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Street School in the Italian section of Boston before moving to Maine,
where his wife was from, and where they opened their first studio/store,
called Fibula (in Latin, fibula means “to fasten”; it is an ancient name for
brooch). The cold New England winters, however, were not to the South
African’s liking and he and Laura moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a
year before settling in Santa Barbara.
He and his wife separated and she now owns the original Fibula. He
opened Daniel Gibbings Jewellery on Valentine’s Day, 2007.
“I believe jewellery has a soul,” Gibbings says, discussing his
philosophy. “It’s not just gold; it’s something that spans time.” As for its
wearability: “I don’t do bling. I don’t do fancy jewellery. It’s jewellery that
people can wear [not only on special occasions but also] all day, every day,
and it’s something I think people can wear for twenty years and still enjoy
wearing.”
As for the look: “I try to make pieces that look ancient, that were
buried for hundreds of years and rediscovered. That’s the feel I try and go
for.” He adds that he searches for unusual stones, works in 18-, 20-, and
22-carat gold, and has many stones custom-cut in Sri Lanka or in India. “I
try to get them cut to look like old stones too,” he explains.
“I texture all my stuff,” he says. “I try and make it look older and
rougher and don’t spend too much time polishing it to make it look like a
mirror. I like to leave it a little rough. I think it gives the piece character. It
doesn’t mean it’s unfinished,” he explains. “It just means it’s an attempt to
create a feel and that also goes back to the idea that it’s an old treasure that
somebody has discovered.”
He achieves his impressive results by making everything by hand.
“There’s no machine work involved,” he says, “so, it retains that feel
because it’s made that way.”
Gibbings’ preferred stone is sapphire. “It’s a good hard stone,” he says,
“and comes in so many colors and it’s been used throughout antiquity.”
He is also partial to emeralds, rubies, and diamonds.
Daniel Gibbings Jewellery (805-565-1284) at 1143 Coast Village Road
is open six days a week and by appointment.
Daniel Gibbings combines retail outlet with design outpost, exactly how it was
done in places like Pompeii two thousand years ago; “Daniel’s jewellery brings
clients to a place and time where they feel regal,” says Gibbings’ Istanbul-born
business associate Setenay (on right)