An Industry First: David Morris Debuts High Jewelry Collection on Farfetch
LONDON — See-now-buy-now ready-to-wear is no longer news, but what about see-now-buy-now high jewelry?
The London-based jeweler David Morris is about to experiment with the concept, launching a high jewelry collection on Farfetch today.
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The range, “Renaissance,” consists of 13 pieces, four of which will be available to buy on Farfetch, while the remaining ones sold through the retailer’s private client services.
This is the first time a jeweler will debut, and sell, a high jewelry collection on an e-commerce platform — testament to consumers’ growing ease with purchasing big-ticket items online.
Farfetch ventured into the fine jewelry category in 2018, and has since partnered with the likes of Chopard, De Beers and Tag Heuer, which were attracted by the access the online retailer could offer to a younger, global clientele.
For David Morris, a launch on Farfetch made for an appealing alternative to the usual virtual presentations taking place throughout Paris haute couture week.
“We are showing that in order to continue our brand’s evolution and meet the demand of the modern consumer, it is vital to keep breaking boundaries at every level, whether that be through our design and atelier process, or the ways in which our pieces are made available to the women around the world who collect our jewelry,” said Jeremy Morris, the house’s creative director and chief executive officer.
Morris has been rethinking the brand’s strategy for some time now, introducing more accessibly priced fine jewelry pieces to its offer, which was mainly known for its one-of-a-kind high jewelry items, and embracing e-commerce with launches on Farfetch and Moda Operandi.
But as much as the brand is embracing digital commerce, its new “Renaissance” designs also put the focus on one-of-a-kind stones and traditional hand craft, spotlighting the capabilities of its in-house atelier — the last one standing on London’s Bond Street.
Some of the standout pieces in the collection include a choker necklace featuring white diamonds and 380 carats of rare Burmese rubies; a tourmaline and diamond choker that took up to 800 hours of handwork to finish, and a statement cocktail ring featuring blue lapis, white diamonds and a rare 10-carat Australian black opal.
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