Treasure

Jon Dibben

We are obsessive about design and craftsmanship and take pride in offering an old fashioned bespoke service. Jon's unique designs are created using a combination of the very latest modern technology and timeless skills. Pieces are made in very limited numbers with painstaking attention to detail and faultless finishing. All work is carried out in our own workshop, including the setting of stones.

Jon Dibben has been selected as one of only two designers in the south of England to be licensed to sell Fairtrade and Fairmined gold and platinum. This means we can help to improve working conditions and trading standards for small-scale artisans - a little like ourselves - around the world.

Describe your jewellery design in three words.

Elegant, organic, perfectionist

Which of your designs are your favourites?

I love all the Meadow rings that we have made, and I was particularly pleased with our first Fairtrade and Fairmined gold ring. For such an impressive piece, it sits well on the hand and is reportedly very comfortable to wear.

How long does each design take from inception to finished piece?

We have been known to spend 100 hours making a single ring, not including design time.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I am inspired by anything and everything; in fact I nearly fell off a tube station escalator, as I was starring at the pattern on the roof. But mainly my admiration is for the natural world; the way it seamlessly blends function with beautiful form. It's what we strive for with our jewellery, along with trying to recreate nature's balance of completely random patterns that somehow just feel so ordered and calm.

How would you spend your perfect day off?

Definitely a lazy summer's picnic under a big tree, with a river to swim in, family and friends, dogs and kids running round, lots of homemade food, a few guitars floating around; definitely bohemian

What led you into jewellery design?

At the tender age of 19, I found myself living on a nudist beach in Greece. It was a mile long with a real cross section of humanity living in bamboo huts, from Buddhist monks to Athenian drug addicts. There was a strong community of travelling jewellery makers, and I got fascinated with what they did. It was the first time that I realised that I was creative, and that I enjoyed making things.

What do you consider to be the ongoing trend in jewellery design for 2012?

I hope its individuality in design, and a continued focus on obsessive craftsmanship; then we should be right on trend!

What materials are you designing with?

Since being selected as one of the first jewellery designers to launch Fairtrade and Fairmined gold in 2011, we are continuing to work in certified ecological 18ct gold, especially red gold, and in platinum that comes from the Ore Verde mining co-operative in the Choco region of Columbia. Apart from working through my hoarded stock of gemstones, where ever possible we are only buying diamonds that can be traced back to the country or even mine of origin, or stones that are from recognized supply routes that support fair-trade principles. We've always tried to be transparent about the source of our materials.

What is the biggest challenge facing ethical jewellery?

As an industry we need to make sure that we are all agreeing on, as well as being clearer and more specific on the terminology that is being used, so that consumers don't get confused or even misled. Personally, some kind of fair-trade certification process for diamonds, that guarantees origin and returns some profits to the communities of Africa, would make my day.

If you weren't a jeweller what would you be?

A poor musician, or a chef, or probably a beach bum still living on that beach in Greece

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