Jessica McCormack Gets Organised

Jessica McCormack is the New Zealand-born, Christchurch raised and now London-based jewellery designer. A disrupter of the diamond world, Jessica is known for her wearable heirloom-inspired pieces. Her creations combine Georgian and Victorian techniques and hand-craftsmanship with contemporary designs packed full of personality and symbolism. McCormack hand sketches all her jewellery designs, her signature delivers a cut-down setting and blackened gold, which adds a subtle rebellious edge to her feminine pieces. Having your first commercial piece on the ears of Rihanna - her famous Wings of Desire earrings – put her on the map and it was only up from there.

Rewind a few years, pre-Mayfair townhouse, and Jessica’s introduction to the finer things in life came after a year of pestering letters to the head of jewellery at Sotheby’s auction house. That resulted, age 25, in a London internship which ignited her appreciation and understanding of precious jewellery design. At Sotheby’s she also met Michael Rosenfeld, a third generation diamantaire who later become her business partner. In 2008, with Rosenfeld’s backing, she opened her appointment-only workshop in Clerkenwell.

Constantly inspired by an abundance of influences, whether it be the Bauhaus movement, mid-Century American architecture or contemporary art, these are overlaid on Jessica’s earliest childhood influences. The daughter of an auctioneer, her home was filled with weird and wonderful objets d’art and it was the antiques world that led her to jewellery. At auction she would buy up huge boxes full of. costume jewels and remake them into new pieces.

McCormack has now migrated from the Clerkenwell studio to the current Mayfair townhouse-come-atelier-come-art gallery abode. It’s a grand 19th Century showroom designed entirely by Jessica and is renowned for its acclaimed interiors reflecting her impeccable taste. A rolling curation of Michael Rosenfeld’s collection of art, antiques and books adorn the boutique, demonstrating her unique knack for effortlessly fusing antique and contemporary aesthetics. No stone is left unturned and a walk into the secret garden enables guests to see diamonds by daylight, while an on-site workshop executes each piece maintaining high levels of craftsmanship. Her self-run Instagram account combines an element of aspiration with relatable and real-life styling. If you follow her you will be accustomed to her finger stacks of diamonds and bamboo gold paired with jeans, white T-shirts and oversized shirts; “People can relate to it because it’s real life, not red carpet.”

McCormack has redefined how women wear fine jewellery by creating pieces that fit a modern woman’s wardrobe and lifestyle.