Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

An 18ct gold bracelet, by John Donald, 1965, the articulated bracelet composed of broad panels of striated and polished cubes, with maker’s mark ‘JAD’ and hallmarked for London, 1965, with box, the silk signed ‘JOHN DONALD Goldsmith & Silversmith 28 Queens Mews W.2’, length 16.4cm. £2,600-£3,000

John Donald (born 1928) studied metalwork at the Royal College of Art in London, where he become firm friends with fellow students Robert Welch and Gerald Benney. He set up as a jeweller and become part of that select group of British designers and jewellers based in London, who revolutionised the field in the swinging 1960s and 1970s. He went on to establish a highly successful business in London and Geneva as well as gaining an international reputation, his patrons including HRH the late Princess Margaret. His work is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and the Schmuckmuseum in Pforzheim.

Donald’s work is characterised by unusual textures and forms, often incorporating geometric patterns and displaying crystals and other less common gemstones.


For a description of the technique used in the above bracelet, see Donald’s autobiography Precious Statements: John Donald designer Jeweller, by John Donald & Russell Cassleton Elliott; published McNidder & Grace, 2015, page 58; “I textured the gold work by imitating the striations in the crystal (pyrite) and all these cubes were cut from square wire and individually soldered together”.


For an example of a wristwatch incorporating an identical bracelet strap see the illustration on page 56.