Darren Sherwood: The Mechanics of Making
“I don’t like the idea of people buying pieces and just leaving them in boxes, only wearing them on special occasions. I want people to have fun with my pieces and wear them because they fit their personality.” For Goldsmiths’ Stories, writer Salena Barry speaks to jeweller Darren Sherwood about the complex techniques and trial and error that underpin jewellery making and the experience he has gained through 25 years of creating fine jewellery for Garrard, Fabergé, and in his own right as an independent craftsperson.
“I can’t switch off from the technical side of jewellery,” Darren Sherwood tells me as we chat over tea behind his showroom. The jeweller, who worked on pieces for houses from Garrard to Fabergé during his 25-year career, opened his own business in 2020. He shows me photographs of pieces he created for these houses, before bringing out examples drawn from his own brands, Mr Sherwood and Sherwood Jewellery. As we look through them, he explains the metals and precious stones involved. Yet he becomes most animated when describing the complex techniques and trial and error that underpin jewellery making. This clear delight in the mechanics of making is a through line in Sherwood’s career and shapes his aesthetic approach.
Sherwood, inducted as a Liveryman at the Goldsmiths’ Company in 2025, didn’t set out to become a jeweller, but found his path there through his love of art and design. As a secondary school art student, he enjoyed the draughtsmanship involved in creating an image more than the end result. From his first introduction to metalwork, he realised, “I can make things as fast as I can draw them.” From there, the decision was made to work in three rather than two dimensions. This interest in the technical aspects of the craft led him to pursue silversmithing after finishing his Foundation Year course at Central Saint Martins. While he enjoyed the expressive element of his studies, he found himself drawn to the exactitude of flawless execution. During this time, he set himself challenging design projects and savoured finding technical solutions to realise them. A key example is a chess set he designed to light up when different pieces were moved across its surface.
After his studies at Central Saint Martins and, later, Kent Institute of Art and Design, Sherwood secured his first role in jewellery at Griffin of London. His test assignment at the Mayfair shop was to create a four claw collet. Sherwood worked on this task from “half seven until eight at night – I don’t think I had lunch,” showing his would-be boss Mark Griffin his progress at each stage. As he finished, he realised that the curvature of the lower bezel was slightly off. When he tried to fix it, his day’s work shattered. Despite that, the master jeweller “somehow gave me the job,” he says laughing. Sherwood jokes that his knowledge of Star Wars and breakdancing, both admired by Griffin, helped land the position. His persistence and desire to learn, however, clearly left an impression. He can now make the same collet in 45 minutes. He spent six years at Griffin of London, where he was trained under the ex-Cartier jeweller, learning the techniques required for high jewellery. While there, he also became familiar with the work of houses such as Mikimoto and Boodles.
This experience prepared Sherwood well for his next job at Graff. For eight years, he created necklaces, earrings and brooches in a workshop of more than 60 “of the best makers in London”. He worked alongside polishers, mounters and setters, absorbing their knowledge across all aspects of jewellery making. Working at Graff, unencumbered by cost or technical limitations, he soon became accustomed to working on complex million-pound pieces that were then sold to clients he would never meet. Despite the impersonal nature of this work, Sherwood honed his ability to execute ambitious designs that pushed his technical abilities further. From there, he went on to work for Garrard, one of the oldest jewellery houses in the world, under Stephen Webster. “Steve’s a rockstar – he’s the main reason I got into jewellery,” Sherwood tells me. While in this workshop he got to work on more traditional pieces for Garrard, pushing the limits of his craft while realising Webster’s more avant-garde designs.
These two modes of working are mirrored in Sherwood’s own business, which he launched after almost 20 years spent working as a jeweller. He opened his storefront in 2020, just as covid-19 brought the high street to a halt. This forced him to build his business slowly and resourcefully, learning the practical realities of retail and self-promotion as he went. His current practice operates across two brands, Mr Sherwood and Sherwood Jewellery, which balance his experimental and traditional projects respectively.
For Mr Sherwood, he creates more lighthearted and sculptural pieces. These include The Dapper Hound, a brooch with a dog sporting a billowing scarf and an ascot cap. Rendered in three dimensions, with textures of fur and fabric realistically sculpted using Zbrush and Matrix, the work he makes for Mr Sherwood allows him to experiment playfully with his 3D design and cad skills.
Alternatively, with the Sherwood Jewellery brand, which focuses on traditional pieces with a modernist flair, he uses his Mayfair skills to make accessible pieces for the local community. He shows me The Continuity Ring, a pearl ring that, when worn, appears to float away from the finger, but which is held back by a wispy band of pavé diamonds. “I wanted to set a pearl negatively, still show it off, and have it flat to the hand so it feels comfortable to wear.” To create this, Sherwood made more than 50 models in cad with a range of sizes and structures, before he found the one that met the criteria he had set out. When Sherwood decided to work independently, he wanted to take the skills he’d sharpened at high jewellery houses and create unique pieces that speak to his clients’ individuality and everyday lives.
“I don’t like the idea of people buying pieces and just leaving them in boxes, only wearing them on special occasions. I want people to have fun with my pieces and wear them because they fit their personality.” Once locals become more aware of the possibilities of bespoke jewellery, he hopes to merge the brands and transition the shop into a boutique. While the early years of his career were shaped by perfecting technique within established systems for anonymous buyers, he now operates at a more intimate level. He designs, makes and sells his own work directly to customers. The shift from high-jewellery houses to independent practice has its challenges, but it allows him to get to know the people he creates for and take full ownership of his work, both in name and execution.
Written by Salena Barry | Photography of Darren in his studio by Paul Read