The jewellery label Pilgrim began life as a street stall - now Emmanuelle Béart models their work, writes Deirdre McQuillan
Thirty years ago Thomas Andersen, a student of social anthropology in Aarhus in Denmark, took over a small street stall selling jewellery. "It was only meant to supplement my student income, but it made so much money, it became full time," he recalls. Today he and his wife Anne Mette are the owners of Pilgrim, one of the world's fastest-growing jewellery companies.
It is stocked in some 26 countries, and Ireland and the UK are their biggest markets. There are 250 outlets in Ireland alone, and Pilgrim hopes to open its first stand-alone shop outside Denmark, in Ireland this year.
The jewellery, designed by Anne Mette at their headquarters in Skaneborg and made in China, is delicate, elaborate and colourful, with a slightly romantic, bohemian twist. She keeps a close eye on fashions. This season, for example, soft pastel colours, references to 1960s and 1970s flower power, complement current retrospective clothing trends. That range is modelled here by French actress Emmanuelle Béart.
"We don't see fashion bijouterie as creating the fashion, but as a finishing touch to it," says Mette, who uses materials such as horn from the Philippines, Swarovski crystal from Austria and plastic from Taiwan. The company launches its first range of sunglasses this season, and they come with optional decorative pendants, another original touch.
The name Pilgrim was chosen arbitrarily; the company was originally called Yin and Yang jewellery. "Our big break came when Madonna started a fashion for wearing rubber ring bracelets; we immediately made similar bracelets and sold millions of them," says Andersen. "We went to the Far East and started to buy jewellery there and wholesale it back home."
The next break came 10 years ago when Mette started to design jewellery, giving the range a recognisable, individual identity. "It does have a special look," says Andersen. "We bring out four big collections every year now, some 2,000 pieces. Few others can produce as many as we do. Thirty years ago, people were not buying fashion jewellery, but the real stuff. Now jewellery, and accessories in general, have really taken off, " he says.
The brand looks set to expand further. "In jewellery there are no really big players on the world stage, like there are for sunglasses. There are thousands of small fashion jewellery companies, but not that many big ones. We now employ 70 people in our head office and another 70 agents throughout the world."
Next summer Pilgrim will launch its first jewellery collection for men - bracelets, necklaces, finger rings and key holders. This Pilgrim's progress will certainly be one to watch.
Pilgrim jewellery can be found countrywide in Avoca, Carraig Donn and Argento outlets, and at Indigo in Howth, Co Dublin