Fans of the Australian fashion designer Dion Lee will recognise the artistic creations of the jewellery label Sarah & Sebastian, Lee’s fellow countrymen from Down Under. Of all their collaborations, the most memorable is undoubtedly the facial headpiece that Sarah & Sebastian devised to outline each model’s profile with a gilded edge for Lee’s Spring/Summer 2016 season.
The Sydney-based duo’s own designs are just as impactful. It’s newest collection, entitled Oil, poetically explores the opposing attributes of oil and water, with each delicate piece encapsulating the buoyancy and fluidity of these polarising elements. Weightless circles, suspended pendants and floating hoop earrings – rendered as simple lines in 14 carat gold – go against the traditional ideas of adornment, while still catching and seducing the eye with its delicate minimalism.
‘The idea for each collection has started with a work of art or a photograph,’ muses Sarah Gittoes, who founded the label with her partner Robert Sebastian Grynkofki in 2011. ‘We find these seeds of inspiration throughout our travel or research. The process normally begins with a clear aesthetic concept, which we then deconstruct into shapes and lines. From this point, we continue to develop the concept through sketching, creating mood boards, hand-making samples and then pulling these samples apart and remaking them. It’s very important to us to design jewellery that has the right balance of visual appeal and wearability, while also being hand-produced with quality materials.’
Stones, like diamonds, Australian sapphires and amethysts, are used sparingly, and always in support of the metal forms rather than taking over. This portrait of simplicity can also be daring, as Sarah & Sebastian has most recently proved with a series of facial pieces that affix onto the mouth or outline the lips. ‘The pieces we create lean toward the sculptural and conceptual as opposed to conventional jewellery styles,’ explains Gittoes of this direction. ‘I personally don’t have any facial piercings though I am fascinated by the concept of body adornment in any regard.’
As with all their works, each Sarah & Sebastian jewellery piece is made-to-order to ensure that the highest quality is maintained across the board. In addition to the sustainability factor of working with local Australian producers and recycled precious metals, this practice enables Gittoes and Grynkofki and their in-house team of jewellers to oversee each creation from its infancy to a perfect finish.
Each delicate piece encapsulates the buoyancy and fluidity of these polarising elements
‘The idea for each collection has started with a work of art or a photograph,’ muses Sarah Gittoes, who founded the label with her partner Robert Sebastian Grynkofki in 2011. 'The process normally begins with a clear aesthetic concept, which we then deconstruct into shapes and lines'
'It’s very important to us to design jewellery that has the right balance of visual appeal and wearability, while also being hand-produced with quality materials,’ she continues
Stones, like diamonds, Australian sapphires and amethysts, are used sparingly, and always in support of the metal forms rather than taking over
Each Sarah & Sebastian jewellery piece is made-to-order to ensure that the highest quality is maintained across the board
Simplicity can also be daring, as Sarah & Sebastian has most recently proved with a series of facial pieces that affix onto the mouth or outline the lips
INFORMATION
Sarah & Sebastian’s Oil collection is now available. Visit the website for more details
Photography: Justin Ridler
ADDRESS
Sarah & Sebastian
12B, 32 Ralph St
Alexandria
Sydney, Australia
-
Wild sauna, anyone? The ultimate guide to exploring deep heat in the UK outdoors‘Wild Sauna’, a new book exploring the finest outdoor establishments for the ultimate deep-heat experience in the UK, has hit the shelves; we find out more about the growing trend
-
Highlights from the transporting Cruise 2026 showsThe Cruise 2026 season began yesterday with a Chanel show at Lake Como, heralding the start of a series of jet-setting, destination runway shows from fashion’s biggest houses
-
Behind the design of national pavilions in Venice: three studios to knowDesigning the British, Swiss and Mexican national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 are three outstanding studios to know before you go
-
Art takes London: Tiffany & Co, Damien Hirst and artists take over Selfridges' windowsFour British contemporary artists celebrate Tiffany & Co's pioneering history with a series of storied window displays
-
Late summer jewels: what to wear at Golden HourLate summer signals a jewellery style-shift. These independent designers have got it covered
-
All smiles: How a grillz jewellery making class in London became an international hitWhat started as a passion project quickly exploded in popularity. We get the story behind the grillz-making workshop at Cockpit London
-
Emerging jewellery designers to get to knowThese independent, new and emerging jewellery designers and brands from New York to Paris are firmly on our radar
-
Jewellery designers share their most precious personal piecesA host of jewellers give us a peek at the jewellery which brings them joy and solace
-
Playing it cool: pearls are having a momentWe've been deep-diving into boutiques around the world to find the very best calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form. It seems jewellers have been busy rethinking pearls, with contemporary (and often affordable) results
-
Eternity rings for the modern coupleEternity rings, whether sleekly minimalist or sprinkled in diamonds, can be a chic and contemporary love token
-
Hair jewellery to covet and collectToday’s hair jewellery is both practical and pretty. We're pinning our hopes on these simple and elegant accessories
