Three years ago, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the future looked uncertain for Stephen Webster, the jeweller who made his name using precious stones in rebellious style. “We nearly lost the business due to the Russian war. That was our biggest market. We’d spent 22 years building it,” he says, in his recognisably gravelly timbre, as he reclines at his desk on the second floor of his soon-to-open flagship shop at 12-13 Burlington Arcade. His long peppery hair is slicked back, and he smiles in a red bowling shirt with a clunky, silver thorn chain of his own design.
“My wife Anastasia and I were out there opening a fabulous new boutique, and then the invasion happened. That was the end of it. It was a really tough period. I don’t think anything could have affected us quite like that — it was 45 per cent of our business. We had to get through it, hang on, keep things afloat, and then figure out what’s next,” he says. “So, I’m walking past this spot at Burlington Arcade that was a James Bond pop-up shop. There were Aston Martin DB5s hanging from the roof, the carpet was all 007, Goldfinger-themed — the whole place was gold.” He went inside for a martini in a prop-built bar downstairs and thought: “This is really cool.”
So, after 17 years based in an upstairs studio and salon in Mount Street, Webster — who founded his eponymous brand in 1989 — has relocated. He opened the doors to his new shop last week, marking the occasion with a full takeover of the arcade — carpets and all — which runs for two months. Friends including Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp, the Queen’s son Tom Parker Bowles and 1990s It girl Tamara Beckwith were there to celebrate. “We are everything this arcade stands for — craftsmanship, made in England — we’ve got all that,” Webster says. “But I do think we bring a bit more of a rock’n’roll vibe.”
Home to the greats
It is difficult to focus the eye on anything in particular on Webster’s refurbished top floor, where customers can mull over bespoke designs while staring at bejewelled skulls on bookcases, Damien Hirst’s butterfly works on the walls, or the huge taxidermy swan which flies overhead. “I’ve even got a bit of wedding cake from Kate and William’s wedding, because I was creative director at Garrard (which had designed the princess’s engagement ring) at the time,” Webster says, leaning back to open a commemorative tin.
Around us, glass cases protect recognisable and special collection designs which do well to summarise Webster’s often left-field signature style. There are the Hammerhead Shark bangles, the most elaborate of which are made with rows of individually cut diamonds slotted together like tiles, with no metal fastenings between them. “It makes it really special,” he says. Certainly, at £118,000. Another case is home to a series of seven dazzling rings called The ReBelles, each a limited design inspired by exceptional women, including pioneering mathematician Katherine Johnson and LGBTQ+ rights trailblazer Marsha P Johnson.
The ground floor — the walls bright white and overlooked by a neon Tracey Emin sign which reads “I promise to love you” — is full of the bestselling collections. These include Crystal Haze, in which quartz caps are laid on stones to create an illuminated effect. Perhaps the most recognisable of these is the Fly By Night bat-moth ring in electric blue, for £5,750.
Shaken not stirred
Step downstairs, following another neon sign which reads the No Regrets Lounge, and you’ll find the martini lounge — a hangover of the shop’s Bond days, but completely revamped by Webster (except for the all-gold loo, which stayed). “I got my liquor licence, passed the exam — it’s a licensed premises now,” he says. “When there are 15 people down here, it’s really cool.”
Along with a flight of mini martinis, for £21, there is the men’s jewellery offering — “our fastest growing category” — as well as exceptional knives with Damascus steel blades and bronze handles shaped to resemble beasts, including a boar, bull and ram. The set of six is yours for £29,700. “If you’ve got everything, you probably don’t have a set like this,” he continues.
Above them is a case of brighter, Pop Art-esque rings named after the “eighth deadly sin, gossip,” which Webster made in collaboration with rapper Machine Gun Kelly. The pair struck up a relationship after Kelly commissioned Webster to make the now infamous 'Toi et Moi' ring with which he proposed to Megan Fox in 2022.
“That engagement ring became such a moment. It was talked about everywhere,” Webster recalls. “It kicked off a bit of a revolution, even in America. We thought we’d get a lot more business from it … but people just copied it left and right.” Leaning back, martini in hand, Webster doesn’t seem too bothered. Things are finally looking up again. “Listen, you just have to remind yourself, imitation is the highest form of flattery.”
