Q&A: Tiffany Browne

Tiffany Browne is a Micro Diamond Setter and has worked on some of the most intricate and luxurious pieces which adorn London's Bond Street. With an unconventional entry into industry, she answers the Benchpeg Q&A.

What’s your name, and what do you for a living?

TB: My name is Tiffany Browne, and I'm (mostly) a diamond setter specialising in very fine, close pavé work which I do under microscope.

How did you come to work in the jewellery industry?

TB: It wasn't the obvious choice for me! I started out studying languages and have an MA in translation. Meeting my husband, whom I now work with, gave me an insight into a field that I knew nothing about and found fascinating. I loved Hatton Garden and meeting people from all walks of life in the many different trades that make up our industry. And I especially loved the disparity between the scorched and messy benches where jewellery is made and the luxurious displays that they end up in.

How would you describe your work to someone who doesn’t know it?

TB: Diamond setting, along with engraving and polishing, is one of the very last stages that a piece of jewellery goes through. These processes add light and colour to a piece and help turn it into something recognisably precious.

What is your creative process?

TB: Because most of the items I work on have been designed by other people, more often I'm trying to envisage what my customer has in their mind's eye and to work out the best technical way to achieve that. On the occasions where I can be creative for my own sake, its more often a matter of an idea striking me when I'm focusing on something entirely different, and if its a good idea it doesn't go away!

Where do you love to shop?

TB: Borough Market is top of the list of happy places! 

What is your inspiration?

TB: I am hugely inspired by entrepreneurs. We live in a good moment for rethinking paradigms of how we should work and live, and anyone can identify an area of need and shape a business to fill that gap. It's great watching what people come up with, and seeing the world change pretty much daily.

What piece of jewellery do you most treasure?

TB: My wedding ring, which is a brown diamond solitaire in an anodised titanium band with an inner sleeve of rose gold. It's unconventional and unshowy, and weighs almost nothing. I love it.

What piece of jewellery do you most desire?

TB: I could open JAR's catalogue from his first London exhibition to any page and find something that I want, but if I could have one piece it would be his capillary Fern Brooch. 

If you could only be remembered for one piece of your work, what would it be?

TB: The first tiara I worked on; a beautiful scalloped piece that could be taken apart and worn in different ways and was thread set with diamonds bigger than most people's engagement rings. I think if anything I've worked on has a chance of staying around long after I'm dead, that would be it.

What would be your advice to someone starting out in the industry?

TB: Research the different aspects of manufacturing. It's much easier to communicate what you want done if you have a grasp of the processes involved and their limitations. Give as much information as you can along with the job - things that seem obvious to you may not be as obvious to someone else!

The Benchpeg Proust Q&A

1. What’s your favourite work of art?
   TB: A watercolour of a decaying leaf titled Limerston Street 1979 by botanical illustrator Rory McEwen. Also, most work by Marianne North, another botanical illustrator whose paintings are at the complete other end of the colour spectrum.
   

2. Who from past or present would you invite to a dinner party for the evening?
   TB: I'd sit down to dinner with David Attenborough and Chatoyer, a Carib chief from my island of birth, St. Vincent, who led his tribe at a time of negotiations with and revolt against, French and British colonial factions. I think both would have great stories to tell.
   

3. Do you have any pets, if yes, what is their name?
   TB: My canine companions are Toby, who is a Thai expatriate, and Mi'i, who hails from the Solomon Islands. Yes, they understand English.

4. What is your most treasured possession?
   TB: My copper trowel, which is a pleasure to use and to look at.

5. What would you consider a perfect day?
   TB: A day spent outdoors in shorts somewhere warm.

6. Is there a favourite journey, trip or voyage you hold dear?
   TB: A Christmas sailing trip I spent as a kid with my family, island hopping around the Grenadine islands of St. Vincent. It's where I'm from, and is in my heavily biased opinion the most beautiful place in the world. 
   

7. What is your greatest achievement?
   TB: Being brave enough to choose a career completely different to what I had trained in. That, and my first row of sweet peas that I grew last summer. They were magnificent.
   

8. What advice would tell your younger self?
   TB: Think about what you would do today if you weren't afraid, and do it.

9. Can you sum yourself up in one word?
   TB: Of course not.

10. What motto do you live by?
    TB: There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Tiffany Browne works at Brightcut Setting and can be contacted at: brightcutsetting@gmail.com

Image credits:Iimages sourced from Tiffany Browne and Pinterest.