Sutcliffe Jewellery

About

Jewellery Designer & Manufacturer

Story

"Inspiration comes in many forms: whether it is the architecture of a building, a piece of music, a certain indefinable colour or even the taste of a particular food. Inspiration for beauty, originality and design can be found in almost anything, although over the years I have found certain reliable sources that will constantly provide ideas.

I have found Art Deco and Art Nouveau architecture a great source of inspiration for lines and shapes, whilst ideas for colour can be drawn from New Zealand's natural beauty. We also have a rich cultural heritage which merges the old world with the new; Sotheby's with the South Pacific. These factors become entwined and provide ample inspiration for refined, stunning designs.

It is paramount that my customers get exactly what they want. My motivation is to help people wear something that is simultaneously beautiful and original - jewellery that says something about the neck it adorns or the hand carrying it. For that reason, I seek to understand what it is the customer desires before looking back at my sources of inspiration to figure out what design is best for each individual customer."

Brent has long been schooled in the craft of goldsmithing and design. His father, Lance, established Sutcliffe Jewellery in 1968 having been a jeweller himself since he was 14. Lance's success as a jeweller and businessman inspired Brent to do an apprenticeship when he left school in 1988. As an apprentice in New Zealand, Brent won other awards such as the Gold Medal in the Skills Olympics, as well as winning first, second and third for all his apprenticeship assessments.

After working in New Zealand for 12 years, Brent left for London where he worked in Hatton Garden, the jewellery heart of London, alongside other houses such as Graff, de Beers and the London Diamond Borse. Whilst in London Brent specialised in antique jewellery which added a new dimension to his designs.