Welcome to Designer Fasion Jewelry, a site set up to review the work of our favorite fashion jewelry designers. Unfortunately, most fashion jewelry available these days is mass produced displaying little in the way of originality of design, attention to detail or craftsmanship (craftspersonship!). Here we like to review some of the designers we see bucking that trend and producing great qualtiy orgiginal fashion jewelry.

Fashion Jewellery is a very lucrative business. You may think it surprising, that in these recession hit times expensive fashion jewellery is increasing in popularity. But, it seems that like minded consumers want to buy something that is well worth their money and that will last for years and years to come. Consumers want products that are timeless, well made and will last in quality and that is exactly what fashion jewellery designers now offer.  The price for fashion jewellery is always garunteed to be high but is also garunteed to be worth the price.

Most fashion jewellery designers these days tend to work in silver or platinum, as they are the most popular materials with consumers.

Stephen Webster is one fashion jewelry designer with a passion for platinum and diamonds and almost all of his pieces include those two materials. Webster is an English born designer who now has many celebrity followers, he is probably the most well known fashion jewellery designer followed and endorsed by celebrities.

Annika Rutlin's jewelry designs are in stark contrast to those of Stephen Webster more earthy and inspired by nature and cultures she inherits from her parents (who come from Norway and Sweden). She often works in silver too but her silverwork has a duller finish than the more polished styles of Webster and other designers such as Christopher Wharton and Sarah Jordan. Her unique collection is her alphabet beads which enables the consumer to create and personalise a gift for a loved one.

Speaking of unique services, Christopher Wharton (now known solely as ‘Wharton’) offers an ‘Engagement service’ which enables the individual to propose with a standard Christopher Wharton ring and then (assuming the partner has agreed!) come to a Christopher Wharton store to choose the real engagement ring whilst being treated to champagne.

Jeremy Hoye is probably the best example of a fashion jewellery designer who doesn’t have a one distinctive style. Jeremy Hoye has many collections of fashion jewellery with each one following a different style. He has Deco, a collection inspired by a solid point in history, the Art Deco movement, and another collection inspired by nature (the Luna collection). Nature is often an inspiration for fashion jewellery designers as is culture. For example Stephen Webster has a series of pendants based on carvings or gargoyles, usually found outside churches. His gargoyles are recognisable for what they are but also have a new twist as Stephen Webster adds his unique style to the work.

Stephen Webster is fast becoming a well known name in fashion jewellery and specialises in diamonds. He has stores in major cities country wide, his latest outlet being on 93 Mount Street, London. His fashion jewellery can also be found in London’s most famous department store, Harrods. Stephen Webster also has fashion jewellery stores in Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Edinburough, Glasgow and Yorkshire. His fashion jewellery is also stocked in many stores in the United States, in California, Los Angeles, Florida and Atlanta to name a few.

Stephen Webster has won many awards in his career. For example he won the ‘Luxury Jeweller of the Year’ award and the ‘Jewellery Designer of the Year’ title. He also received nods from the American Gem Trade Association Spectrum Awards and the U.K Designer of the Year Award,

Stephen Webster has many a celebrity endorsement for his fashion jewellery. The latest celeb to sign up to promote his fashion jewellery is Christina Aguilera, in the promotional pictures she models both his more modern and edgy works and his traditional, 40s style fashion jewellery. His work features diamonds heavily so you can be sure that any fashion jewellery item by Stephen Webster is going to sparkle! Other celebrities to favour Stephen Websters fashion jewellery include Elton John and Madonna who has often been spotted wearing fashion items by Webster.

Stephen Webster’s Fashion Jewellery spans a wide range of styles and colours. Some of his best work is the simplest in many people’s opinions. His range of ear studs for men in plain silver are both elegant and minimalist. His ace ingraved stud earings stand out in his range for men, and would suit a man looking for something classy but simple. When it comes to animal shapes Stephen Webster’s fashion jewellery takes on an almost grotesque edge. His gargoyle pendant for men is both stylish and twisted, it is well made but ugly at the same time. His set of pitbull cufflinks have the same quality, whilst you can see that it is obviously a pitbull, the shape is almost distorted giving the fashion jewellery a highly original appearance.

His latest range of fashion jewellery shows that Webster is highly interested in carvings. His work has a slight celtic edge, especially the pieces that involve gargoyles. Each piece is highly detailed and there is no slacking on the craftsmanship used in creating these pieces of fashion jewellery. Webster’s choice of material is often silver which he sometimes combines with diamonds to create his signature glittery effect.

Shaun Leane is well known as fashion jewellery designer to the rich and famous. His clients include

Shaun works well creating fashion jewellery in silver and differs from his rivals by adding many colours to his silver collections. For example his ‘Lily’ collection is crafted from fine silver and set with diamond, all quite plain in colour. Shaun Leane then sets a beautiful purple stone to offset the focus on his works to the colour. In the Lily collection he also makes use of pearls, mainly freshwater, and combines them with purple gemstones in silver clusters.

The ‘Hook my Heart’ collection is quite original in the fashion jewellery world. The shape of the heart is distorted and slightly hooked at the end, giving a double meaning to the word ‘hook’ the heart is literally hooked by the chain it is on and has a hooked appearance at the end. The red colour in the heart comes from the red topaz the fashion jewellery is studded with.

Shaun Leane often takes his inspiration for his fashion jewellery from nature. His award winning Cherry Blossom collection of fashion jewellery is based on the real life Cherry Blossom flowers found in Japan. There are many myths and legends based on the cherry blossom flower and  Shaun Leane helps to recreate the mystery in his jewellery by recreating the elegant flower in silver and enamel.

Enamel is a material used heavily in Shaun Leane’s fashion jewellery, he uses it particularly to give colour to his pieces. For example his set of buckle hoop earings come in black, white and pink enamel. His chunky cuff bracelets (also featuring the cherry blossom design) also features enamel work.

As well as nature, Shaun Leane’s fashion jewellery has also been inspired by tribal societies and their art. The tribal collection makes heavy use of diamonds and onyx stones. The black onxy stone gives a darker feel to the tribal sense of the jewellery. In the tribal collection Shaun Leane uses massive stones, usually opals.

His latest collection, Luna, is by far the most expensive of his fashion jewellery with his yellow gold Luna ring costing £3675. The Luna collection has lots of odd and irregular shapes although these do seem to follow a pattern. There is also many pieces set with diamonds and different coloured gemstones.  The Luna shape extends to earrings, necklaces and bracelets.

Sarah Jordan is an English born fashion jewellery designer who trained at Middlesex University and set up her own fashion jewellery label in 1986. After finishing her training at Middlesex University she stayed on as a lecturer and taught many names who are now involved in the fashion jewellery industry. She has won many awards since her business expanded in 1999, in 2000 she won the UK Jewellery Designer of the Year and was the runner up in 2001, 2003 and 2003. She was also a runner up in 2001 in the UK Luxury Jewellery Designer of the Year. In 2003 and 2004 she won the UK Tahitian Pearl Trophy for her work with pearls.

Sarah Jordan favours silver as the main material for her fashion jewellery. Her fashion jewellery often comes in strange, yet fluid shapes. Her  rings are quite impossible to figure out to the naked eye due to their very strange shape. It is hard to believe that such a shape could be a ring. But they are and they fit effortlessly and stylishly into a finger. Sarah Jordan also uses silver to create earring studs in her fashion jewellery collections. The studs aren’t flimsy like most earrings but solid and reliable. Although any fashion jewellery by Sarah Jordan comes with a huge price tag, the pieces are gaurunteed to last forever and look timeless.

Sarah Jordan’s silver collection of fashion jewellery for men is a little more calm and has less edgy designs. The cufflinks are more edgy however, simple, elegant pieces that still catch attention. The ring Jordan has designed in the silver collection is spiky yet smooth, a nice contrast.

Taking a look at Sarah Jordan’s Serenity range it is clear that the theme of curves and spikes appeals to her a lot. This range is made up of studs, pendants and rings, all in curves spikes set with diamonds.

The Genie collection also uses diamonds pave set in platinum. Sarah Jordan is said to have been inspired by the ‘flow of natural energy’ in creating this collection. The fashion jewellery in this collection consists of a pendant and a set of studs. This is typical of many of Sarah Jordan’s collection’s of fashion jewellery, they usually consist of a ring, a necklace or pendant, and studs of cufflinks. Sarah Jordan’s fashion jewellery is similar to many other contempory designers in that they are all inspired by nature. 

Annika Rutlin is a Belgian born designer with a Swedish mother and a Norwegian father, many reviewers of her work have noted that the inspiration behind her work has been drawn from her roots in Sweden and Norway. She trained in Stockholm under an apprenticeship and soon went on to work under well known fashion jewellery designers in London. Although all her originally learnt skills were by hand, Annika Rutlin is now going on to use Computer Aided Design (CAD) in her work. Since she became an active fashion jewellery designer in 1991 she has won many awards and award nominations. In June 1991 she won the 1st prize in the Pewter Live Competition, in April 92 she was awarded a ‘highly commended’ award by the Gold Design Competition and in August 97 she was a finalist in the New Zealand Wearable Art Competition. More recent commendations come from the UK Tahitian Pearl Competition in October 2003 and the Worshipful Co of Goldsmiths Design company.

She has also exhibited her work in many exhibitions spanning the whole of England. Many were in London which gave her the opportunity to show her work in a more professional setting.

Annika Rutlin’s fashion jewellery includes a set of wedding and engagement rings. Something which sets her apart from other fashion jewellery designers who don’t offer rings specifically for those purposes. Her engagement rings are made of silver and have a simple elegant feel.

Her Alphabet collection of fashion jewellery consists of pendant style charms with letters of the alphabet. These are made from silver but seem quite different from the other silver products made by other fashion jewellery designers. The alphabet collection can also be made into beads that can be fitted into a bracelet. Some fashion jewellery critics have said that this ‘mix and match’ approach to selling jewellery means that it gives it less respect. However Annika Rutlin is happy to stand out in a slightly hippy-ish style from other fashion jewellery designers.

Unlike the fashion jewellery designers that are on the market at the moment Annika Rutlin seems to favour gold as her material of choice. Many other designers use more silver and platinum. The stones she uses set into her work are also of dull colours (although they are expensive stones!). The colours and styles in Annika Rutlin’s fashion jewellery are very earthy and this makes it evident that her influences come from the nature and culture in her parents countries, Norway and Sweden.

Christopher Wharton is a fashion jewellery designer based in St Albans, London. The son of a well know St Alban’s watch maker, Wharton trained under a well known and prestigious London jewellery designer in a 5 year apprenticeship. Christopher Wharton’s forte in jewellery design comes in diamonds and he was recognised and has been awarded many times by the Diamond Trading Company (formerly known as De Beers). He likes to create tradition  pieces but now in these modern times, he and his son Sam, who has now joined the business, are venturing out into more modern and edgy designs.

Christopher Wharton makes many engagement rings, come solitaire rings, set with one, plain, simple diamond, to heavier rings made of platinum with lot of stones set into them. Even though his fashion jewellery is described as ‘traditional’ in his engagement ring collection he has some rings that make use of oval diamonds, not as traditional as square ones. One of the most eye catching engagement ring in this fashion jewellery collection is the ring with a marquise cut stone. Indeed this would be very difficult to wear with a wedding ring due to the place setting of the diamond and its shape. Christopher Wharton’s engagement rings are not just made from silver and platinum of course, his 18ct yellow gold ring is set with many diamonds around the ring band and a ‘brilliant cut’ diamond as the centre piece.

Christopher Wharton also offers an incredibly unique service when it comes to engagement rings.  The ‘Ring Proposal Service’ allows the customer to buy a ring, engraved with the words ‘marry me?’ and then come back to the shop with their fiancée to choose the perfect ring. This novel service means that the customer doesn’t have to worry and stress over whether or not they have chosen the perfect ring for their loved one. This service is one of a kind and in the world of fashion jewellery I don’t think there is any other service like it.

Christopher Wharton can only be found in select stores and showrooms, although Christopher and Sam Wharton are expanding the places that stock their fashion jewellery. They have also been based in St Albans but in 2007 they opened their second show room in Cambridge (their first having been opened in 2006). In 2006 Christopher Wharton also decided to rebrand his fashion jewellery range as simply ‘Wharton’, which includes his son and any grandchildren who may want to continue in the Wharton fashion jewellery empire.

Jeremy Hoyle is a British born and based fashion jewellery designer and opened his first store in Brighton in 1994. Now, in 2009, he is seen as one of Britains leading fashion jewellery designers. Jeremy Hoyle is a very active fashion jewellery designer and releases new collections regularly throughout the year.

Like many fashion jewellery designers, Jeremy Hoyle specialises in engagement rings and according to the official figures on his website, his ‘Triffid’ range is boasted as one of his best sellers and by looking at the rings it is easy to see why.

The Triffid collection offers engagement rings in very unusual designs. For example the silver Triffid coil ring is made of three loops and is similar to the work of Sarah Jordan’s unusual coil works.  The Triffid collection is also quite affordable for a range of stylish fashion jewellery. For example the Triffid simple ring is only £95, the style of the Jeremy Hoye is very similar to some of the fashion jewellery made by Tiffany Co  and much less money! Even the coil ring, made of more material and set with more expensive stones, is only £125. Not much at all for well made fashion jewellery.

Jeremy Hoye doesn’t have a set style in his fashion jewellery. His many collections all follow different patterns. For example his Deco collection is very much inspired by the Art Deco movement in British art (something else to note; Jeremy Hoyle is a very British designer). The colours used in the Deco collections are also very remnicient of that time. The purples are dark and the greens either bright or so dark they look black. There are no yellows in the collection or bright reds, only dark magenta reds. The colour scheme in the Deco collection is also very limited and the core material always made of silver.

The Luna collection is again inspired by something completely unconnected to Jeremy Hoye’s other fashion jewellery collections. As indicated by the name, the Luna collection is inspired by the moon and specifically, ‘fantasy moon landscapes’. The colours chosen for the stones in this collection are very natural colours; yellows, clear stones and dark black stones. What is unique about this collection is that it is available in both silver and yellow gold (obviously the yellow gold option will be more expensive). The types of jewellery in this collection are rings and pendants mainly. One of the most interesting items in this collection is the Luna silver diagonal cut ring. The part of the ring that is diagonally cut appears to look like the jagged rocks that may be found on the moon.