Visionary jeweller Romilly Saumarez Smith selects six fantastical jewels that overturn our usual concepts of arrangement and form, and tells how she overcame paralysis due to illness to work creatively again.

Welcome Inside the Jewel Vault hosted by me, jeweller and gemmologist Jessica Cadzow-Collins, with guests drawn from the great and the good across the jewellery world, who chose six special pieces from their life and career in jewellery to save in a fantasy jewel vault, before ultimately picking just one to treasure forever.

I hope you enjoy listening!

Guest Bio: Romilly Saumarez Smith is a gifted and expressive artist whose imaginative creations weave fantasy, mystery and meaning in materials ranging from precious gems and metals, to fossils, cutlery handles and even metal detected finds. Romilly’s career has been split in two. At first, she found acclaim as a book binder and her work is in leading collections including the V&A, but 25 years ago she turned her attention to jewellery. Unhappily, she developed multiple sclerosis which progressed to her hands, and her creative journey seemed ended. Eventually, she was introduced by her friend, the distinguished weaver Mary Restieaux to a young jeweller, Lucie Gledhill, who could translate the images Romilly saw in her minds’ eye, and this way of working with assistants –instead of her own hands - has successfully brought her ideas to life since then. Romilly’s assistants are talented jewellers in their own right such as Anna Wales, Lucie Gledhill and Laura Nygou and she currently works with two, Rachel Jones, and Carola Solcia who we hear from on the show.

I want to hear from you!

How about you? What special treasures would you put into your fantasy jewel vault, and why? Every so often I’ll compile your stories into a podcast of their own - so feel free to curate your own fantasy Jewel Vault and share with me by email. I read each and every one. Email me: [email protected].

To access show notes and images, go to: https://insidethejewelvault.com/podcast

Produced by broadcast & media guru Lizzie Wingham.

Engineered by sound genius Asa Bennet.

My grateful thanks to you both!