How a honeymoon visit to a gemstone mine changed jewellery designer Anabela Chan’s life and career

For our interview series in association with Investec, we bring you the stories of business leaders who are driving British brands built on purpose and passion. As a company founded by entrepreneurs, Investec is shining a light on luxury marques within the Walpole family who share a mission to disrupt the status quo of their sectors, and what makes the mindset of the entrepreneurs behind these values-driven companies unique. 
 
Here, we speak to Anabela Chan, whose fine jewellery brand, Anabela Chan Joaillerie – which uses exclusively laboratory-created precious stones – has become a red carpet favourite. 

Most people’s honeymoons involve relaxing on a beach for a week or two, before a return to the monotony of daily life. However, jewellery designer and entrepreneur Anabela Chan’s honeymoon transformed her life and her career.

While on honeymoon in Sri Lanka in 2013, she took a trip to a gemstone mine with her husband. “That trip really changed everything for me,” says Chan. “I was shocked and saddened to see the working conditions of the mine. I did not see beauty nor romance there.”

At the time, she was studying at the Royal College of Art for a Master Degree in Goldsmithing and Jewellery. When she returned to her course, a conversation with a friend, whose family was connected to the mining industry, confirmed her perceptions. That conversation planted a seed which grew into a significant part of Chan’s business.

“Blood diamonds come up in movies and TV and in the news, but it doesn't really stick until you see it for yourself,” she says. Miners often risk their lives, digging by hand for rare stones 40 feet underground, earning as little as $6 a week. “You look those workers in the eye and you realise that they're mining some of the most precious and valuable commodities, and yet they live some of the harshest lives. How is it possible that the most luxurious commodities stem from some of the worst exploitations?” she says.

Then and there, an ambition was formed. “[I decided] I wanted to create equally beautiful red carpet-worthy jewellery that people love and want to wear. But I didn't want to be a part of that system,” she says. The result was Anabela Chan Joaillerie, which Chan says is the first fine jewellery brand in the world to champion laboratory-grown and created gemstones and diamonds, paired with artisanal craftsmanship. It launched in 2014.

“People thought I was crazy,” she says. “Ten years ago nobody would use lab-created gemstones in fine jewellery. They would be used in engineering such as for drilling and conductivity, but it was always frowned upon in fine jewellery as something that is man-made and non-precious.” But Chan knew, thanks to her honeymoon experience, that consumers would eventually understand why making this move was important.

One of her business’s major milestones came in 2015 when Lady Gaga wore a pair of Chan’s feather tourmaline earrings at a Frank Sinatra tribute concert with Tony Bennett in New York. “I jumped out of my bed at 3 a.m. in the morning,” she says.

Success on the catwalk rapidly translated into financial success for her business. Today her flagship boutique is on London’s iconic Sloane Street, with an e-commerce online store that services over 50 countries. “We’ve never taken out a loan or investment,” says Chan. Celebrities such as Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Rihanna can now be seen wearing her designs in music videos, on red carpets and on magazine covers.

When celebrities and customers discover her brand, they often don’t realise that the company has such a strong ethical core behind Chan’s elaborate, colourful and delicate designs, which are often inspired by nature. “A lot of global superstars will be wearing our pieces but not knowing that these are not made from mined gemstones, rubies or sapphires or diamonds. The more they find out, the more supportive they become,” says Chan.

She says her company’s use of recycled materials including aluminium drinks cans is another powerful draw to consumers, that’s helping to redefine the concept of what is “precious” or a “luxury.”

“If using technology and science and innovation can turn waste into some of the most precious commodities in the world without creating further environmental and human damages, then that's super exciting,” she says. Chan argues that this purpose and vision creates a deep relationship with her customers, and helps to retain staff who can share in her vision. “The next generation is even more purpose-driven,” she says. “Ultimately, your customers are what makes you successful, and more and more people will ask questions [about your product].”

As for the future of her company, Chan says she will keep asking those questions herself, and use it to guide her business decisions. “I've never written a five-year plan or a ten-year plan. I've never even really written a business plan,” she says.

The business will continue to evolve organically and sustainably, following the vision she created a decade ago, with the help of two key support networks. One, a small group of school friends from different industries – including the founder of a successful ice cream brand and a top immigration lawyer – who give advice on how to tackle problems. And two, her partner on that life-changing honeymoon, her husband. “He’s seen me transform from an architect to a fashion designer to a jewellery student again, and then to an entrepreneur,” she says. “Having his support and encouragement made it possible for me to do what I do.”