A Golden Revolution
Annabel Davidson sits down with Cecily Morris to explore how she has transformed her everyday jewellery philosophy into a collection of stackable statements.
The latest generation of the Morris family transforms her everyday jewellery philosophy into a collection of stackable statements.
When Cecily Morris started thinking about designing her first-ever collection for her family’s company, she looked at what she wore every day. “There was no point in me creating something with anyone else in mind,” she says, curled up in an armchair in her Mayfair office. “It’s like how all first-time novelists tend to use their own stories for their debut book. I felt I could really only use my own jewellery wardrobe as inspiration for my first collection.”
When we meet, she is wearing dozens of pieces, all in yellow gold. She has two earlobes full of tiny hoops and studs in the warmly hued metal, some with diamonds, some without.
Her fingers are sporting multiple ring stacks, and her wrists are decked with jangling bracelets—a mix of iconic David Morris Rose Cut pieces and bracelets picked up on her travels to the family’s holiday home in the Greek islands.
“Yellow gold is just what I wear,” she says, pushing a tress of her auburn hair behind one ear to reveal piercings decorating her entire lobe. “And mixing multiple, slightly different pieces all together has always been my go-to. I’ve never liked just one simple ring or a single bracelet. It has to be a bit of a jumble.” With her deep laugh and easy manner, the middle child of Jeremy Morris’s five children was never going to try and design something that wasn’t what she’d wear herself every day.
Enter Triolette by Cecily Morris, her first collection for the House, designed with surprisingly little input from Cecily’s father, Creative Director and CEO Jeremy Morris. “Of course I approved the final designs,” Jeremy says. “I’m too much involved in every step of the business not to. But I really wanted Cecily to be in charge of this project and run with it. She has done a really brilliant job and created something that will speak to a younger client than I’m used to.”
Across stackable rings, bracelets and hoop earrings, Triolette by Cecily Morris uses pavé set diamond surrounds to give round diamonds pleasing geometric shapes—octagonal, diamond and hexagonal—in 18 carat yellow gold settings that slot neatly together. These three shapes were the inspiration behind the collection’s name. “I actually spoke to my grandmother Suzette about it at the beginning,” Cecily says. “I wanted to know what her take was on the idea of stacking pieces, and she loved it. I then sat with Devyn, our Senior Designer, and used my ear as an example,” she adds, revealing the multiple piercings in each lobe. “I want to be able to wear my own family’s brand in my ears, but my way.”
Starting with the three simple geometric shapes, Cecily explored with the design team how to elevate them. “I wanted a repetition of pattern in each piece, so we had a clear delineation between styles,” she explains. “If you’re drawn to a pretty aesthetic, you’ll go for the oval, but you can achieve an edgier look from the diamond shape, or the hexagon is slightly more Art Deco.”
Triolette by Cecily Morris debuted with bracelets, rings and hoops, but Cecily already has plans to expand it. “I’m really interested in the idea of charms worn on necklaces and little drops coming off earrings,” she says. “But any new additions must remain elevated and speak to the David Morris brand.”
Designing a jewellery collection is not the only creative project Cecily has taken on at the family firm. “I studied photography at university, so naturally I’ve been in charge of our campaigns,” she says. “And then there have been our two books, various moving image projects, photography—anything to do with our visual identity as a brand.”
Not that jewellery design wasn’t a learning curve. “It has been an education,” she laughs, “like keeping in mind the price of gold over this period, the importance of diamond weights, all the different types of settings, looking at dozens and dozens of mechanisms for closing hoop earrings. I had never really focused on the tiny details before, but now that I’ve designed my own collection, I’ve had to understand every single element.”
Now that she does, clients can look forward to what Cecily brings to David Morris next, safe in the knowledge that she’ll be doing it her way.
Discover the Triolette Collection
A new generation of gold has arrived
Triolette by Cecily Morris is all about stacking your story effortless, personal, and unapologetically radiant
Designed to be worn your way, every day