How to Build a Luxury Jewellery Brand From Nothing | Hannah Martin (Cartier, Central Saint Martins)

How do you build a luxury jewellery brand from nothing? Jewellery designer Hannah Martin (Central Saint Martins, Cartier Paris) reveals how she built her independent fine jewellery business over 20 years — surviving near-bankruptcy, a business partner betrayal, and building a cult luxury brand without investors. In this episode of Runway to Excellence, the luxury fashion and jewellery industry podcast from SJR London, host Stephanie Jackson sits down with Hannah Martin, the iconoclastic British jewellery designer who trained at Central Saint Martins, won a scholarship into the high jewellery department at Cartier Place Vendôme in Paris, and walked away to launch Hannah Martin London — a bold, gender-fluid fine jewellery brand designed to make your heart beat faster. Hannah shares the real story of starting a jewellery business with no money: sending DIY lookbooks to fashion editors, the business partner who signed 50% of her shares to himself and nearly destroyed the company, and how she rebuilt to create one of the most loved independent luxury brands in the UK. From designing jewellery for musicians and Wayne McGregor's dancers to getting her pieces on Lola Young at the Brit Awards without a PR agency — this is a masterclass in creative entrepreneurship, luxury branding, resilience, and playing the long game in business. We also discuss Hannah's book, Iconoclast — a 20-year retrospective for the creatives, dreamers, and rule breakers — available at hannahmartinlondon.com. This podcast is brought to you by SJR London, the trusted talent partner for Luxury Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle recruitment. To discover how SJR London delivers talent that defines luxury, visit https://www.sjrlondon.com. In this episode on building a luxury jewellery brand, you'll learn… ⏱️ 01:38 — How Hannah Martin became a jewellery designer: from origami to art school ⏱️ 05:06 — Studying jewellery design at Central Saint Martins: "love at first sight" ⏱️ 06:26 — Working at Cartier Paris: inside the high jewellery department at Place Vendôme ⏱️ 10:32 — The Cartier design lesson she still uses: obsessive attention to detail ⏱️ 12:05 — How to start a jewellery brand with no money: the DIY press strategy that worked ⏱️ 15:32 — What Central Saint Martins is really like — and the mindset that creates icons ⏱️ 21:43 — Career advice for creative graduates: follow your gut, even when it's not "smart" ⏱️ 24:03 — Designing emotional jewellery: The Perfect Drug collections explained ⏱️ 28:07 — Hidden luxury: the upside-down gemstone ring that became a bestseller ⏱️ 34:03 — Designing jewellery for performers: musicians, dancers, and Wayne McGregor ⏱️ 37:37 — How to build a brand community: why word of mouth beats advertising budgets ⏱️ 40:55 — Hiring luxury sales staff: what makes a great luxury salesperson ⏱️ 42:32 — Luxury retail snobbery: "never judge anyone for what they look like" ⏱️ 46:28 — How creative founders run a business: creativity vs spreadsheets ⏱️ 54:10 — Celebrity product placement without a PR budget: Lola Young at the Brits ⏱️ 57:10 — Pricing luxury products: justifying fine jewellery prices as gold doubles ⏱️ 1:00:18 — What luxury customers really want in 2026: scarcity, story, and craftsmanship ⏱️ 1:06:05 — The business partner betrayal that nearly bankrupted the brand ⏱️ 1:08:47 — Appointment-only retail: why a private gallery beats a Bond Street shopfront ⏱️ 1:16:16 — Overcoming self-doubt as a founder and asking for help in business ⏱️ 1:21:48 — Overnight success vs the long game: building a sustainable business ⏱️ 1:24:54 — Iconoclast: the book behind 20 years of rule-breaking in luxury jewellery ⏱️ 1:31:19 — What defines excellence in business: integrity in everything Connect with SJR London: 🌐 Website: https://www.sjrlondon.com/ 🎙️ Listen to Runway to Excellence on Spotify & Apple Podcasts 📲 Follow SJR London on Instagram, TikTok & LinkedIn If you enjoyed this conversation about building a luxury brand, careers in the jewellery industry, and the future of luxury retail, please like, subscribe, and share — it helps us bring more conversations with luxury industry leaders to those who need them.