SCOTTISH STYLE AWARDS 2011 - GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
Judging Panel - Stephen Webster
Stephen Webster, the London-based jewellery brand internationally heralded for its exquisite and cutting edge designs has flourished under Founder and Creative Director Stephen Webster. Stephen blends his love for traditional craftsmanship with his passion for contemporary music, fashion and art to produce modern, unconventional and beautiful jewellery. It’s a unique and edgy approach that has been some 30 years in the making.
From a modest upbringing near London, Stephen has attracted some of the entertainment world’s most alluring and glamorous clients and has established a loyal and evolving, global customer base. Stephen’s enthusiasm, commitment and creativity have helped him to achieve numerous accolades including a three-time win of “British Luxury Jeweller of the Year Award”, ‘Diamond Jeweller of the Year’ in 2004 and 2005, “Jewellery Designer of the Year” in 1997, 1998 and 2006’ and winner of the “UK Jewellery Brand of the Year” in 2008. Stephen also holds the honor of a Freeman of the City of London.
While the jewels in Stephen Webster’s exquisite pieces may be multifaceted, his vision has always been singularly focused. Webster’s love for things that sparkle found him attending a Jewellery and Silversmith course at Medway College of Design at the young age of 16. During the first term Stephen became consumed by a passion for jewellery design and craftsmanship. After completing his training under Tony Sheperd, a former Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, Stephen worked as a craftsman for several established London design houses. Among many highly regarded commissions was the honour, on two occasions, of setting the De Beers Diamond Stakes Trophy.
After receiving the acclaimed De Beers honor in 1982, which marked an emergence for Stephen into the fine jewellery market, he relocated to Canada to design and produce for an independent jeweller. Following a brief return to the UK in 1984, Stephen identified opportunities for his jewellery in California. His bold style and use of exotic and unusual gems attracted the fashion-savvy and uninhibited audience out West. After much success and expansion, Stephen returned to London in 1998 to establish the company that is known today as Stephen Webster Ltd.
With one of the largest jewellery manufacturing and design studios in London’s West End, Stephen Webster is widely considered to be one of the international scene’s most accomplished and exciting designers. The company has expanded globally with 120 points of sale worldwide in the United Kingdom, United States, Russia, Dubai, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong and over 20 Stephen Webster boutiques internationally. Additional boutiques are scheduled to open in Tallinn, Estonia, Marbella, Spain and on London’s Mount Street in Mayfair in 2009.
Meanwhile, Stephen’s stellar celebrity client roster continues to grow. Over the past few years he has designed one-of-a-kind pieces for the likes of Madonna, Sharon Stone, Kate Moss, Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Pink and Christina Aguilera. He has also created jewellery for Elton John, Jay Z, Ozzy Osborne, Johnny Depp, Nicholas Cage and Michael Stipe.
Stephen’s industrious talent has placed coloured gemstones and fine jewellery back into the spotlight. “Things have changed,” Webster says. “The fear factor, the reverence and the rather staid formality have all but disappeared. Magazines now have fashion shoots featuring H&M jeans accented by £10,000 diamond rings. Adding a diamond-studded detail to a watch or a piece of jewellery no longer marks a customer as a flashy, ostentatious type. It just makes a person look more…lively,” said Webster.