Cece Fein-Hughes turns her dreamy watercolour paintings into exquisite enamelled jewellery that will be treasured for generations.
Coming from a family of artists, Cece Fein-Hughes grew up on Dartmoor, surrounded by natural beauty that allowed her rich imagination to thrive. During a visit to the V&A with her mother, she was captivated by a Renaissance gold band, crafted in France, enamelled with pink-and-white flowers and engraved with declarations of love. The fusion of beauty and meaning took her breath away, so much so that she changed direction from art history and set her course towards goldsmithing and the world of fine jewellery.
Cece studied design at the British Academy of Jewellery, where she fell in love with the ancient art of enamelling; a technique that her work rediscovers in all its endless possibilities. Today, Cece’s original watercolour paintings are transformed into jewellery by a master enameller, using the historic art of champlevé enamel, which combines engraving and carving with painting.
Ahoy Sailor ring (left) from Cece’s ready-to-wear collection, £3,900; and the magnificent Traveller’s Tale ring (right), £8,600.
Each exquisite piece starts its journey in Cece’s London workshop, forged from beautifully deep, recycled 18-carat yellow gold. It is then passed on to one of London’s most renowned enamellers, where every design is hand-engraved and hand-painted using fire and crushed glass to create each design. The piece is finally embellished with pearls and star-set diamonds to complete the miniature work of art, which is individual to the wearer; a precious heirloom to be treasured for generations.
As well as a ready-to-wear line, with new collections released twice a year, Cece also offers a bespoke service for clients who want to create their own one-of-a-kind piece of jewellery. An intimate process begins with a personal consultation. Listening to the customers dreams and stories, Cece will propose a choice of designs, sketching out her ideas to help visualise the piece.
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Drawing on a client’s inspiration, Cece translates their story into a miniature painting on gold. With hand-painted and engraved motifs, their personal mythology is transformed into beautiful jewellery. Perfecting this collaborative process is the choice of finishing touches for the piece — from coloured precious stones to glittering diamonds, there is beauty and symbolism in the smallest of details.
In her charming fine jewellery, Cece draws on motifs from Nature and imagination, shifting between earthly and ethereal at will. Crafting a design language both tangible and otherworldly, Cece’s hand-enamelled jewellery moves the eye and heart.
Visit www.cecejewellery.com for further information, or follow @cecejewelleryofficial on Instagram.
