There’s no harder working wardrobe staple than a timeless piece of jewellery that goes with everything. It’s this trend-free approach that has earned London-based British Norwegian designer Tilly Sveaas’s chains, earrings, bracelets and pendants cult status since she launched her eponymous brand 10 years ago.
“We have never chased trends or been driven by seasonal drops,” Sveaas tells Broadsheet. “Instead, I create new designs only when I feel strongly that a piece can be a meaningful addition to someone’s jewellery collection, which they’ll turn to again and again – like their favourite pair of jeans or a white tee.”
Her most-worn design is the one that started it all in 2016: a T-bar design inspired by Sveaas’s great-great uncle’s gold pocket watch and chain. The antique-look pendant now comes in various sizes – both delicate and outsized – on necklaces and earrings, and forms the clasp on bracelets, matched with chains of differing styles, from belcher to curb link, and in silver or gold.
The T-bars have gained a place in the collections of multiple London fashion editors, and been worn by numerous celebrities, including Sophie Turner, Elle Macpherson and Colman Domingo. But it was seeing Taylor Swift sporting one of her necklaces that most thrilled Sveaas.
“Taylor Swift wearing our T-Bar design in 2024 had a huge impact on the brand, both in the UK and Stateside,” she says. “The T and S of my initials, which adorn each end of the bar, were clearly perfect for her.”
Here in the capital, Sveaas thinks the line resonates with fashion fans as it’s so easy to mix and match. “London style has always been about individuality,” she says. “Our jewellery is designed with that same spirit: versatile, unfussy, made to be worn however feels right to you. Londoners connect with that because it mirrors how they already think about getting dressed. There are no rules.”
Each of the brand’s pieces is designed for longevity, to be worn even as “trends come and go”. It’s why Sveaas still works with the first silversmith who brought her ideas to life when she started her career in jewellery in the late 1990s. “I met him while living in Bali and he still makes our chunky chain-linked bracelets by hand, rather than by machine. These pieces are true works of art, and unique in a world where everything now relies on automation rather than traditional craftsmanship.”
Ethical production is a cornerstone of the brand, and it works with Italian factories that are part of the Responsible Jewellery Council, which sets standards for responsible business practices in the industry. Its gold products are then plated in the UK using certified Fairmined metal, which ensures it comes from small-scale mining organisations that are committed to ethical social and environmental practices. Finally, the pieces are assembled in the brand’s studio in SW10, and can be bought in person in Harvey Nichols and Liberty.
To mark a decade in business, a new charm collection of 24 motifs, spanning compasses, dice and hearts, has launched to symbolise the brand’s journey. “All the charms are a personal reflection of the stories that have shaped Tilly Sveaas over the last 10 years. Freedom, love, luck and heritage – four pillars that are not only fundamental in my own life but also in the life of the business,” Sveaas says.
Customers can use a new charm builder on the label’s website to create their own designs by picking a chain, a connector and their own combination of charms. Sveaas hopes the creations will “transcend fashion cycles and become part of a person’s story over time”.
