How To Buy Fine Jewellery According To Scandi Tastemaker Sophie Bille Brahe
Danish jeweller Sophie Bille Brahe tells you all you need to know about investing in – and caring for – a fine jewellery piece you’ll want to wear forever.
Sophie Bille Brahe combines Scandi cool with the preciousness of diamonds. Over the past decade, the Copenhagen-based jeweller has made a name for herself with elegant, minimalist designs that often have an avant-garde twist. Take her Botticelli earrings, inspired by the Italian Renaissance artist’s famous painting The Birth of Venus. They reimagine pearls for the 21st century as playful clusters that recall the foaming waves from which the goddess emerges.
Celestine, her new collection for Dover Street Market, is her largest diamond collection yet. Inspired by the night skies, it focuses on intoxicating swirls of diamonds in simple gold settings and in a degradé of size. Like all her jewellery, the collection is both contemporary and timeless, and therefore firmly on many a jewellery editor’s wish-list.
With her monochromatic palette consisting almost exclusively of diamonds, pearls and yellow gold, she has a simple approach to both designing and wearing jewellery, and believes it should become a part of your everyday life. Sophie shares her advice on investing in, and caring for, a special piece below.
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Invest in diamonds
For me, diamonds are the ultimate treat. They are the most enchanting stone and give me a really magical feeling that I can’t explain. Consequently they are always the thing that has driven me as a designer. Jewellery can hold so many moments and carry so much personal history, and if you invest in a high-quality diamond piece, it is something that can last forever and be passed down for generations to come.
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Combine modern and classic
I love that pearls are an organic, raw material that are created naturally, and yet they are so beautiful that, unlike diamonds, they don't need to be modified with cutting or polishing. I started working with them after my mother gifted me a pearl necklace she had received from my father when I gave birth to my son. I love that they have a very classic feel but can also be used in such modern designs. My Peggy necklace is perfect worn with a T-shirt but also looks beautiful when dressing up. I really want my jewellery to be something that is worn every day, so it becomes a part of who you are.
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Go bespoke
Jewellery is very personal, and there is something very special in creating a bespoke piece with the help of a designer. The way I create is much more about taking away rather than adding, and I think bespoke pieces should always start with the chosen stone or material, and that the design should evolve with this as the focus. The setting should never distract from that focus, unless the setting is part of the story that you want to tell. When creating bespoke diamond jewellery, I like to use river diamonds where possible – graded E or F in colourlessness, these are the best quality and purest diamonds available.
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Look for timeless designs
Always look for jewellery that you feel is timeless, and that you know will give you that special feeling when wearing it over and over again.
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Take special care of your jewellery
I really believe that these beautiful materials should be cherished and looked after. Pearls are alive, and if you don’t wear them regularly they will fade. In order for them to keep their beautiful shine they must be worn, as they are best treated with the natural oils from our skin. Pearls are an organic material and they do not tolerate any chemicals, so should not be worn in the shower or sprayed with perfume. Pearls tied on a thread will need to be spun again over time as the thread will loosen upon use. Diamonds are quite literally forever and can be worn everyday, however gold is a soft material and needs to be treated with care. Both may fade in lustre over time, but just need to be polished to regain their beautiful shine.
