London Jewellery Ups The Glamour At The Inaugural Leopard ... › wp-content › uploads › 2017 › 11 › ...Bedecked in a Cartier necklace from the Twentie and a vintage ring from

17/11/2017 London Jewellery Ups The Glamour At The Inaugural Leopard Awards

http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/london-jewellery-ups-the-glamour-at-the-inaugural-leopard-awards 1/17

JEWELLERY

London Jewellery Ups The Glamour At TheInaugural Leopard AwardsPresented at the Goldsmith’s Hall on Wednesday evening, the inaugural Leopard Awards put the

spotlight on the great and emerging jewellers of London, with more than a few glamorous clients in tow.

�5 ANDERS CHRISTIAN MADSEN

1 day ago

B edecked in a Cartier necklace from the Twenties and a vintage ring from S.J. Phillips,

Sabine Getty lit up the ballroom at the Goldsmith’s Hall.

CREDIT: REX FEATURES



“�is is literally the best excuse to wear my most oversized, over-fabulous, over-the-top

jewellery,” the young jewellery designer said of the �rst Leopard Awards, an initiative

honouring the jewellers of London in partnership with the Prince’s Trust. “It’s a celebration of

jewellery, and we needed it. It’s our prom night. We’re quite a few people in the industry, so

it’s good to gather and recognise people’s work,” Getty noted.




A group effort of the most in�uential names on the city’s jewellery scene, the evening took its

name from the Leopard Hallmark used to mark gold and silver pieces produced in London

since 1363. “It’s raising the pro�le of jewellery, and taking the word ‘accessory’ away from

jewellery. Jewellery is not an accessory,” Solange Azagury-Partridge asserted at the dinner

where candlelit chandeliers illuminated the great ballroom. “We want to nurture young talent.

We want young people to be interested,” she said. “It’s a very close chop, the jewellery

business. I felt like that, and I still in some ways do feel like that. �is is a way of bringing

them in and helping them out and helping them �nd their way.”


Along with Susan Farmer, �eo Fennell, Shaun Leane, Stephen Webster and Vogue’s CarolWoolton, Azagury-Partridge makes up the London Leopards, who made the evening a

reality. “As a group we began discussing how we could put jewellery back on everyone’s

minds,” Shaun Leane recalled, �anked by a part futuristic, part medieval Daphne Guinness,

who, as the jeweller’s enduring supporter, was awarded the Leopard Jewellery In Fashion



Honour, presented by Gareth Pugh. “It’s nice to work with people, who let us �y. �at’s what

Daphne Guinness does with Shaun,” Azagury-Partridge said.

C G G S



CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

“I love that the evening is �lled with the most beautiful young talent, who are not the names

you hear most in jewellery – the old houses we know and love – but people who are working

their way up,” Arizona Muse pointed out.




Dressed in earrings from Eugenie Niarchos’ label Venyx, the model presented the most

important award of the evening, a mentorship programme with �e Prince’s Trust in which

emerging jewellery designers will be given the opportunity to train in the workshops of the

London Leopards. �e young hopefuls were Louis Browning, Katherine Anderson, Mollie

Rose Hemming, and Hannah Jackson.


“When you’re a new jewellery designer, you have the challenge of not having a household

name,” Sabine Getty explained. “Normally in jewellery you come from families with

generations of jewellers, but when you’re new there’s a trust that needs to be built with the

customer. �is is our biggest challenge. You’ve really got to invest your time in getting to

know your customer, getting them to trust you and come to you.” One of those customers is



Sir Elton John, whose husband David Furnish accepted the Leopard Legend Award on his

behalf, honouring the singer’s support of British jewellery.



“Jewellery brings so much joy to his life. He’s not here tonight because he’s touring in

Canada,” Furnish paused, “so he can buy more jewellery!” On behalf of �e Crown, VanessaKirby – who plays Princess Margaret on the show – accepted the Leopard Award for

Jewellery on Screen, explaining how invaluable the replicas worn by actors in the series are to

their performances. “Jewellery is essential to create the magic,” she said. “Tonight is about

how jewellery impacts all of the arts,” Azagury-Patridge concurred, “which is why we’ve

honoured people, who honour jewellery as much as we honour it, rather than honouring

ourselves.”

Documents

London Jewellery Ups The Glamour At The Inaugural Leopard ... › wp-content › uploads › 2017 › 11 › ...Bedecked in a Cartier necklace from the Twentie and a vintage ring from