The Good Jeweller x

www.lebrusanstudio.com

For Brighton-based jeweller, Arabel Lebrusan, social justice and preserving the environment provide the spark for her highly-coveted fine jewellery collections.

On a frosty January morning, Arabel Lebrusan opens the door to her bijoux Brighton showroom all aglow. The black sequins on her top catch the light and begin to sparkle, quickly followed by a radiant smile. Then comes the glint of a smoky quartz surrounded by a halo of diamonds, which sits at the centre of her own-design necklace. Once inside, she tells me she has another studio, not far from here, which she uses in her other guise as a contemporary visual artist and that the jewellery showroom, is "a lot less messy."

Founded in 2012, Lebrusan Studio is where a faithful client base, from art collectors to multi-generations of the same family, come in search of a beautiful heirloom engagement ring, 21st birthday gift, or bespoke design, with serious ethical credentials. Indeed, Lebrusan is driven by social justice and preserving the environment. She will only work with trusted suppliers and traceable materials - think recycled sterling silver and Fairmined Gold, the certified mark for ecologically extracted gold, purchased directly from responsible mining communities stretching as far as Colombia and Peru. Elsewhere, conflict-free diamonds and reclaimed gemstones come to her attention via trusted stone dealers, collectors' fairs, or bespoke customers, looking to repurpose them into pieces with a more contemporary edge.  

Take Lebrusan's Reclaimed Vintage collection. It includes a stylish T-bar pendant, made with reclaimed 9ct gold Victorian pocket watch chains with Albert clasps reimagined as bold statement necklaces. Another striking feature of her collections is the intricate filigree work, the result of a longstanding collaboration with a Madrid-based artisan. A pair of handcrafted sterling silver Ribbon Chandelier Earrings and the Revival Cuff imbued with Swarovski rose quartz and black spinels on gold plating, have an ethereal beauty about them.

Born in Madrid, Lebrusan's love of jewellery stems from watching her Spanish mother dressing for special occasions. One particular piece, a striking handcrafted gold eagle pendant with a single sapphire hanging from it, stays in Lebrusan's memory. "Even as a small child, I was drawn to the craftsmanship and beauty of this necklace, the hand behind it and the way the sapphire caught the light." Studies in fine art and gemmology followed, leading her to London in 2000, where she would later get her Masters in Jewellery Design at Central Saint Martins.

At the time, the topic of unsustainable mining practices, 'blood diamonds' and poor working conditions was not discussed amongst most jewellers. Looking back, she recalls: "I was on a journey into a new territory, a space in which to ask questions with traceability being one of my keywords, but no one really seemed to know where a specific gemstone or metal came from."

Driven by a lack of answers, Lebrusan decided to go it alone and launch her first collection with the aim of putting things straight. "Now everyone talks about the sustainable jewellery movement, but there is still so much greenwashing around it. It's important for us to share the knowledge that everything isn't perfect yet within the jewellery industry; otherwise, we risk losing a whole new generation of ethically-minded jewellery buyers with high expectations that won't engage in a sector that doesn't sit right with them," she warns.

Today, bespoke orders account for around 40 per cent of Lebrusan's business, each specially commissioned piece taking between 8-10 weeks to create. "The best part of bespoke is upping the wow factor, creating pieces that I can really dig my claws into both as a jeweller and artist," says Lebrusan. "I don't want jewellery to be kept in a safe. I want it to be seen and enjoyed. Bespoke is a perfect place to realise all this and more."

Lebrusan meets her clients by appointment here at her Brighton studio or at the London Diamond Bourse, the historic jewellers' institution located in Hatton Garden. In the case of the latter, after that first consultation, she will often take out her notebook on the train back to Brighton and start sketching. By her own admission, she can get a little obsessed with a particular idea, most recently broken gemstones which led to extensive research in texture, colour and form, spurring multiple mood boards.

The jeweller also has a thing for reclaimed sapphires, which she sources from her trusted Sri Lankan supplier. When she last visited them, she was given a masterclass in stonecutting and also saw the mines at first hand. "Sapphires and their softer tones - the light blues, soft yellows and pinks - are just so beautiful but often overlooked," she says.

So, what next for the good jeweller? "What excites me most going forward is continuing the story that I want to tell - remaining true to my core values, the mixing of old and new and using recycled gemstones and diamonds in even more novel ways. I love working with people. I'm a very social person and really passionate about what I do." And there goes that brilliant smile again.