PETALING JAYA, March 29 — Barely 24 hours in Kuala Lumpur, Stephen Webster has already done the quintessential Malaysian activity of feasting.
But there won’t be any fine dining or fancy restaurants for the renowned British jewellery designer, whose creations have adorned the likes of Elizabeth Taylor (his first celebrity commission), Madonna, Elton John, Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce.
“We had a nice seafood meal including chilli crab, which I love, and wanted to have a proper Malaysian meal,” Webster told Malay Mail.
The 60-year-old was in town last week to launch his eponymous jewellery line, distributed under home-grown jeweller Habib.
Instantly recognisable by his rock ‘n’ roll aura, Webster pushed the boundaries of fine jewellery by giving them an edge and turning them into wearable conversational pieces not just for an engagement, wedding or anniversary.
He was also former creative director of Garrard & Co, the first official British crown jeweller that has created many iconic pieces for the royal family including Princess Diana’s famous sapphire engagement ring.
But beyond the glitz and glamour, Webster has been a champion and passionate advocate of responsibly sourced materials long before sustainable living seeped into mainstream consciousness.
The turning point for him was when the blood diamond controversy erupted in the second half of the 1990s.
“I bought diamonds, same as everybody else — I didn’t know what it meant.
“Then it became part of a conversation and like a lot of jewellers, you probably thought ‘Oh, I need to know where my diamonds come from’,” said Webster, who was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 2013.
He realised the industry required more transparency.
“It wasn’t because any one of us was buying conflict diamonds but the fact that they existed meant you needed to know more.”
Trailblazer
That awareness led Webster to become one of the first 20 Fairtrade licensees in 2011 for responsibly sourced fair mined gold after a life-changing trip to experience Peru’s gold mines.
“Back then you didn’t find so much, you either wanted to know or you didn’t want to know. Your clients weren’t saying ‘I need to know’.
“When I got my fair-trade gold license, I said they’re going to love it but no one really cared. Now, of course, people care. They want to know,” said Webster on how mindsets have shifted.
The transition to a business model built on sustainability was not an easy one. In the beginning, the workload required to adopt sustainable practices seemed like a separate endeavour from the business itself.
“I had to do all these things, but does that make me a better jeweller? No, they just make you a more responsible jeweller and that was at first the biggest challenge.”
Today, Webster’s daughter heads the green team, continuing the legacy her father began. With a lot of the hard work already done, the way forward is constantly being aware and understanding how things change.
“It’s about asking, ‘Can we use that or can we not?’ and it becomes part of your mentality as a company.”
Stop assuming, start asking questions
Love jewellery but not sure if what you’re buying isn’t sourced responsibly?
Webster said it all boils down to being aware on what you are choosing because most times, shoppers assume companies are doing the right thing.
“You assume they look after their workforce, their waste, the materials they are using — you assume all this but there’s nothing wrong with asking a question like where does this gold come from?”
You can recycle jewellery
Non-renewable resources such as precious and semi-precious gems and chemical elements will deplete at some point. The future of jewellery when these rare but highly sought-after materials run out is recycling.
Webster said it’s much easier to work with recycled gold compared to gems and around 70 per cent of the gold used in his jewellery is recycled.
This year, the Kent native will roll out an initiative called Reset to encourage people to refashion the pieces they don’t wear anymore through a fun process that doesn’t require starting from scratch.
“Bring it in and we will look at it and we will decide together — the idea is to see what you can do with what you’ve already got.
“The great thing about jewellery is, it’s the parts that are valuable and if you can reuse the parts that’s quite unusual.”
His biggest jewellery pet peeve
When it comes to sparklers and baubles, bigger is not necessarily better.
Asked what would be his ultimate jewellery no-no, Webster replied: “I suppose for me personally, it’s like wearing something that just says, ‘I’ve got some money or I belong to this club that wears this particular necklace’.”
“I’m not going to name any names but I find that to be my no-no because I wouldn’t want anybody to wear my jewellery in that way — they don’t anyway.”
Stephen Webster’s creations are available at Habib Ampang and Habib KLCC showrooms.
