Notting Hill in London might not be the usual neighbourhood that one associates with fine jewellery and large gemstones, but hiding in plain sight in W11 is the jeweller Ming London, which this year celebrates 25 years in business.
This is no mean feat, but by sticking resolutely to her design ethos of bold colour, juicy gemstones, statement settings and uncompromising craftsmanship, Ming Lampson, the founder and eponymous owner, has carved out her place as one of the UK’s most sought-after jewellers.
20ct pink spinel ring in 18ct rose gold with purple enamel £POA
A quick glance around her vitrine-lined showroom is a masterclass in colour and scale — these are not jewels for shrinking violets; instead, her private clients and loyal customers revel in her generous carat weights and clashing colours. An exceptional 20-carat spinel is set into a rose-gold ring with perfect stripes of ceramic enamel; spiky platinum earrings mix red rubies and pink sapphires; a pair of blushing-pink kunzites are arranged with a fringe of grey spinels; and a huge green tourmaline is surrounded with baguette cabochon sapphires.
Fancy cut kunzite earrings with brilliant cut grey spinel in 18ct red and white gold £POA
Her work has a highly considered artistic slant that sees gems custom-cut in unusual shapes, stones set on the side and edge of her creations, others that appear to be held in place with tension alone, and the perfect, crisp use of coloured ceramic — which all makes for a highly covetable design cocktail. “It’s the mix of design, materials and engineering that I’m most proud of,” Lampson says when explaining her style.
Lampson working on a design by hand
Her route to where she is today started unconventionally in India when she was in her late teens, where she learnt how to make jewellery “sitting on the floor with a kerosene lamp”. Gemstones fascinated her and she learnt how to grade emeralds, before travelling to Sri Lanka and Thailand, then returning to London where she trained formally in jewellery design at the School of Art, Architecture and Design at London Metropolitan University. In 2000 she established Ming London, slowly building her business.
“It was always about trying to get enough money to buy the next stone,” she says. Those early years of word-of-mouth bespoke work shaped her design ethos: “I learnt what gives pleasure as a wearer and therefore what defines a piece of jewellery as treasure, rather than just an accessory.”
Today, her output is only 70 pieces a year, all designed by Lampson (“with very little CAD [computer-aided design]”) and made by hand by her three craftsmen in a workshop under the store.
To celebrate her milestone, Lampson is launching “25”, a collection of 25 one-off pieces, with prices starting at £8,000. Its inspiration is twofold — first, as she explains, “It’s a celebration of my connection to my past, to my clients and to my stone dealers, and so you’ll see a lot of recurring chains, links and tie motifs.”
A double line of diamonds form a necklace fastened with a ruby-set knot. In another statement piece, diamonds and emeralds are combined in a channel-set chain. This piece hints at the second theme — Notting Hill. “This is an ode to street style,” she says, “and although its feel is traditional, there’s a contemporary element too.”
Westside necklace with emeralds and diamonds in platinum
Next, a floral ring in shimmering shades of denim-blue Montana and violet Madagascan sapphires pays homage to the gardens of west London, with individual petals attached en tremblant, so they quiver when moved. “I’ve been wanting to do something floral for ages,” she says.
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Skateboard ring with a no heat yellow sapphire and diamonds set in yellow gold
Then there are more irreverent pieces: an oval yellow-sapphire ring based on a skateboard, with diamonds for the wheels; and another set with a long, thin Nigerian aquamarine with intense colour saturation, inspired by (of all things) the shape of the Westway — the elevated section of the A40 that slinks through west London. The kaleidoscopic costumes of the Notting Hill carnival inform a series of rings, including a spray of pink sapphires and rubies that mimics the feather headdresses, and a Mexican fire opal set amid ombré sapphires and tsavorites that echo the rainbow hues of the central stone.
Westway ring set with 10.82 carats emerald cut aquamarine and custom cut pink sapphires set in 18ct yellow gold and platinum
For those wanting to buy one of her pieces, they’ll need to move fast. Her loyal client base has a habit of snapping things up as soon as they leave the workshop. “Once they understand what I’m about,” Lampson says, “they’re very committed.” Many make a pilgrimage to W11 every year to select a new piece: “I say come back every couple of years! I want it to be very special.” It may not be the most conventional business model, but it’s worked for a quarter of a century.
“25” launches on September 25. Mingjewellery.com