“ The jewellery includes details and techniques which you would find in precious jewellery although I bring it to a mass-market audience ”
| Babette Wasserman IS A CLASSICALLY TRAINED JEWELLERY DESIGNER BASED IN LONDON’S NOTTING HILL. BABETTE’S CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY IS SOLD IN OVER 30 COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE AND BABETTE ALSO ACTS AS CUFFLINK DESIGNER FOR THE LIKES OF AQUASCUTUM, ALFRED DUNHILL AND KENZO. THE MONTEBURY MET WITH BABETTE AT HER LONDON STUDIO TO DISCUSS KITCHEN SHOPS, VAT RETURNS AND THE VALUE OF EXPERIENCE. |
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BABETTE WASSERMAN/
jewellery designer
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Background — Fibonacci cuff-links featuring a Fibonacci spiral
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HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT GETTING YOUR PRODUCT OUT THERE?
— I have always approached stores, right from the very beginning. I knew the market a little bit and so I approached some of the stores I knew about. I started off with some of the local tailors on Savile Row and Jermyn Street, moved to Kings Road and then started to go to the big department stores. After three or four months of being in business, I got my first order from John Lewis which was the first big department store I sold to. Eight months after came Selfridges, Harrods and a year after came Harvey Nichols. It was a chain reaction which was very exciting.
FOR HOW LONG DID YOU WORK ON CUFFLINKS BEFORE YOU EXPANDED THE COLLECTION?
— I did cufflinks for three years and then I launched the jewellery range. It took me three years to decide whether I wanted to do silver jewellery or costume jewellery for women. I decided that I would do silver jewellery because it has more value and people keep it for a little longer. I could put in more detail and it could be more appreciated. We are a bit of a throw-away nation and it is quite nice that now, people value their branded items.
YOU STARTED YOUR COMPANY AT A YOUNG AGE. DO YOU THINK THERE IS A LOT OF SUPPORT AVAILABLE FOR YOUNG DESIGNERS, ESPECIALLY JEWELLERS?
— There is a little bit of support, but there is not that much. There is The Prince’s Trust, but I didn’t use them. I think I found out about it it when it was too late for me. That was more about borrowing money and I actually needed help with the business know-how, introduction to stores, what stock system I should buy etc. When you are starting up a company quite young, it is very difficult to know all of these things. I did go on a three-day course sponsored by Virgin at the Portobello Business Centre, which served me very well. I still recommend it to people starting out. I learnt how to do my VAT return and things I never knew about.
DO YOU THINK THIS IS BECAUSE WE ARE LOSING OUR TRADITION OF JEWELLERY MAKING IN THE UK?
— No. I just think the tradition of doing a jewellery apprenticeship behind a bench is definitely going out. On a business level, I did manage to find some mentors but it is up to the private sector to provide schemes. The government has tried to put together schemes where they can find you a mentor, but I have never found that really successful because they don’t have the money to put into everything. |
The Montebury — WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST STEPS INTO DESIGN?
Babette Wasserman — I studied at Central Saint Martins where I did a degree in jewellery design. So, I have fine jewellery training which not a lot of people at the head of jewellery companies have. You usually have the director, then the designer, but I am actually a designer and the Managing Director.
DID YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE A JEWELLERY DESIGNER?
— I was really interested in fashion when I was younger and I also did fashion as part of my foundation year at art school before my degree. I didn’t love materials as much as I thought I would and I got really interested in sculpture and product design. I had this love for working with metal and glass so one of my tutors suggested that I do jewellery. I had never even thought about it, but I did a U-turn.
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER YOU FINISHED YOUR TRAINING?
— I worked for a couple of years. I worked in PR and also as a jewellery designer and then started up my own business. I didn’t think it was difficult in the beginning because I was quite young when I started, I was 24. At that age, the world is your oyster and you just want to go out and get. If it doesn’t work, my philosophy is “it doesn’t matter, at least I have tried” and I could always be a designer for somebody else. I thought I had something new and fresh to offer and it actually took off really quickly. I didn’t put a big burden on my shoulders, I just said “if it works, it works, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.” Twelve years on, I am still doing it. |
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WHICH PRODUCT DID YOU START WITH?
— I started with cufflinks right at the beginning, because I had a very specific idea of what I wanted to do. I had already designed quite a few cufflinks in my previous job and also for my end of year at Saint Martins. It was jewellery for men which I found really interesting and nobody had really done anything that exciting at the time. When I started in 1997, some of my now competitors were using the very traditional torpedo backs. All of these different cufflink designers were using the torpedo back and I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t see it more as a sculpture. So, my first collection of cufflinks were custom-made at the front and back so that you had something to look at from all sides. That really took off. |
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Dragon band ring in facetted purple cubic zirconia and sterling silver logo plate
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IS YOUR JEWELLERY EXCLUSIVELY FOR WOMEN?
— When I first launched the collection it was exclusively for women although I did do a small men’s range. It is something that I would like to get back into, but it is just a question of time. I also started a sterling silver collection of cufflinks, which adds another range to the rhodium-plated collection.
FOR YOU, HAS MEN’S JEWELLERY DEVELOPED AT ALL?
— I think most men are ‘cufflinks and watch’, although there are a few brands which have made men’s jewellery a little more trendy and wearable. There are a few Italian and French brands that make men’s bracelets masculine, which is great. Anything that brings something new into the market is good. I think people are often very worried about how it appears at work.
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Saucer Stone Square reversible polished rhodium finish cuff-links with deep blue goldstone and a single black Swarovski crystal
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WHAT INFLUENCES YOU IN YOUR DESIGN WORK?
— I get influenced by lots of different things. I am quite interested in lots of engineering things, and I like to understand how things work. I was in a cool designer kitchen shop the other day and I saw this hot plate which opened and closed. I thought it was a very cool idea for a cufflink, so I sit at my desk and work out how my ideas can be technically achieved. My inspiration comes from all over the place. For the women, I sometimes see a colour I want to use and I try and work that colour into a look. I very much design to a look.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TEMPTED TO PRODUCE JEWELLERY AT THE HIGHER END OF THE PRICE BRACKET?
— Yes, I would like to do that at some point. The current price point of my products is an area I find really interesting. I have the opportunity to sell to so many different stores, so that is one of the reasons why I have stayed in this area. The jewellery includes details and techniques which you would find in precious jewellery although I bring it to a mass-market audience. Everyone who has my pieces feels that there is something special about them, and I like mixing those areas. I like my customers to be able to come back two or three times during the season and buy more pieces, rather than spending £10,000 on one piece and wait for another year. |
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“ Try and do a business course if you have come from art school and try and find someone to be your mentor ”
Background — Deco Heart necklace pavé with cubic zirconias
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WHERE DO YOU MANUFACTURE YOUR JEWELLERY?
— We make in England, Italy and a lot of our stones are from Swarovski and are also hand-cut in Hong Kong. We have workshops everywhere.
DO YOU OFFER A BESPOKE SERVICE?
— I do. I have been asked to make weddings rings, engagement rings. It is more occasional as I don’t like to take on too much. I also design for other brands. I design cufflinks for Aquascutum, Eton in Sweden, Gieves & Hawkes, Dunhill, Kenzo, Ted Baker. It is quite nice designing for someone else, getting into their head and fitting the designs into their collection. Guys love that little detail which you only notice after a while.
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE Babette Wasserman IN THE FUTURE?
— We have launched our new website, which will feature lots of new designs. We will be looking into opening a new concession/retail store later on this year as well as new accounts. We have been doing lots of trade shows , which has been going very well. We sell in 30 countries around the world and we have great customers in Japan, because they love the detail. When you have been working in the industry for a while you start to see similarities between different countries and their tastes, which is quite interesting. For example, the Japanese and Italians have very similar tastes in tailoring, suiting and accessories. They like things that are sleek, slender, small and fitted. Americans like bolder designs, and so do the English to a certain extent. Purple is huge in the UK and France is similar although they are more blue and black. |
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Nougat Dome ring made from hand carved rose quartz
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IF YOU WERE TO GIVE ADVICE TO SOMEBODY WANTING TO SETUP A JEWELLERY BUSINESS, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
— I would definitely work for a few years first. My work/training was very short but it gave me a foundation. Coming straight from college can be quite difficult because my training at Saint Martins was very much as a designer behind a bench and I wanted to setup a company where I wasn’t manufacturing myself. Experience in the industry is really important. Try and do a business course if you have come from art school and try and find someone to be your mentor. I didn’t have one and I would have found that very helpful. Make sure you have something different and then buyers will be interested.
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— May 2010
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