Jewellery becomes as emblematic of  its wearer as any physical gesture or signature fragrance – it’s a punctuation point that goes beyond whatever else you throw on yourself that day. There’s the idea of permanence, even if there is equally the option to treat it as fashion and change it like t-shirts.

Men’s jewellery is truly having a moment, so we’re dedicating a series to our favourite creators. First up is Dominic Jones, whose signature line of tough, commanding pieces became so popular he’s now debuting a dedicated menswear collection for SS14, worn by his musician mates – Splashh, Cavan from Swim Deep and Dev Hynes to name just three. We caught up with him to hear all about it.

Thomas Davis: Can you describe in your own words the aesthetic of your jewellery?
Dominic Jones: It’s elegant, aggressive, ergonomic, balanced.

TD: Have you always been interested in jewellery design? At what point in your life did you decide to pursue it as a career?
DJ: My uncle had a girlfriend that was a jeweller when I was really young so I had it in my head as something you could do as a job from early on. Then later I became interested in the fashion world – it was McQueen’s work with Shaun Leane that first sparked the idea again to look into the path of jewellery.

TD: SS14 sees your first men’s jewellery collection. Why now?
DJ: From the beginning I wanted my work to be open to both men and women but as I’ve grown as designer and as a brand it seemed important to start giving each of the components, which made up my first collection (which was in itself a statement of intent) their own defined point of view rather than trying to keep it as a unisex brand.

I didn’t rush into it, I started to fade out the masculine elements from my main line two seasons before I launched the menswear so it was defined as women’s jewellery when I came to launch this collection.

TD: If you were to pick signature pieces from past or recent collections, which best represent you as a designer, which would they be?
DJ: I guess my knuckleduster rings are very recognisable as mine. I’ve reworked them in five of my collections.

TD: Who, living or not, would you most like to see in your jewellery?
DJ: I guess someone like Jeff Buckley. I’ve been listening to his music since I was really quite young and it’s something I never really tire of. I love seeing any of my friends in bands wearing my rings – cameramen always zoom in on their hands playing the guitar or holding the microphone and it’s a really satisfying feeling.

TD: Did you know beforehand that Anna Wintour would be viewing your first collection ʻTooth and Nailʼ in 2008? Was it a good experience?
DJ: No, she wasn’t meant to be seeing my work at all, she’d been brought in to see another designer who I won’t name. She was introduced, took a look at the rail and said to him “at least you have next season” then turned her back. It took everyone by shock, so Sarah Mower who was showing her around quickly pointed her to my work, I had a large book made up with the lookbook images in open in front of me. She started turning the pages and asking me questions, and after a couple of page turns she took off her famous sunglasses. As she left she asked if had a card which I did, half an hour after the meet I got a call from Mark Holgate and was I summoned to go and do a full interview. I cried. It’s the last thing I was expecting to happen showing my first ever collection.

TD: The British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN scheme has supported you since your very first season; you’ve been recognised five times.  How has this helped your success?
DJ: It has been invaluable, certainly my company wouldn’t be what it is today without it. I came from a jewellery background and had no working knowledge of the fashion industry from a business perspective – they taught me about sales, stockists, they help promote my work not just in the UK but have given me the chance to go to New York, LA, Paris and Hong Kong.

TD: What pieces do you wear day-to-day – and when do you take them off?
DJ: I don’t really as I work so much with my hands in the workshop they would get ruined. So I treat jewellery more as you would outfits and match it with what I’m wearing.

TD: Tell us something we wouldn’t expect of you…
DJ: For the last 4 years and I’ve been working with am an ambassador for the wildlife conservation charity the World Land Trust.

Check out the other creatives in our series The Jewellers: Eddie Borgo, Alan Crocetti, Jordan Askill and Nikolai Rose