Covid-19 forced British jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas to furlough staff and focus on storytelling inspired by men’s watch brands like Rolex and Bulgari
Annoushka Ducas founded her first successful business, Links of London, in 1990 with her husband John Ayton. It specialised in cufflinks, and for a while she was also designing simple, oversized quartz timepieces to sell alongside the cufflinks and jewellery.
The couple sold the business in 2006, and in 2009 Ducas went on to establish Annoushka, a label for beautifully designed jewellery with a poignant narrative. A decade later, as creative director of the company, she has not only taken a different approach to design but has also stood witness to the shifting trends in the industry.
“The past 10 years have whizzed by and the market is so different. There were high jewellery brands and galleries in the United Kingdom, but there wasn’t anything that I would wear, buy or could afford to buy, so I saw a gap in the market,” says Ducas.
Her success with Annoushka has inspired a new generation of designers, a stream of talent, who get in touch with her every month to share ideas and designs.
The ever-evolving nature of the world of fashion and design has led Ducas to open eight concessions across China in Chow Tai Fook’s Jewelria, a designers’ hub, with 30 more lined up this year.
“The landscape in jewellery has changed immeasurably and I’m fascinated by younger generation Chinese and their interest in the story behind the pieces, the authenticity and independent design,” she says.
Ducas is still forging ahead, despite the world coming to a standstill due to Covid-19. Having furloughed all but a few staff during the lockdown, “I had no time on my hands,” she says. “I’ve never worked so hard since I first launched Links. I really got closer to the business again and reluctantly put myself front and foremost.”
She has had to adapt to the times, which she admits changed everything about the way she engages with customers. “I was amazed by the reaction, how people want authenticity, stories and a much softer approach.”
When it comes to her personal approach to accessorising, Ducas has sentimental connections with, and unique memories of, some of her favourite timepieces. Between 1930s Rolexes and borrowing from her husband’s watch case, she’s developed a love for a very specific aesthetic.
“I like men’s watches because they are oversized and practical,” says Ducas. “I’ve never been a girlie girl and little delicate watches have never been my thing. It is much more about the aesthetic of a big watch.”
This love for the bold and oversized was inherited from her mother, who wore oversized men’s watches.
“My godfather was Mark Birley (founder of Annabel’s nightclub at Berkeley Square in central London) and he had the most extraordinary collection of watches that she would borrow from. Only later I discovered they actually weren’t hers.”
One of Ducas’ favourite watches is a 1998 Bulgari model that once belonged to her godfather. “This watch has an emotional connection and that’s what I love about men’s watches. It’s not the value or the complications but the memories they conjure up.”
Annoushka’s favourite watches
“The 1998 Bulgari Aluminium Chronograph reminds me of my godfather, Mark Birley, and a practical joke I played on him with a fake version of his original. Men’s watches have so much memory and narrative, as was exemplified by that particular story.”
“I love the art deco era, and this vintage gold Rolex has a real timelessness to it: it looks so modern and yet so simple. It is over 80 years old, and I love the idea that it has a history I don’t know.”
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She once borrowed storied watches from her London club-owning godfather Mark Birley – here she tells her own story from Links of London to concessions across China in Chow Tai Fook’s Jewelria designer’s hub