Siobhan Way has been designing and crafting her unique brand of jewellery since 2000, with pieces from her first collection bought by Wendy Marshall at the renowned Elle Boutique in Western Australia. Since then her limited edition designs and private commissions have garnered an avid following both here and abroad.
Siobhan’s fascination for jewellery and gemstones has been with her since she was a young girl, a love nurtured by both grandmothers. One, a talented silversmith in her own right and the other, with Chinese heritage, had a penchant for jade and gold.
“I spent much of my youth fossicking through my mother’s never-ending jewellery boxes,’ she says, ‘each time finding some new treasure or trinket with an intriguing story behind it; family, love, travel, experience … they all told a story.”
A passion for gemstones and a love for travel have taken Siobhan to many far flung and exotic locations, with her collections reflecting design adventures that stretch from the remote Australian outback in search of Australian black jade, ancient Burma for translucent green jade and Thailand for the most beautiful semi precious stones such as citrine, smokey quartz and amethysts.
“For me, designing jewellery starts and ends with the insatiable need for expression and adventure. The two are inextricably intertwined. Discovery and experience are paramount… people, places, spaces. The divine aesthetic and inherent contradictions of Asia with its chaotic calm offers up a rich palette of experience that keeps me inspired.”
Following the outstanding success of her 2008 Spirit House collection, Siobhan Way launches De La Paix her much anticipated collection of limited edition and one off, unique cut jewels inspired by Angkor Gold: Translucent light in the ancient kingdom of Angkor Wat.
Inspired by her travels to Angkor Wat, De La Paix collections colour palette is subtle, often translucent, with Siobhan’s special-cut stone selection surprising and spectacular, including: Mixed brown and champagne coloured diamonds; cabochon-cut smokey quartz; rich, black Australian jade; black diamonds and ethereal royal blue moonstone. She also introduces the raw beauty of ‘Angkor Gold’: a muted 18 carat yellow gold created to provide visual fluidity and a background for her mix of subtle stones while enhancing their natural beauty.
In 2011 Siobhan introduces Bel Ete: a series of new designs inspired by the brilliant colours of the Mediterranean. Siobhan’s special ‘Scintiller Cut’ brings to life the intense colour in beautiful, transparent stones: Azure blue Topaz, violet Amethyst, golden Citrine, crimson Rhodolite and gem green Peridot. Individually cut stones are hand-set and appear to float effortlessly in18 carat gold as elegant drop earrings and covetable rings - designed to be worn on their own or stacked in a variety of dazzling colour combinations. Siobhan’s unique pieces are created, as always, for the individual with a strong sense of self and an adventurous spirit.
It is this unique design sensibility combined with her ‘less is more’ aesthetic that has captured the attention of high profile clients, stylists and editors alike, with pieces featuring in numerous magazines including Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, GQ and The Financial Review Style section and The Qantas Magazine where she has been acknowledged as one of Australia’s emerging independent jewellery designers.