April 16, 2026 |
BLINGIN’ IT IS TEN’S ONLINE SERIES WHERE WE SPOTLIGHT THE INNOVATORS AND CHANGE-MAKERS OF THE JEWELLERY WORLD.
Picture this: foregrounding a wondrous backdrop of mossy green goodness, shed with pools of gleaming light, sit leaping gold frogs, scuttling scaled bugs and tree-bark reminiscent gemstones. Then, under the deep blue, live mermaids with tails of pearl and gold and transparent silvery jellyfish flutter beneath the surface. It sounds like an excerpt from an anthology of fairytales, right? Wrong. It’s actually the extraordinary world of Dutch jewellery designer Bibi van der Velden.
Van der Velden launched her eponymous brand in 2005 from her Amsterdam studio, where she continues to create pieces that sit at the intersection of wearable art and fine jewellery – fixating on the quiet magic and mystery of the natural world. Through dainty and statement necklaces, rings, bracelets and more, she hones in on her outdoorsy childhood – from building treehouses with her brothers to polishing her mother’s sculptures. This background in sculpture – from the influence of her mother, to her education at prestigious institutions including the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague – is incorporated into her architectural pieces. Having also studied fine art in Florence, and learning form through detailed anatomy classes, her jewellery-making would start as a side project. Her next steps were to study jewellery at Goldsmiths college where she became well-versed in the complex language of jewellery design and began working with designers at Amsterdam fashion week, adorning the runway.
Rooted in sustainability within storytelling, her narrative-driven approach places the pieces within whimsical realms pulled from her memories of growing up in the English countryside. An enduring fascination with nature is translated into her use of motifs such as her current hero, the frog, featuring in her latest collection Enchanted Forest. The majestic creature emerges as symbolic protagonist of intuitive transformation. The artist has said of the amphibian, “it begins in water and ends on land. That metamorphosis feels deeply symbolic”, and she works to capture this transformation in her jewels.
Strong in their technical precision and detailing – van der Velden’s materials of choice range from abalone, opal, malachite, rock crystal and diamonds, all wrapped with 18k recycled gold, of course. Balancing her specialist fine jewellery with high jewellery collector pieces, van der Velden uses Enchanted Forest as a tool for escapism but also a world of grounded balance; through the outlet of earrings, rings, necklaces, bangles and brooches. Mini frog studs, frog abalone ear huggers, hanging earrings and necklaces including a large frog necklace set on a tadpole chain. Both stackable and statement rings feature amongst Tadpole-to-Frog bangles, which arguably highlight the cultivated essence of this collection the most. Enchanted Forest flaunts the designers’ latest advancements in rock crystal carving, which proves a great challenge in its construction but offers a great reward in its outcome; jewellery that flirts with transformative dynamicity.
Van der Velden’s monumental architecture is nothing short of spectacle, her gemstones playing with light as a means of fluidity within sculptural form – which is what dreams are made of. Here, we chat to the designer about her untethered upbringing, the representation within her creative process and why her material palette is what it is.
On her upbringing
I grew up in the English countryside, which was incredibly romantic and visual – almost cinematic. My parents created a world where creativity was constant; everything felt slightly heightened, whether it was skating on frozen ponds or entire Christmases built around a theme. The Netherlands brings a different clarity, more conceptual, more structured, but also a quiet charm in its canals and winding streets.
My work exists somewhere between those two worlds: a sense of fantasy held within a very considered framework. That duality, between imagination and structure, naturally shapes how I design. You can see it quite clearly in Bibi’s Bestiary, which I introduced in 2025. It’s a collection of symbolic fine jewellery charms, each tied to different moments or phases of life. The idea is quite instinctive and emotional, rooted in storytelling, but the system behind it – how it builds, evolves, and expands with pieces like our Lunar New Year horse charm – is much more structured. It allows both me and the wearer to create something deeply personal, but within a considered design language.
On how her background in sculpture informs her designs
I approach every piece as a sculpture first. I think about weight, balance, scale – how something occupies space, not just how it appears from a single angle. There’s always an internal architecture. Even the smallest details are considered in three dimensions. I’m interested in pieces that feel alive – where something can open, shift, or reveal itself over time, creating moments of discovery for the wearer.
The terrarium pieces within the Enchanted Forest collection are a particularly clear expression of that. They allow me to fully explore my sculptural language within fine jewellery – miniature landscapes where trees and root systems are cast in yellow gold, set with pavé diamonds, grounded by a mother-of-pearl forest floor and enclosed within carved rock crystal. They feel like self-contained worlds – true explorations of form, material and imagination.
On referencing the natural world
Nature becomes increasingly surreal the closer you look at it. I’m drawn to those moments where something familiar begins to feel slightly otherworldly. With Enchanted Forest, I became fascinated by ecosystems just beneath the surface – wetlands, lily ponds, places where everything is in a constant state of transformation. As a child, I would spend hours in the forest around my home – running back from school, disappearing into the trees. There’s a kind of magic that nature allows you to access, especially through imagination, and that has stayed with me.
On her most prominent motifs
It’s never arbitrary – there’s always a logic beneath it. When you really observe certain creatures, their symbolism begins to unfold. The alligator, for example, represents resilience and a quiet, enduring strength – it carries a distinct feminine power. The frog speaks to transformation, to movement between states and moments of becoming.
With the scarab, it began with the wings, the structure, and then expanded into something more cyclical, more symbolic. I’m particularly drawn to the fact that I can work with real scarab wings; they’re one of those rare materials where nature is allowed to exist entirely on its own terms. They can’t be replicated or artificially recreated, and there’s something very special about honouring them – casting them in gold and incorporating them into pieces like the Scarab Eternity Bracelet.
On her creative process
It’s always a dialogue between form and meaning – between what something is, and what it represents.
It always begins with an obsession – something that returns again and again until it becomes impossible to ignore. Enchanted Forest developed over more than two years, but it had been in my mind for much longer. From there, it becomes a very tactile process. Sketches are only a starting point; the real work happens in three dimensions. There’s a constant dialogue between imagination and technique.
There’s also a strong engineering element that I deeply enjoy. The sculptural aspect is one side, but the precision required to execute those ideas is another. For example, the Alligator Wrap Bracelet took years to develop so that each vertebra moves independently on the wrist. That level of technical refinement is essential-it allows the piece to feel truly alive.
On her material palette
We are, in a way, sculpting landscapes in miniature. These materials each hold something within them – opal and abalone shift and refract, malachite has a strong, almost graphic rhythm, and rock crystal brings clarity, like water or light.
Rock crystal in particular was fascinating to work with – it’s incredibly fragile during the carving process. The large frog bangle cracked multiple times before we developed a technique that could support it. But it allows for a purity of sculpture that feels very close to nature.
I’ve always been drawn to materials that feel alive – where every piece is different, with its own variations in tone, texture and movement. There’s something especially compelling about that compared to more traditional materials.
On what’s coming up
I’m interested in creating more movement around the brand – projects that allow the jewellery to exist beyond a traditional setting, and to be experienced in a more immersive, unexpected way. Expansion, for me, is less about scale and more about depth – about creating moments that feel personal and considered.
My relationship with hotels has become a natural extension of that. I’ve always been drawn to the sense of escapism and world-building that exceptional hotels create, and I’m excited to continue expanding those collaborations in more layered ways. At the Rosewood Amsterdam, I recently unveiled Jewels on Wheels – a mobile jewellery installation cart that moves through the hotel like a roaming cabinet of curiosities. It brings the pieces out of the vitrine and into the rhythm of the space, appearing in different environments or even arriving directly to guests, creating a much more intimate and playful encounter.
This idea of movement continues this summer, as I’ve converted a boutique van into a travelling jewellery vitrine. I’ll be driving across Europe with my family, visiting clients, hotels, cities, and cultural moments along the way. It feels like a very natural evolution of the brand – bringing the work into different landscapes and allowing it to exist in dialogue with them.
Alongside this, we have some exciting collaborations with fashion maisons in development, although I can’t say too much about those just yet.
Photography courtesy of Bibi van der Velden.
