury conglomerate can offer.  

Youmna Hostelet, an independent designer based in Hong Kong whose international and sophisticated clientele come from all over the world, concedes that the advantage of “flexibility of my time and total freedom of expression in creating the collections” can be challenged by “the logistics of running a company, which do not leave much room for creativity”. Creativity, by necessity, also has to extend to marketing.

As Ross says, “Because you don’t have financial backing, you have to be more aware of where each dollar is spent, continually evaluating where you get the most bang for the buck. You also have to be creative in terms of marketing and advertising because there don’t tend to be big budgets.”

Thus, most turn to social media to promote themselves and their brands, hoping to reach a wider audience and attract the attention of editors, stylists 
and bloggers, maximising the potential for editorial exposure. Having an influencer like Leandra Medine of The Man Repeller fame, or Tina Leung or Olivia Palermo champion your brand would be akin to hitting the public 
relations jackpot. Kara Ross, for example, counts among her fans Debra Messing and Michelle Obama; Auclert has Ines de la Fressange; Jack Vartanian has Giselle Bundchen; Eugenie Niarchos has Elisa Sednaoui and Charlotte Dellal.