Smallbone of Devizes

► The art of jewellery

Award-winning British designer-jeweller Shaun Leane is celebrated world-wide for his exquisitely refined modern-romantic jewels that push boundaries of contemporary design.

Founding his eponymous jewellery brand in 1999, Leane leads the way forward for a new generation of both jewellery-makers and wearers. Nurturing an entirely new genre, he has created a new wave of jewellery that fuses the finest traditional craftsmanship and precious materials with a young-at-heart, poetic modernity. Through his mastery of age-old artisanal skills, Leane has brought the history and heritage of jewellery, its sentiments and stories, into the 21st century, combining the jewel’s innate sense of eternity with a fresh, contemporary relevance. Leane’s longstanding collaboration with the late Lee Alexander McQueen drove him to push boundaries in the realm of couture jewellery and body adornment resulting in some of the most influential catwalk imagery of the last decade. The blend of technical perfection with creative freedom that came out of this special partnership lies at the heart of the Shaun Leane jewellery brand and what it stands for today; challenging femininity and fashion, and the perceptions of form, preciousness and meaning. Through special bespoke commissions, Leane has introduced his distinctive style of vibrant, modern romance into the hallowed realms of High Jewellery, taking the customer through a compelling personal design journey, transforming jewels into treasures for a lifetime. It’s this process of immortalisation that has taken Leane from the jewellery house to the auction house. Leane was thrilled to partner with Sotheby’s and present his personal archive at the inaugural auction series, A Life of Luxury, in New York, defining his creations as collectable antiques for the future.

Above ► The tusk motif first debuted in the 1996 Hunger collection for Alexander McQueen and has become an iconic signature of the house reimagined in these Sterling Silver and Diamond Crossover Tusk Earrings.

Below, left ► Bespoke Majestic Grasslands Earrings crafted with sweeping strands of pavé set white diamonds and green emeralds.

Below ► Bespoke handcrafted earrings in 18ct white gold, amethyst, sapphire and diamond deco fringe.

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Shaun Leane