Theo Fennell is London's most eccentric jeweller. I say this with conviction having met him at his flagship boutique, a grand cream coloured building with a curved facade that sits on its own island between a crisscross junction on the Fulham Road.
It's a Chelsea landmark in its own right – and, rather suitably, it looks a little like an elongated jewellery box with Theo's name running along its 'lid'.The jeweller has been here since 1996 (though he founded the brand in 1982) and the top floors of this flagship are dedicated to his silversmith workshops as well as his design studio.
Fennell is a larger-than-life character. In the press, he's often been dubbed 'The King of Bling', and his jewellery – which through the decades has been snapped up by plethora of equally flamboyant celebrities from Sir Elton John and Naomi Campbell to Madonna and Courtney Love – is a testament to his colourful imagination and electric intelligence. This is, after all, a man who quotes Milton and Shakespeare, romances you with the nicer bits medieval history (especially all those knights which he likes to cast in solid silver as handsome figurines) and he’ll even throw in a killer Frankie Howerd impersonation for good measure.
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Now 67, Fennell has lost none of his esprit de vivre – he has a full head of dark blond hair complete with aristocratic kink, and a raucous laugh. Today the jeweller is kitted out in a very 'Chelsea' uniform of jeans, a long polo top and Tod's loafers; on one wrist he's sporting a beaded friendship bracelet which ineffably emphasises his louche, debonair style.
You get the feeling that nothing really bothers Fennell except, of course, the small matter of getting his ideas ("so many!") out of his head and on to paper. He talks in delightful tangents and twists, and he's one of those rare birds blessed with gentle manners and a devilish sense of humour.
Creatively speaking, there are few people in the jewellery world who have been as consistently experimental as Fennell and his shop is a true cabinet of curiosities – though Fennell himself would no doubt prefer the Teutonic term, Wunderkammern.
Here you'll find everything from skull brooches (adorned with diamonds and rubies, some with crystal-carved Marie Antoinette hair and fleur-de-lys enamel cloaks); solid silver Che Guevara cuff links (uncanny in their facial resemblance); crystal and silver vodka sets along with all manner of silver ornaments (cue the Ronnie and Reggie Kray salt and pepper shakers) and Gothic fantasy gold rings each bearing a tiny cupola that opens up to reveal a miniature world, such a little desert island with gold palm tree or a group of Lilliputian figures.
Fennell runs the gamut when it comes to creative references. His sketchbooks – mini masterpieces in their own right, packed to the edges with of exquisitely composed sketches in pen and ink – provide a window into his vivid imagination. There's no theme you won't find translated into an etched fantasy if it's worth thinking about: inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere, from plants and animalia to Gothic excess and Victorian architecture, right through to pop culture symbolism - think Lichtenstein's 'WOW' painting reduced to pendant size and cast in rubies, yellow diamonds and sapphires. These drawing books are the building blocks of Theo Fennell's transtemporal world here in SW3.
Over half of Fennell's business comes from bespoke orders, some elegant high jewellery pieces (for he excels in simplicity as well as the ornate), while others are just plain zany. When I visit, the jeweller shows me a large gold ring designed to look like the face of Damien Hirst (complete with black Wayfarer sunglasses), which opens up to reveal – yes, you guessed it - a skull cast from pavé diamonds. Only three were made and Sir Elton appears to own one as suggested by the jeweller's own Twitter feed. However, with the exception of this sequin-loving superstar, Fennell refuses to disclose the names of his A-list clients.
As for his enduring asethetic, there are indeed signature symbols that Fennell has stuck to since he started out in the '80s – namely his Crosses, Keys and Phis collection; iconographic pendants cast in precious stones which are invariably displayed at the front of shop. A new limited edition collection of these pendants takes inspiration from the four seasons and have been developed in four different colourways – there are only 25 pieces of each, but Fennell also offers clients the option to customise each design with personal motifs, such as flowers or ruby ladybirds.
These are high value pieces as you would expect (starting at around £3,500) but Theo Fennell also produces entry price pieces that are beautifully crafted and extremely well priced. Compare, for example, his 18ct yellow gold stacking ring with 0.25ct pink tourmaline (£850) with a similarly-priced item on net-a-porter.com and you'll be paying for plated gold or dainty (read: flimsy) 9ct at best.
If you really want to know the best thing about the Theo Fennell boutique, it's the warm welcome you'll receive from staff who are genuinely passionate about the craftsmanship that goes on upstairs behind closed doors. And, if you're lucky enough to meet the great man himself, he may even give you a walking tour of these workshops whilst regaling you with anecdotes to make you chuckle along the way.
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