Glenn Spiro, the maverick of Mayfair jewels

Unlock Editor’s Digest for free

FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Glenn Spiro’s jewelry is unlike that found in the collections of more traditional houses. On a desk at the brand’s London headquarters (the former Mayfair studio of royal couturier Norman Hartnell) are a pair of dangling earrings, designed to look like fish skeletons, with bones so fine they could poke a tooth through; a Bullet ring with a massive 11-carat off-center cognac diamond in the shape of a kite; and a titanium bracelet with waves of cushion-cut Old Mine diamonds, designed to mimic the flow of sound.

The subversiveness of I breathe – which this year celebrates the tenth anniversary of its business – has earned the jeweler international recognition and has been expanding its list of private clients and collectors for whom it makes unique pieces. He holds regular private exhibitions in London, Paris and New York, and sells in satellite boutiques in New York, Los Angeles, St Barths and St Tropez. “We are serious jewelry buyers. [and] Excellent materials and creators of special things, and thanks to that we have gained a following,” says Spiro. “We have not spent millions of pounds [in advertising].”

We made a necklace solely from a pencil.

In October, in London PAD design fairSpiro and his son Joe, 32, who joined his father’s business in 2017, presented a 15-piece collection titled “Old World Materials” that uses vintage finds. “It’s inspired by the costume jewelery we loved, which is very wearable and quite ornamental,” says Joe, who previously worked with Singaporean jeweler Edmond Chin. Included is a pair of earrings made with medallions taken from an 18th century Baoulé gold necklace, alternating between Colombian emeralds and pavé tsavorite garnets. Another ring is set with a 16.45-carat oval diamond surrounded by amber, while ancient Roman cameos, purchased at auctions across Europe, are strung to form a necklace. “It’s very much like Halston’s period: that sexy ’70s vibe,” Spiro adds. “But it’s important to us that it doesn’t have that clunky feeling of being too ‘bling bling.'”

Spiro has always considered himself an industry outsider. Born and raised in east London, with a thick accent to show for it and an irreverent attitude, the 62-year-old is somewhat at odds with the personalities he typically faces. the world of jewelry. Spiro left school at 15 and joined English Art Works, Cartier’s London jewelery workshop on New Bond Street, before becoming an apprentice goldsmith at Hatton Garden. At age 21, she opened her own atelier, creating specialized couture jewelry for other brands, as well as occasionally serving her own private clients. He simultaneously worked in Christie’s jewelry department from 1994 to 2002, as senior director and international specialist, where he developed a keen interest in rare stones.

By the time he officially launched his own brand in 2014, trading as G, Spiro had already perfected the aesthetic for which he is now known: rare colored precious and semi-precious stones, often mixed with unusual materials such as copper, wood and titanium. One of Spiro’s most famous pieces of jewelry is her Papillon ring, made for Jay-Z as a gift for Beyoncé in 2014, featuring green tsavorites and diamonds encrusted with a titanium butterfly and a hinge that extends above the knuckle, allowing the wearer to swing his wings. . The singer, a friend of Spiro, donated the ring to the VIRGINIA in 2018, where it is now on public view. Most recently, the Spiros created a titanium curly feather brooch paved with pink diamonds for Anant Ambani, the son of Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, for his wedding to Radhika Merchant.

“My father is tremendously brilliant,” adds Joe, who designs the jewelry with his father. “We do things in a childish way. Everything goes on the table, all the stones we have found, and we start putting them together and fitting them together, drawing around those elements and starting to form shapes. “Those shapes may be completely wrong and cost thousands of dollars to go back and forth, but you work with the team to design each of those elements.” One of Joe’s favorite pieces this year came from an apprentice working in the office, who was sharpening a pencil and was inspired by the shape of the chip. “We made a necklace based solely on a pencil; it’s as fun and as silly as that.”

Patrick Perrin, founder and president of PAD fairs, says Spiro embodies London’s independent style. “His designs stand out as truly unique, driven by rare aesthetic sensibility, natural inspiration and exceptional craftsmanship.” Spiro’s jewelry is unpredictable, and that is precisely what keeps the interest of its private clients. As he says: “We cater to wealthy, self-confident people, who typically cross over into the art world. If they are going to spend money, it has to be [for] a very good reason.”