My philosophy has always been to live life to the fullest, follow my passion and be true to myself. With that outlook, I worked for the United Nations and non-for-profit sector for a decade, working in emergency food aid and global health. I feel strongly about giving back and contributing.

 I fell in love with fine jewellery when I had the opportunity to design an engagement ring. I had the pleasure of buying a diamond and designing the ring with a master craftsman who makes pieces for the top jewellery houses in the world. To further my interest, I took a course on diamonds given by the Gemological Institute of America and was fascinated by the fact that boron makes a diamond blue and nitrogen makes it yellow. I started helping my friends with their engagement rings and buying stones during my travels around the world. Inspired by the idea that the biggest regrets in life are the things you didn’t have the guts to try, not the things you tried and failed at, in 2015 I took the plunge and changed my career. 

I completed the Jewellery Design course at the Gemological Institute of America and dedicated the next few years to working with the best people in the industry to learn all aspects of high-end jewellery. I worked for a top coloured stone dealer, where I learned about the beauty of different stones and their origins. Thereafter, I spent time at Christie’s auction house, where I worked with the world’s most renowned jewellery experts and saw some of the world’s most amazing jewellery pieces. After working at Christie’s, I spent a few months working for celebrity jeweller Lorraine Schwartz in Harrods to learn about high-end retail and sales. Having learned from some of the best in the world, from stone dealers to high-end retailers, I felt ready to start out on my own with a very personalised and tailored bespoke service, HYC Jewels.

In addition to the excellent training I received from my work experience with the world’s best, I am an accredited Graduate Gemologist from the Gemological Institute of America. I also hold a BA, MA and an LLM. 

The ethos of my company is to help people to capture a special memory or moment in a beautiful piece of jewellery. Made especially for them, and by them, since the creation of the piece is a collaborative process, people can infuse their ethos and spirit into each piece. It’s a very personal collaboration that leaves people feeling that they have connected with the stone, been involved in the design and creation process and created something truly special.