Gigi Hadid Gives Pals Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner Bespoke Rings by Cece
LONDON — Gigi Hadid has put a ring on it, giving her friends Taylor Swift and Kendall Jenner bespoke signet styles from the London jeweler and enamel specialist Cece London.
Swift’s ring features a detailed portrait of her cat, Benjamin Button, encircled by a pearl border. It has flaming hearts on either side, and includes Swift’s favorite number, 13, and her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s jersey number, 87.
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On the inside, the ring is engraved with the letters TTPD, after Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department. Jenner’s ring features portraits of her Doberman pinscher dogs.
In an interview, the jewelry designer and goldsmith Cece Fein Hughes said the commissions were the fruit of a social media campaign released around six weeks ago. Hughes created enamelled portrait rings of pets, added other clues and symbols, and asked people to guess their celebrity owners.
Hughes said Hadid follows Cece on Instagram, and ordered the Benjamin Button one “and also requested that we engrave the name of Swift’s latest album on the inside.”
After Hadid ordered the rings for her friends, Cece gave her one of her own. The Dreamer ring is from one of the brand’s latest collections, and has a glittery mermaid design with a pearl border.
She said that not long after the campaign launched, “we ended up doing this trio of fabulous rings that we made within about three to four weeks. We were able to turn them around pretty quickly,” said Hughes, who worked at Sotheby’s and Christie’s before studying to become a jeweler.
Hughes said the team had fun making the designs, and she was happy the social campaign worked. Hadid, she said, “is a great friend. I wish I had friends to buy me jewelry,” said Hughes.
Hughes said around 70 percent of Cece’s work is bespoke, with the rest coming from seasonal collections.
Prices for bespoke items range from 3,200 pounds to 20,000 pounds depending on the size. The pieces are made from enamel, 18-karat gold, seed pearls, and tiny diamonds to catch the light.
Hughes said she has a passion for enamel work, which is why most of the work centers around the ancient art.
“There are only a handful of people in the world that can create this level of craftsmanship. Our [enameler] also does Fabergé eggs. The lead time and the amount of work that goes into these paintings is extraordinary. The level of realism of our designs, done in miniature on gold, is just phenomenal,” she said.
The jewelry is made in London. Cece has a workshop in-house, and sends the designs to the enameler, who hand-engraves and hand-paints using fire and crushed glass.
Hughes said the designs are inspired by her tattoo obsession. “I don’t have many tattoos [myself], but the designs are very tattoo-esque in that they’re really playful, but they’re also part of a serious work of art. And I like to merge the two together. It’s especially fun to play around with fine jewelry, and I think the designs add a splash of color to everyday life.”
The jewelry is stocked at retailers inclulding Liberty, Goop and Twistonline, in addition to the brand’s website.
Cece has around 100 bespoke orders in the pipeline at any one time, although that number could spike after the next Instagram campaign launches in a few weeks.
“Instead of ‘guess the pet,’ it’s going to be guess the celebrity. We’ve got quite a few fun designs where people are actually going to guess who the human being is based on images and symbols of everything they love,” she said.
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