Stephen Webster has launched a new couture collection of one-off pieces that celebrates the best of British history, culture and design.
"From Blake and Dickens to The Kinks and The Smiths, writers, painters, poets and composers have all attempted to define what it is to be British," says Webster. "But to the best of our knowledge, this has never been conveyed through the eyes of the jeweller. With this in mind, our new couture fine jewellery collection will attempt just that, paying homage to the history, culture, climate, diet and, of course, humour and many eccentricities of the 'nation of shopkeepers', as once referred to by the very short and even more short-sighted Napoleon Bonaparte."
And so we are presented with Webster's quirky take on what he makes of the history of our island. Pheasants, baked pilchards and thorns are his themes of choice. As we have come to expect of Stephen Webster, there are puns, both linguistic and visual, as well as tongue-in-cheek humour.
Magnipheasant has a pun in its very name, and Webster has chosen the colours of this most British of fowls to inspire the colourful jewellery set. The bird's iridescent plumage is captured in red garnets, pink tourmalines, amethysts, blue topaz, peridots, citrines and black diamonds to dramatic effect.
And that is the magic of Stephen Webster. After 38 years in the business, starting at the bench making jewels and working his way up, Webster has the confidence and, most importantly, the skill to be able to play, mix it up and make it fun.
