Tagged with 'Events'

The winner of the Winterson prize in 2023 is Rosa Lusvardi for her final year collection 'Girly', an unapologetic exploration of youth culture and femininity.

Winterson: Tell us a little bit about yourself...
Rosa: I grew up in a village in the north east of England. I moved to London to start the jewellery design course at Central St Martins.

Winterson: What was the inspiration for this collection?
Rosa: Female youth culture and the joys of getting ready. All things pink and girly! Barbie, Polly Pocket, children’s jewellery, make up, nail polish, nail art, fashion, pink, Paris Hilton’s rhinestone encrusted spatula, Hello Kitty, bows on Marie Antoinette's dresses, emojis… !!!

Image 1: Pop Princess Pearl, bow ring, Gilding metal, hard gel nail polish, nail gems, freshwater pearl, Rosa Lusvardi
Image 2: Bubblegum, bow ring, Gilding metal, hard gel nail polish, Rosa Lusvardi

Winterson: What do you find inspiring about pearls? Why were they right for this collection?
Rosa: Pearls are commonly associated with femininity, so I felt it was right to include them in my collection. I also really liked the way that the way the pearls looked with my nail polish colours and the shapes of my pieces.

Winterson: What have you discovered about working with pearls?
Rosa: Pearls have their own personality, they brought elegance to my collection. I found it really fun to design a piece of jewellery around the Pearl.

Winterson: We loved the way your work sends a message about the powerful importance of self-exploration and examining the “codes” of femininity for young women today. Do you see your work as feminist?
Rosa: Yes. My collection is about inspiring people to embrace their femininity. I use feminine motifs, colours and decoration with the intent of celebrating femininity.

Image 1: Destiny, ring, Gilding metal, hard gel nail polish, glass stone, Rosa Lusvardi
Image 2: Pearl, ring, Gilding metal, hard gel nail polish, Freshwater pearls, Rosa Lusvardi

Winterson: Which designer or artist do you most admire?
Rosa: Sandy Liang and Simone Rocha, their work has given me a lot of inspiration!

Winterson: Who could you imagine wearing your jewellery?
Rosa: All my friends.

Winterson: What is it that makes a piece of jewellery a design classic in your view?
Rosa: Something memorable.

Image 1: Moondust, flower ring, Gilding metal, hard gel nail polish, glass stone, Rosa Lusvardi
Image 2: Sweet, bow ring, Gilding metal, hard gel nail polish, nail gems and ‘sweet’ sticker, Rosa Lusvardi

Winterson: Name one jewellery toolbox essential that you can’t live without.
Rosa: My tiny paint brushes.

Winterson: What’s next for you after CSM?
Rosa: Hopefully more jewellery!

Winterson: Have you seen the new Barbie movie? Team Ken or Team Barbie?
Rosa: I'm excited to watch it when it comes into cinemas! I'm sure I’ll be Team Barbie...

Winterson’s Creative Director Alice Cicolini commented “Rosa draws on classical jewellery forms which have become emblematic of feminine adornment such as the Georgian Bow, forms that also have an echo in the bubblegum plastic universe of Barbie and other girl’s toys. She both subverts and celebrates the journey from girlhood to womanhood and what it means to explore female identity today. Realising her jewellery from iconic feminine materials, such as nail varnish and pearls, Rosa invites us to reflect on our own journey of self actualisation and the joy of dressing up.”

The winner of this year’s Winterson Prize is Hwajung Yoo, whose final year collection 'Time to be...' draws inspiration from the intricacy of watch movements and, in the process, reflects on the vitality of ego and its relationship to time and place.

Winterson: What lead you to explore these themes in your work?
Hwajung Yoo: I am interested in the subject of people's identities, egos and potential. And I have often addressed it as the central theme of my projects. As the subject of 'Ego' is quite broad, I have brought a different approach to it every time.

The project 'Time to be...' began with the concept of 'Alternative ego; another me' that I became interested in whilst working in three countries. As there were distinct lives as a student, a working person, and a Korean in England, Germany and France, I felt my egos in the spaces and the time went by differently. This became the project's starting point.

 

Winterson: Were there other sources of inspiration you were looking at?
Hwajung Yoo: Artists Grayson Perry and Nikki S. Lee have been wonderful inspirations for me to approach the visual languages and cultural contexts of alternative egos. In 2019, I listened to Perry's lecture at the university. He showed an illustration of a woman wearing a T-shirt with the word 'ARTIST' on it, picking a different T-shirt with another job in front of a mirror. Simply dressing and undressing can create him a different identity, which impressed me at that time. Extending this view, he has shown his gender-fluid identity in his fashion and accessories, This has inspired me to use jewellery and materials that traditionally represent femininity and masculinity in my projects.



Image 1: Pearl watch ring, sterling silver, fresh water pearl, watch movement, Hwajung Yoo
Image 2: Dual watch, sterling silver, fresh water pearls, calf strap, watch movements, Hwajung Yoo

Another artist, Lee, photographed her different selves belonging to various subcultural groups in the United States in her work 'Projects'. Through her drastic transformation, I felt the homogeneity and alienation of cultural identity with them. This led me to use only one material, the pearl, to express various selves in different colours and forms.

Winterson: The forms you are exploring are an elegant play on traditional jewellery shapes. Is there a reason for that?
Hwajung Yoo: There are a vast amount of different people and styles in this world. However, traditional jewellery has a base that audiences can think of in common because it has an accumulation of images and perspectives for the wearer. I felt that if I added the watch's movement to this, I could more effectively convey vitality to these contexts.

Winterson: The Ticking Pearls Necklace is an extremely complex piece, and yet is such a beautiful, simple idea. Can you tell us how you arrived at the design?
Hwajung Yoo: The second hand has the most noticeable movement amongst the hands of a watch. If anyone looks at a clock and feels impatient, then perhaps this is because of the second hand. It is constantly moving to a different position, sometimes forcing us into action, and by this movement it conveys the power and vitality of the watch.

As actual action also defines me, the second hand can also represent the vitality of people's ego. With some experimentation, I've been able to place two pearls, traditionally representative of femininity, on a second hand of a watch. The pearls rotate every second and create a living elegance. I was able to develop several designs based on this concept.

 

I also made the gold background metal simple, so as to hide the watches' movements. I wanted people to focus on the pearls until they made a single line and the perfect pearl necklace every minute. I found this to be not so simple to implement in practice due to uncertainty and complications. Nevertheless, it was a valuable challenge to learn a lot.

Winterson: What inspired you to use pearls in this work?
Hwajung Yoo: The pearl is one of the traditional materials that represents femininity, so I wanted to use its historical value to communicate with the audience. In addition, my projects often use pearls as a medium to describe people themselves or their egos. Unlike diamonds and gemstones, the pearl is opaque, so you can't see inside. Nevertheless, it has a beautiful colour slightly different from the subtle background colour. I thought people's invisible and latent souls were similar to these pearl features.

Winterson: What's next for you?
Hwajung Yoo: In the short term, I will further develop this collection to show my style and make it wearable daily, whilst breaking away from traditional jewellery shapes. In the long term, I want to keep creating empowering jewellery to encourage people to look at their egos and consequently have more confidence in their lives.

The winner of this year’s Central Saint Martin’s Winterson Prize is Roni Levy, a designer whose isolation in her apartment sparked an extraordinary journey of reimagining humble materials.

Inspired by the onion’s natural architecture, the collection 'Revealing' tells a story about layers of hidden meaning and story. Painstakingly recreating exaggerated forms of classical styles, Roni has created a collection of exquisite poetry, and it was her oversized pearl necklace, created in white onion skin, that captured our attention from this year’s crop of fantastic design talent.

“My references stem from classical jewellery styles, commercially defined patterns and materials in an exaggerated fashion,” says winner Roni Levy. Visiting the abundant greengrocers along a stretch of North London streets, Roni daily collected the waste onion skins from the base of the display baskets.



“The discarded onion skins dissipate into a translucent material that is both biodegradable, durable and lightweight,” says Roni. “Seen at first as a benign and forgotten resource, I hoped within my practice and throughout this process of discovery to question pre-existing concepts of luxury.”

Using the veneer of the skins, whilst reconstituting their own natural colour and qualities, the process is rooted in transformation. A food industry waste product, crafted into alluring jewellery, Roni is a deserving winner of this year’s Winterson prize.

The Winterson prize celebrates the value of design, encouraging the superlative talents of Central Saint Martin’s students to reimagine what might be possible with this most classic of luxury gems.



Image 1: Pearl XL dangle earring, white onion skins, silk thread and recycled white metal, Roni Levy
Image 2: Pearl necklace, white onion skins and recycled white metal, Roni Levy

Andrew Fraser, Director at Winterson, commented, “We are delighted to be working again with Central Saint Martin’s BA Jewellery and to be in the wonderful position of having so much great work to consider for this year for the Winterson prize. We loved Roni’s process, the natural material and the alluded to relationship (maybe unintended) between the layers of the onion and the layers of nacre on a pearl. The colours and texture of her pieces are really quite beautiful.”

Winterson’s Creative Director Alice Cicolini concurs, “Roni is a great winner for 2021, her resourcefulness and innovative thinking combining to create a truly inspiring collection. It's such a difficult design task to reimagine the pearl necklace in a way that is truly unique and Roni has manage to achieve it at such an early stage in her career. We're so looking forward to seeing how her work evolves.”

Giles Last, BA Jewellery Design Course Leader commented "The Winterson award is a wonderful recognition of the innovation, imagination, design and craftsmanship of our students. Roni's work is delightfully conceived, beautifully made".

The annual Central St Martins Winterson Prize celebrates a body of work that takes an innovative approach to the pearl. The 2020 graduate collections featuring pearls were rich with exploration around both the material and the context of this classic gemstone.

This year’s winner, Zak Sheinman, created a series of virtual pieces, encapsulating the unique quality of the 2020 graduate experience. All of the students created collections that had to be launched digitally, whether through video and photography of realized pieces or through 3D rendering.

Zak brought his experience of 3D animation, which he had studied both at school and through You Tube tutorials, to bear on his concept of restoring value to broken jewels.

His 4 minute animation of jewels morphing from one form to another, intersecting with other jewels and with pearls raining down and through them, is captivating and a sensitive reassessment of human error and destruction.

Commenting on the award, Winterson's Creative Director Alice Cicolini said, “Zak's collection encapsulates both extremes of the unique circumstances of the present. On the one hand the collection is entirely virtual and not physically realized as jewellery. On the other, it remains a superlative demonstration of craftsmanship and an exploration of the tactile, poetic and material qualities of jewellery. It really feels like a jewellery collection for our time and perfectly answers the challenge of the Winterson Prize - to innovate with and celebrate this unique gemstone.”

We caught up with Zak over Zoom from his home in Wiltshire.

Winterson: What lead you to explore these themes in your work?
Zak Sheinman: I was inspired by an earring of my own that I was about to throw away, and wondered how I could bring new life and value to something that most people would dispose of. I became fascinated by whether you could transform a jewel from one state to another. I was a street dancer as a teenager, so I’m interested in motion and movement.


Images: Levels of Damage, by Zak Sheinman

This lead me to look at motion design in jewellery, both from the perspective of using animation to create new forms, but also conceptually to move something damaged from that broken state to something of value. How things become damaged is also a narrative part of the life of a piece of jewellery, and I felt like there was something about the random unexpectedness of animation as a medium that connects with that poetry.

Winterson: Were there other sources of inspiration for you?
Zak Sheinman: I have always loved Tom & Jerry cartoons and the way everything is so high intensity. The damage and collisions between the two are comedic, but also extreme and I wanted to bring some of that energy to my work.


Images: Proposals for Necklace, by Zak Sheinman

Winterson: The forms you are manipulating are quite traditional. Is there a reason for that?
Zak Sheinman: I use traditional forms so that the audience has an instant recognition of what the jewels would have looked like before they were manipulated and broken. The fact that the material then moves and behaves in a way that it shouldn’t is easier to read and understand than if the objects themselves were also conceptual. This is different to what most people understand jewellery to be.

Winterson: What inspired you about using pearls in this work?
Zak Sheinman: I was looking at this idea of challenging people’s perceptions of materials and how they behave. As an instantly recognisable gem, the pearl was also a perfect vehicle for that. Pearls are a delicate gemstone, and yet in this piece they collide with and influence the shape of the metal, a material that is naturally so much stronger.

Winterson: Congratulations on winning the Winterson prize this year! What is next for you?
Zak Sheinman: I’m really excited about the potential of using animation as a driving force in my design. There’s a detail and a story in each frame that feels rich and inspiring. This is also a great way to create bespoke, unique pieces for clients using each frame as a potential starting point for creating a new jewel.

An immersive exhibition of the work of fashion photographer Tim Walker recently opened at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Tim Walker: Wonderful Things showcases over 300 items, encompassing photographs and the V&A objects that inspired them, short films, photographic sets and props, scrapbooks and sketches.

Designed by Shona Heath and curated by Susanna Brown, the show celebrates the creative genius of one of the UK’s most inspiring photographers and follows his previous success at Somerset House in 2013 with Tim Walker: Story Teller.

Heath’s spectacular design guides visitors on a journey through Walker’s enchanted world. Text written by Walker celebrates the talents of the many collaborators who help bring his ideas to life, including stylists and creatives Katy England, Amanda Harlech and Jerry Stafford, hair and make-up artists Sam Bryant, Malcolm Edwards and Hungry/Johannes Jaruraak.



Image 1: Tim Walker, Lil' Dragon, Ling Ling and the Dragon
Image 2: Snuff box, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the V&A

Exploring Walker’s contribution to the world of fashion photography, the show opens with a series of images selected from 25 years of magic making for internationally renowned magazines and journals. Highlights from the ‘Retrospective’ gallery include the remarkable set of images that unfolded from the young Walker’s love of Alice in Wonderland, a fantastical musing on the fairyland of his imagination, fueled by a very English upbringing.

Inspired by Peter Pan and Kit WIlliam’s Masquerade, Walker found in Shona Heath, his long term collaborator, a creative mind to match his ambition for sets and landscapes of remarkable complexity. These images have led him to be described as the Cecil Beaton of his generation.

At the heart of Tim Walker: Wonderful Things are 10 major new photographic projects, directly influenced by treasures in the V&A’s vast collection. A hugely inspiring and unique approach to uncovering his creative process, these commissions place this show firmly in the “must-see” category for what is an impressive autumn season for museums in London.



Image 1: Tim Walker, Pen & Ink, Duckie Thot, Aubrey’s shadow
Image 2: The Peacock Skirt, Aubrey Beardsley, 1894

In preparation for the exhibition, Walker visited object stores and conservation studios, meeting many of the museum’s curators, conservators and technicians. He scoured the V&A’s 145 public galleries, scaled the roof of the 12-acre South Kensington site, and explored the labyrinth of Victorian passages below ground level.

Along the way, he encountered luminous stained-glass windows, vivid Indian miniature paintings, jewelled snuffboxes, erotic illustrations, golden shoes, and a 65-metre-long photograph of the Bayeux Tapestry, the largest photograph in the museum’s collection. These and many other rare artefacts have inspired Walker’s monumental new photographs.

“To me, the V&A has always been a palace of dreams,” says Tim Walker. “It’s the most inspiring place in the world. The museum’s collection is so wide and eclectic, and I think that’s why it resonates with me so much. Many of the objects that I saw during my research at the museum made my heart swell and I wanted to try to create a photograph that would relate not only to the physical presence and beauty of that object, but also to my emotional reaction to it. ”



Image 1: Tim Walker Cloud 9, Radhika Nair
Image 2: Krishna and Indra, Lahore, about 1590

Susanna Brown, Curator of Photographs at the V&A, says, “Tim has a wildly inquisitive mind and a boundless energy, he never stops innovating and these new pictures are some of the most spectacular he has ever made.”

Be sure to also look out for some of the original artefacts from the V&A collection that inspired Walker’s creative imagination. A stunning snuffbox and original Aubrey Beardsley illustrations amongst others and a fabulous Super-80 medley of behind the scenes ‘making of’ sequences are must-see highlights.

Tim Walker: Wonderful Things is at the V&A from 21 September 2019 to 8 March 2020. For more details, please visit the V&A website.

Juntao Asa Ouyang was announced as the winner of the 2019 Winterson Prize for the Best Use of Pearls at Central Saint Martins, London last night, where degree collections from jewellery's future stars went on display.

The influential arts institute’s annual graduate show saw students presenting original pearl pieces, created with advice and support from Winterson Director Andrew Fraser and Creative Director Alice Cicolini.

Asa was named this year’s winner of the Winterson Pearl prize for her collection 'Glitch', which explored the fusion between traditional Chinese lacquer work and a 21st century dependence on technology. The collection used a combination of abalone mother of pearl, known for its vibrant tones of blue, green and purple, and freshwater pearls nestled in ears as futuristic wireless headphones with a playful design aesthetic.



“I am extremely honoured to receive the Winterson Prize. Pearls are astonishing to work with,” says Asa. “The journey of seeking the right pearls for my collection and then arranging and inlaying the mother of pearl is fascinating and exciting. The lustre and colour of pearls are ever changing.”

”Just like the technological glitch, which I explored in my collection, the pattern of mother of pearls is never the same. Lacquer and mother of pearl will be the foundation of my work in future, further exploring traditional craft techniques in contemporary jewellery,”



Giles Last, BA Jewellery Design Course Leader commented ”Asa has created a unique, experimental and fascinating collection, exploring methods of communicating a critique of over dependence on technology through jewellery.”

”The pieces, using the traditional materials and techniques of mother of pearl and lacquer, question what we do and accept as the norm in the 21st century whilst celebrating traditional making techniques and materials. A delightful and intriguing body of work.”



Commenting on the award, Winterson's Creative Director Alice Cicolini said ”We were delighted to see Asa’s work with the ancient traditional technique of lacquer inlay, putting it to use in creating a futurist and thoughtful collection.”

”Asa’s work uses the stunning iridescence of abalone mother of pearl to reference the technological glitch, giving the material new life and meaning in a group of work that questions our relationship to screening and surveillance, and its distancing from the natural and tactile world. Asa is a worthy winner of the prize for innovation with pearls. Congratulations Asa!”

Read more about Juntao Asa Ouyang and the other CSM designers' work here.

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams is the V&A's latest blockbuster exhibition to focus on the social and cultural power of clothing - from the savage beauty of Alexander McQueen to the iconography of Frida Khalo, and now, Christian Dior’s enduring juxtaposition of fantasy and functionalism, softness and tailoring that has kept fashion lovers in thrall to his brand for over 70 years.

Based on the original exhibition curated by Olivier Gabet and Florence Müllerat Le Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, the V&A show has additional material selected by the V&A’s senior fashion curator Oriole Cullen. Dior in Britain, a section especially created for the London show, celebrates Monsieur Dior’s relationship to the city, its craft ateliers and the celebrated women who became his clients.

”Dior admired the grandeur of the great houses and gardens of Britain, as well as British-designed ocean liners, including the Queen Mary," Cullen explains. This unique selection of work includes a series of collaborative pieces designed by Dior but created by British craft houses such as Dents. It culminates in a beautiful Dior gown worn by Princess Margaret on her 21st birthday



Image: Princess Margaret, wearing Dior for her 21st birthday

"In 1947, Christian Dior changed the face of fashion with his New Look,” said Cullen,“which redefined the female silhouette and reinvigorated the post-war Parisian fashion industry.” Tragically Monsieur Dior himself was only at the helm of his eponymous brand for a decade before his sudden and unexpected death in Italy.

It is testament to the strength of his vision that the designers who followed in his footsteps were each, in their own way, able to evolve the label, whilst ensuring that the core elements of Dior’s world remained constant - although each of these visionary creatives emphasised differing qualities of Dior’s voice. The exhibition is organized around these themes, from the Garden to the Ballroom.



Image 1: 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris, circa 1947
Image 2: Christian Dior with model Lucky, circa 1955

"The influence of Christian Dior's design was all-pervasive and helped to define an era. In their own individual ways, each of the house's successive artistic directors has referenced and reinterpreted Dior's own designs and continued the legacy of the founder ensuring that the house of Christian Dior is at the forefront of fashion today," Cullen suggests.

Whilst the universe John Galliano created under the banner of Dior was one of the brand’s most recognised eras, the exhibition makes clear the strength of both Raf Simons’ and Maria Grazia Chiuri’s visions for the house. In their own ways, each of the two most recent artistic directors have been able to capture and distill Dior’s magical combination of the fantastical with the wearable, whilst remaining true to the energy and direction of their times.



Image 1: Bar Suit by Christian Dior, 1947
Image 2: Coat, 2012 by Raf Simons
Image 2: Dress, 2018, by Maria Grazia Chiuri

If anything else, the exhibition emphasises how hard it is to design legendary, epoch defining clothes. Whilst there are some genuinely stunning garments in the show, it is hard to come away from it without thinking that, with the exception of the recently revived Galliano designed Dior Saddle bag, the New Look was by far the label’s most globally recognised silhouette.

For all this, Dior: Designer of Dreams is a feast for both fashion connoisseurs and interested observers, the quality of workmanship rightly celebrated throughout the exhibition, and a reminder of why Dior has reigned supreme over the world of fashion since 1947.

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams is at the V&A from 2 February - 1 September 2019.

Aidan Madden was announced as the winner of the 2018 Winterson Prize for the Best Use of Pearls at Central Saint Martins, London last night, where degree collections from jewellery's future stars went on display.

The influential arts institute’s annual graduate show saw students presenting original pearl pieces, created with advice and support from Winterson Director Andrew Fraser and Creative Director Alice Cicolini.

Aidan Madden was named this year’s winner of the Winterson Pearl prize for his collection of single earrings, each finely crafted from freshwater pearls. Aidan has painstakingly fused together, carved and finely lathe-turned the pearls into a series of gently humorous jewels.



Image 1: Arm, by Aidan Madden
Image 2: Face, by Aidan Madden

Aidan's studs reference pop cultural themes from Disney to Alien, using a gemstone that is more commonly associated with classicism and aristocracy. His craftsmanship and attention to detail gives the results a subtlety and delicacy that ensures his work stands out from similar concepts.

Aidan described his collection to us: “I did not start this project with any preconceptions of the pearl. As soon as I started to cut and join them, their playful pearl faces begin to appear and it seemed that the approach had infinite potential to create a diverse and accessible series of earrings.”



Image 1: Bug Eye, by Aidan Madden
Image 2: Cube, by Aidan Madden
Image 3: Pink and Yellow, by Aidan Madden

Squared studs and alien heads reveal some of the production process behind the creation of freshwater pearls, with visible nacre standing in for ethereal eyes, and the edges of squares retaining the peacock dyes that have been used to colour the pearl.



Image: Pearl Culture, by Aidan Madden

Exquisite carved pearl crowns sit on top of ghostly heads, caterpillars of pearls wrap around to create unique hoops and cartoon characters that are rendered in a fine balance of coloured pearls.

Caroline Broadhead, BA Jewellery Design Course Leader commented "Aidan has investigated different ways of splicing and carving pearls to allow a view through the outer layer of nacre to the pearl on the inside. The collection is small scale and intimate and on close inspection, there is much wit and pleasure in the way he has combined colours and created associations. It is a delightful body of work celebrating the cultured pearl."



Images: Hoop, by Aidan Madden

Commenting on the award, Winterson's Creative Director Alice Cicolini said "We are delighted to celebrate Aidan's intensive investigation of the language of pearl jewellery. Our prize is for innovation with pearls and it was wonderful to see how many students really embraced that idea this year. It was Aidan's commitment to the gemstone as the starting point for his creative exploration that really stood out for us. We are excited to see where this journey takes him - and our perceptions of what a pearl jewel can be."

Each year the prize celebrates an appreciation and understanding of the qualities of the pearl. With such an original and diverse group of work this year, Aidan was an excellent winner. Congratulations Aidan!

Read more about Aidan Madden and the other CSM designers' work here.

This spring, the V&A Museum in London celebrates the magnificence of the legendary Ocean Liners. Symbols of the technological advancement and celebration of luxury that defined the early 20th century,  the Ocean Liners also gained notoriety for tales of human tragedy.

The exhibition takes its audience on a journey from the Belle Epoque to Art Deco, illustrating the way in which these monumental feats of engineering facilitated waves of entrepreneurship and the global movement of wealth during these periods.

The era was defined by its innovation, glamour and audacity, providing a canvas for highly crafted, extravagant interiors and for the ostentatious glamour of their upper class travelers.



Image 1: Duke and Duchess of Windsor's luggage, Goyard, about 1950
Image 2: Paquebot, Paris, Charles Demuth, United States 1921-22

The exhibition showcases objects from the emotive deckchairs of the downed Titanic, to the iconic graphics that the industry supported, the legendary luggage of Goyard and glittering flapper dresses of the 1920s.

The Cartier Tiara

One of the most famous jewels displayed in this current exhibition is the Allen Tiara, commissioned from the legendary house of Cartier in 1909 by the Canadian banker and shipping magnate Sir Hugh Allan, as a gift for his wife Marguerite.

As with the Ocean Liners themselves, Cartier’s graphic combination of platinum, white diamonds and pearls came to symbolise the jewellery fashions of this generation.

The Allen Tiara was designed as an open work band in the Greek key style, millegrain-set with round faceted diamonds, inside an outer border of natural pearls, and framing an old mine-cut diamond at the centre.



Image: Diamond and pearl tiara saved from the Lusitania, Cartier, Paris 1909

The Cartier diamond tiara was fatefully taken by Lady Allen on board the Lusitania, travelling from New York to Liverpool, where she was accompanied by two of her three daughters, Anna and Gwendolyn, two maids, and a host of luggage.

The Sinking of the Lusitania

Cunard’s Lusitania began operational service in 1907, the largest and certainly one of the fastest ocean liners crossing the North Atlantic. Although the Lusitania was considered for requisition by the British Government at the start of the First World War, the liner was ruled out due to the immense quantities of coal that such a large ship would consume, at a time when endurance rather than speed was becoming important.

The Lusitania continued to operate as a commercial liner, carrying thousands of passengers back and forth from Europe to America.

Early in 1915, Germany declared the sea around Britain to be a war zone. Although, the German Embassy placed a warning on an advertisement for the Lusitania’s May 1915 voyage that Lady Allen was destined to board,  many felt that the ship’s speed made her safe.



Image 1: Marlene Dietrich onboard the Queen Elizabeth, arriving in New York, 21 December 1950
Image 2: Detail of silk georgette and glass beaded Salambo dress, Jeanne Lanvin, Paris 1925

Perhaps Sir Hugh Allen’s long family association with the shipping industry gave his wife the encouragement to continue with her voyage? It was to prove a tragic decision; Lady Allen lost both of the daughters as the Lusitania was struck by a German torpedo.

Sinking within 18 minutes, the liner’s celebrated speed was one of the very factors that contributed to the significant loss of life as many of the lifeboats were dragged under water - only 791 of the 1,989 who travelled that day survived. Heartbreakingly, the tiara itself was rescued from the wreckage by one of the Allen’s maids.

The Plant Mansion and Necklace

Pierre Cartier was symbolic of an era of global travel and international business. Establishing the American office of his father’s Parisian jewellery business on Fifth Avenue in 1908, it was from New York that he built the company into the legendary brand name that it is today.

Cartier’s current flagship store in the city was originally built in 1905 for Morton F Plant, a wealthy railroad magnate, by architect Robert W. Gibson. Morton Plant’s wife Maisie encountered Cartier in 1917, becoming enamoured by a double-strand necklace of 128 flawless natural pearls.



Image: Wooden wall panel from the Beauvais deluxe suite on the Île de France, 1927

Cartier offered her husband a trade—the $1 million rare necklace plus $100 for the 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue mansion which would become his new boutique. At the time of the deal, the Plant’s home was valued at $925,000.

The End of an Era

It was not to prove a good deal for the Plants. Only a few short years later, the value of Mrs Plant’s pearls would dramatically decrease. Across the seas in Japan, Kokichi Mikimoto began to take his cultured pearls beyond Tokyo to international markets. Mikimoto launched his first overseas store in London in 1915, transforming the market for pearls as we know it today.



Image: Titanic in dry dock, c1911

As cultured pearl technology and farming overtook the natural pearl, and greatly broadened the market for these gems, so too would ocean travel for the super rich be superseded by the aeroplane. On 1st January 1914, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line became the world's first scheduled passenger airline service, marking the beginning of the end of the era of seaborne glamour.

An unique opportunity to revisit this sophisticated form of travel, the V&A exhibition 'Ocean Liners: Speed and Style' continues until 17th June 2018.

We are delighted and thrilled to announce that Winterson has been shortlisted for 'Website of the Year' in the National Association of Jeweller's annual awards for 2017.

The NAJ is the premier industry association in the UK, representing over 2,000 members that operate in every aspect of jewellery. Winterson has been a member of NAJ since 2010. We are honoured to be chosen amongst our peers to be shortlisted for this award.

A new awards category in 2017, Website of the Year recognises outstanding websites that are customer friendly and inspire the user to make an informed purchase.

As a primary point of contact with our customer, we need Winterson's website to behave as if it were a highly knowledgeable member of our customer service team.

During the past year we have introduced a number of key improvements to the website and we hope that these have enhanced your shopping experience with us. These include making improvements to the website's suggestions and search function, the ease of navigation across the site and its ability to work across different devices.

With our independent partner Feefo, we also ask every customer for their genuine feedback on our services. Pearls have always had a unique beauty and quality. We are really delighted to hear some of the testimonials and real-life connections that have been made with our jewellery.

The winner of the Website of the Year award will be announced at a glittering awards presentation on the 7th of December, attended by almost 400 jewellers.

A big thank you to the NAJ and the judges for shortlisting Winterson!