Hargreaves Stockholm

Hargreaves Stockholm (Est. 2017) In November 2017, the online magazine, Totally Stockholm, spoke with founder and designer, Jemima Hargreaves, about her brand that creates ethical fine jewelry. The firm is committed to creating beautiful, wearable pieces in a responsible fashion. The team at Hargreaves takes pains to ensure that every part of their process, from the sourcing of the metals and stones through the production and packaging, is as ethical as possible.

In its relatively short history, Hargreaves has become renowned for stunning jewelry created using a mixture of traditional skills and cutting-edge technology. Hargreaves herself carefully selects the finest materials from the most responsible sources: fair mined ecological gold and silver, non-mined diamonds grown using solar power with no carbon footprint, and more. The firm also produces its own sustainable cork packaging.

Hargreaves Stockholm was launched at Stockholm Fashion Week in January 2017. In development for many years involving work and research, it took nearly two decades in the fine jewelry industry before Jemima found a way to produce beautiful pieces as responsibly as possible.

Jemima is an apprentice trained goldsmith who had the good fortune to work with some spectacular masters. After her apprenticeship, she worked with traditional, handmade fine jewelry. From there, she managed both traditional workshops and large scale production workshops. She’s also run projects for film work, royalty, and high profile clients. Over the years she’s offered consultancy services to jewelry companies and brands that wanted to diversify, reinvent their image, workshop, and/or product base. During that time, Jemima questioned the materials used and searched for alternatives. This is what led her to create her personal brand.

A number of people on the Hargreaves team help Jemima on a freelance basis. For example, a good friend creates many of the prototypes. Extra pairs of hands work on production, so three people work on the pieces when needed. Outside the workshop there two CAD engineers who understand her work and what she expects. There is also someone who, with the latest robotic technology, produces the sustainable packaging in house.

Hargreaves’ pieces blend Scandinavian simplicity and clean lines with reminders of distant Swedish heritage. The creations are timeless, solid, tactile pieces made by the small team’s skilled craftspeople using both traditional and cutting edge techniques.

Each design is methodically researched to use the most responsible materials possible. Some pieces have taken years to find a balance between perfection and sustainability. The brand refuses to compromise on perfection as well as on ethics. If there isn’t a perfect balance between the two, the firm does not create the collection.

Huge amounts of time go into searching for responsible materials. If they do not find the right material or product that meets their standards, they then need create something to suit their needs.

The brand is especially known for rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, as well as its diamonds, gold, and silver. Current collections include Fredag, Bracteate, and Empowerment.

Fredag is designed to celebrate commitment. An advancement from the earlier Fealty line named Unisex, the collection is comprised of heavy, single stone rings, diamond-set eternity rings, and plain bands crafted in fair mined Eco white gold. The pieces can be worn as a set or as stand-alone pieces.

Bracteate is a modern interpretation of an ancient ritual. This unisex series is solid, tactile, and engraved with the Hargreaves hare motif. It is comprised of fair mined Silver and Gold pendants with eco-vegetable dyed leather cord, cork leather cord and handmade chains. There is a handmade chain bracelet with charm-like bracteates, a signet ring, earrings, and cufflinks.

In ancient times Swedish ancestors used a runic alphabet not only to communicate but also carved into objects to give strength and meaning to their wishes and actions. Although most people no longer carve them into swords, Hargreaves has chosen nine of the symbols for the Empowerment Collection.

These include gold and silver pendants and earrings that represent inspiration, love, home, prosperity, victory, protection, wisdom, birth, health, and big silver earrings that represent big love, big knowledge, and big warrior.

The earlier Freyr Collection was inspired by the myth of Gyllenbuste, the shining boar ridden by Freyr, symbolizing the sun in winter. Created in a plethora of colors, the pieces sparkle with cultivated orange sapphires and diamond encrusted fair mined Eco red gold. The collection includes a heavy dress ring, pendant, earrings and cufflinks.

Previous collections include Fealty and Var both created in2017. A new collection, Tove, debuted in 2018. This most recent collection was inspired by the brand’s Scandinavian and Viking lineage, and draws its inspiration from Tove Jansson’s, Moomins characters plus magical paintings of Swedish forests and the Moomin Valley.

The new collection consists of statement earrings, cocktail rings and oversized pendants. It features Talisman circular motifs, mixed with repeating patterns of etched triangles – accented by a palette of blue sapphires, alexandrite and green tourmalines – between pavé white diamonds.

Each piece of jewelry is made combining fair mined Ecological gold and silver; non-mined, solar created gemstones and diamonds and comes packaged in bespoke recycled cork jewelry boxes. Prices for the collection start at £425 for the silver range, £3,225 for the gold range and £8,115 for the gold diamond set range.

Jemima has told interviewers that Hargreaves doesn’t just offer ethics as an option; it is the backbone of the brand that has been showcased in London, Copenhagen and Stockholm Fashion Weeks and international publications such as Tatler, Elle, JFW, Bon and Pebble.

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