Glenn Spiro, the gem maverick of Mayfair

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The jewels of Glenn Spiro are unlike those found in the collections of more traditional maisons. Laid out on a desk in the brand’s London headquarters – the former Mayfair studio of royal couturier Norman Hartnell – is a pair of dangly earrings, designed to look like fish skeletons, with bones so fine they could pick a tooth; a Bullet ring with an enormous, off-centre, 11ct kite-shaped cognac diamond; and a titanium cuff with waves of Old Mine cushion-cut diamonds, designed to mimic the flow of sound.

Gold, gilded intaglio glass and yellow-diamond necklace, POA

Rose-gold, silver and diamond Petal earrings, POA

Gold, amber and diamond ring, POA

The subversiveness of Spiro – who is this year celebrating the 10th anniversary of his business – has earned the jeweller international acclaim, and built up his list of private clients and collectors for whom he makes one-off pieces. He has regular private showings in London, Paris and New York, and sells from satellite boutiques in New York, Los Angeles, St Barths and St Tropez. “We are buyers of serious gems [and] great materials, and creators of special things – and we have built up a following because of that,” says Spiro. “We haven’t spent millions of pounds [in advertising].” 

We made a necklace purely based on a pencil

In October, at London’s design fair PAD, Spiro and his 32-year-old son Joe, who joined his father’s business in 2017, unveiled a 15-piece collection titled “Materials of the Old World” that utilises vintage finds. “It’s inspired by costume jewellery that we loved, which is very wearable and quite ornamental,” says Joe, who previously worked under Singaporean jeweller Edmond Chin. Included is a shoulder-grazing pair of earrings made with medallions taken from an 18th-century Baoulé gold necklace, alternated between Colombian emeralds and pavé tsavorite garnets. Another ring is set with a 16.45ct oval diamond surrounded by amber, while ancient Roman cameos, acquired from auctions across Europe, are strung together to form a necklace. “It’s very much of that Halston period – that sexy, ’70s vibe,” adds Spiro. “But it’s important for us that it doesn’t have that gauche feeling of being too ‘bling bling’.” 

Gold and diamond Baoulé necklace, POA

White-gold, titanium and diamond Fishbone earrings

Gold, emerald, diamond and garnet earrings

Spiro has always considered himself an industry outsider. As a born-and-raised east Londoner, with the thick accent to prove it, as well as an irreverent attitude, the 62-year-old is somewhat at odds with the personalities that usually front the jewellery world. Spiro left school at 15 and joined English Art Works, Cartier’s London jewellery workshop on New Bond Street, before apprenticing as a goldsmith in Hatton Garden. At 21, he opened his own atelier, creating specialised couture jewels for other brands, as well as occasionally servicing his own private clients. He simultaneously worked in Christie’s jewellery department from 1994 to 2002, as a senior director and international specialist, where he developed a keen interest in rare stones.

When he officially launched his own dedicated brand in 2014, operating as G, Spiro had already honed the aesthetic for which he is now known: rare coloured semi-precious and precious gemstones, often mixed with unusual materials including copper, wood and titanium. One of Spiro’s most famous jewels is his Papillon ring, made for Jay-Z as a gift for Beyoncé in 2014, with green tsavorites and diamonds encrusting a titanium butterfly, and a hinge that extends above the knuckle, allowing the wearer to flutter its wings. The singer, who is a friend of Spiro’s, donated the ring to the V&A in 2018, where it is now on public view. More recently, the Spiros created a curling titanium feather brooch paved with pink diamonds for Anant Ambani, the son of Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, for his wedding to Radhika Merchant.

“My dad is erratically brilliant,” adds Joe, who designs the jewellery alongside his father. “We do things in a childlike way. Everything goes on the table, all the stones we’ve found, and we start to match and fit them together, drawing around those items and starting to form shapes. Those shapes can be completely wrong, and cost thousands of dollars to go backwards and forwards over, but you work with the team to style each of those items.” One of Joe’s favourite pieces this year came from an apprentice working in the office, who was sharpening a pencil and became inspired by the shape of the shaving. “We made a necklace purely based on a pencil – it’s as playful and as silly as that.”

Patrick Perrin, founder and president of PAD fairs, says Spiro embodies London’s independent style. “His designs stand out as truly unique, driven by a rare aesthetic sensibility, a natural inspiration and exceptional craftsmanship.” Spiro’s jewels are unpredictable – which is precisely what keeps his private clients interested. As he says: “We serve wealthy, confident individuals, who normally cross over with the art world. If they’re going to spend money, it has to be [for] a really good reason.”