One of the most recognised, often copied advertisements of jewellery is a stack of David Ashton rings.
I took my first step into the world of advertising in 1994. A half-page ad in The Independent. By then, I was already contributing a fair amount of editorial content and building a strong reputation in the jewellery world. Recognition followed: I was selected for Goldsmiths’ Fair. Won the Gold Star and Display Prize, and in 1997, the Goldsmiths’ Company hosted a dinner in my honour. I had produced brochures and leaflets before, but the outsourced photography always left me disappointed. As a bit of a perfectionist, I couldn’t accept how poorly the images captured the true look of the metals and stones. The colours felt unrealistic, the textures flat. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. I started learning photography and set up a studio in my front room—complete with a tissue-paper tent, an IKEA trestle table, and clamp-on spotlights softened with more tissue paper.
Marie Clare approached me,
I did a few small panels then full pages. They liked what I was making, and the adverts I was producing so offered me a campaign, a year of full pages, if I guaranteed a different advert each month.
To make the exercise easier, I gave each a title, On toast, On Eire……each having a double meaning. I was somewhat hectic, making commissions in the workshop during the day, as well as making new jewellery to feature in the ad’s Finally producing the photographs late into the night at home.
I really got stuck on the last ad and wanted to share a lot of information all at once. As the saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention”—that’s how ON HIGH was born.
I couldn’t think of a better or more attractive way to deliver so much information in one go.
Over time, the advert has taken many forms, each reflecting the evolution of my designs.
Publications have featured the image in numerous glossy magazines, including—
Vogue, Harpers, ELLE, Marie Claire, RED, Psychologies, V&A, TATE, ENO, TONI & GUY……
To this day, I shoot all the photography for adverts and online use right here, in-house. Never computer-generated or digitally enhanced. I’m no longer working from the front room at home; now it all happens in the OXO shop. The tissue-paper light diffusers have given way to “professional” nylon light caps and a white tent. Film cameras have been replaced by digital ones. Still, when I’m out with family and friends, I bring my Canon AE1. I love it—and I hope they never stop making film.
I’ve lost count of how many times customers at the counter have fumbled through their purses and pulled out a well-folded copy of that original advert. Often, the ring was chosen before the fiancé! Thankfully, I keep very accurate records. I can recreate any ring that’s ever appeared in an advert—just in case someone falls in love with a classic.
