Sometimes, the press releases practically write themselves. “Reimagining heritage through design” is how the new jewellery line from Alice Thorne was described at the launch event last Friday. And while half the room was sipping prosecco and pretending to know what a “baroque oval cut” means, the pieces themselves genuinely turned heads.
Thorne, a designer from Bath with a background in architecture (and cheekbones so sharp they could sculpt marble), has spent the last two years touring neglected British estates — sketching archways, photographing cornices, and occasionally sneaking into locked rooms “for inspiration.” The result? A set of brooches, rings, and cufflinks modelled after 17th-century ironwork and “forgotten floral motifs.”
There’s something a little eerie about it, to be honest. One pendant looks suspiciously like the crest of a long-dead earl. Another piece, a chunky gold ring shaped like a weathered doorknob, feels more haunted than haute couture. But maybe that’s the point.
A jeweller from Camden I chatted with called it “a love letter to decay, in 18-carat.” An Instagram commenter was less poetic: “Gorgeous. But £800 for ghost vibes? Nah.”
Still, the collection is selling. The nostalgia’s hitting. And in a world of fast fashion and AI-generated garbage, Thorne’s commitment to… well, anything real, is refreshing. Sort of. Even if that reality includes rust, ivy, and crumbling plaster.
