Personal Branding Jewellery
Wear the Piece That Starts the Conversation
Your watch says something about you. So do your car and your clothes. A rare gemstone, made into a piece that’s yours alone, tells people who you are before you say a word. Sometimes it starts the conversation that changes everything.
A Conversation That May Just Change the Course of My Life
I was in a jewellery shop in Sydney, wearing my Opal Belemnite pendant. I call it Squid Wisdom. One of the shop’s customers came over, and he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
His family were Opal miners, one of the biggest in the country back in the 1960s, and they’ve been prospecting and mining ever since. He knows a good stone when he sees one.
“Hey, man, that’s one of the best jellies I’ve ever seen.”
Miners call Crystal Opal “jelly”. I asked if he knew what it was. “Yeah, man. That’s a jelly belemnite.” An extremely rare gem. He hadn’t seen anything like it in over a decade. I always call it a one in ten year stone, and it is.
That one comment turned into a couple of hours of stories. A strong friendship grew from it. And now there’s a new opportunity on the table: he wants to take a rare, beautiful, single-source gemstone to the international market, for high jewellery houses like Van Cleef & Arpels and Bulgari.
If I hadn’t worn Squid Wisdom to Sydney that day, none of it would have happened.
That’s what a signature piece does. It starts the conversation for you.
About Squid Wisdom
Squid Wisdom is a fossil: a squid that lived a hundred million years ago, in an inland sea that no longer exists. Over time it turned to Crystal Opal. It came out of Coober Pedy. A lady kept it in her safe for 30 years. She brought it out once, for a gem show, and the moment I saw it I had to have it. I went to Sydney to collect it in person.
Hold it up to the light and it glows a warm orange. Put it on the skin and the blue, green and orange fire comes through. In a dim bar or at an evening event, people ask me, “Is that glowing?”
In my ear is a Russian Alexandrite, from a mine that stopped commercial mining 70 years ago. It’s green in daylight, purplish red by candlelight and lavender in mixed light. I set it in an earring so people see it right at my face.
Colour Is the New Status Symbol
A watch is status. The clothes you wear are status. They show people who you are. More and more people now show it with fine jewellery, especially men in the US and Europe.
Plenty of men mark a milestone with a new Rolex, Breitling or Panerai. I’d rather collect rare gems. I see more collector value in them, and they bring me more joy. Sit at a table of guys drinking whiskey and you’ll see the Rolexes and the Panerais. No one has a piece like Squid Wisdom.
The thick Cuban chain and the plain Diamond ring have had their day. The people who stand out now wear colour, in pieces made only for them.
Look who’s wearing colour now:
The press has noticed too.
JCK · Dec 2025Read the article
W Magazine · Dec 2025Read the article
Rapaport · May 2024Read the articleStart Your Collection
Our gem passion will become your collecting obsession.
- 1Gem HuntingWe hunt down the finest stones and show you what makes each one collectible.
- 2Custom DesignChoose how you’ll wear it: a ring, a pendant or an earring, designed around you.
- 3Shipped to Your DoorYour finished piece, made one at a time and sent to you.
- 4Flex Your JewelsThen build your collection, one rare stone at a time.
Watch how gems are valued before you start.
Bought Right, It Grows in Value
Drive a new $100,000 car off the lot and the next day it’s worth $70,000. Jewellery from a regular store is even worse.
With Vivid Jewels you buy at international wholesale rates, well under the retail market value. So the valuation on your stone comes in higher than what you paid. And since we started, it’s been common for our clients’ jewellery to keep rising in value.
The first ring we made, in 2023:
That ring is the Konnected Sapphire. The finest gemstones have doubled in price in the last one to two years, while commercial stones have stayed where they were. I call it the K divide: the best gems keep going up and up, and the standard ones stay standard.
And when a mine is worked out, what exists is all there will ever be. Russian Alexandrite, like the one in my ear, comes from the Ural Mountains, where commercial mining stopped about 70 years ago.
Pieces Your Grandkids Will Fight Over
Enjoy your piece now. One day it becomes something your kids or grandkids will want to inherit.
It tells the story of who you were, as a person and as a collector, and the taste you had.
Let’s make a personal branding piece your grandkids fight over in the will.
That’s my job. I’ll literally travel to the end of the world to find your perfect gemstone.
Your Signature Piece Starts Here
Picture walking into a room and having people come to you. Picture the conversation that starts with one question: “Is that glowing?”
Tell me who you are and what you want your piece to say.
The Vault holds rare stones you can view in Australia.
Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Branding Jewellery
What is personal branding jewellery?
A piece made around you: your story, your work and what you stand for. Worn every day, it becomes part of how people remember you.
Is gemstone jewellery for men?
Yes. Men are wearing Emeralds, Sapphires and Rubies on the red carpet and every day. A ring, a pendant or an earring is a great place to start.
Which gemstone should I choose?
The one you love, in the best quality you can reach. We’ll go through the 4Cs plus OT together, so you know exactly what you’re buying.
Will my piece hold its value?
Bought at the international wholesale price, a rare stone starts out worth more than you paid. And the finest gems have kept rising.
Where can I see stones?
In person, in Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane or the Gold Coast, by appointment. Best to start with a phone call.