The New Zealand Fernmark Licensee Story

The Artist behind the New Zealand jewellery brand taking on global luxury.

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For Alice Herald, choosing to build her jewellery brand in New Zealand was never the most obvious commercial decision. It was, however, the right one creatively.

Originally from the UK, Alice has been based in Wānaka for more than 20 years, where she established her namesake luxury jewellery label with a clear priority: to create work of international calibre while protecting the time, space and mental clarity needed to design.

Words by Cait Bazemore

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” With sculptural precision and ethical intent, the New Zealand jeweler is building a quiet but unmistakable presence in the U.S. fine jewelry market.

Breaking into the American luxury jewelry market usually takes a decade. Alice Herald did it in twelve months. When the New Zealand designer unveiled her work at the 2024 Couture show in Las Vegas, her pieces—rooted in classical form and modern restraint—stood out in a sea of ornamentation. Herald’s background in sculpture lends her collections a sense of proportion rarely seen in contemporary jewelry. At the same time, her commitment to local materials and ethical sourcing grounds her in something more profound than design trends. Her debut wasn’t just a commercial milestone; it was a quiet assertion that independent craftsmanship can still shape the global luxury conversation.

By Couture 2025—just one year after her initial U.S. debut—Herald was making significant headway with her presence and prominence in the U.S. market. This created a ripple effect, propelling her even further on her own soil and emphasizing the importance of the American market on a global scale. At the Couture Design Awards, Herald came runner-up in the Best in Gold category thanks to her exclusive use of recycled Australasian gold and native New Zealand alluvial gold—gold that has washed down from mountains by rivers and concentrated in gravel beds, particularly in the South Island’s Otago and West Coast regions. Herald has also taken home two other accolades in 2025 at New Zealand’s Best in Design Awards and the Fashion Quarterly Awards as Designer of the Year.

Honors aside, Alice Herald is a good human and an artist through and through. Her background was not initially in jewelry-making but in sculpture, which continues to inform her approach to design with a 360-degree sensibility. She swears by a particular artist’s process, which involves isolating herself at her second home by the sea with only her dogs as companions while she designs a new collection.

In addition, Herald is dedicated to conscious and sustainable business practices, sourcing local materials that are ethically mined and partnering with local suppliers and artisans whenever possible. For Herald, she prefers her role to be the creative, the visionary, the designer, and to surround herself with the best possible experts. The result is knowing every element of her supply chain and collaborating with them to bring her artistic concepts to life. As a brand, Herald presents as a one-woman show, but behind this great woman is a well-nurtured group of suppliers, craftspeople, and other industry professionals who have been and will continue to be a part of the long-term vision for her brand.

Herald is also passionate about giving back to her community and causes near and dear to her heart. She’s collaborated with the Mint Charitable Trust, a New Zealand charity established to support individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. Closer to home, Herald and her sister are BRCA positive and have lost their mother, Marceline, to breast cancer. Marceline was instrumental in propelling Herald to where it is today. She encouraged her to attend Central Saint Martins, one of the most renowned arts and design schools in the world, and insisted that you must never give up the childlike sense of curiosity that often gets lost in adulthood.

Perhaps Herald’s highest achievement of 2025 is the debut of her first Aphrodite capsule, inspired by the famous Renaissance painting, The Birth of Venus, by Sandro Botticelli, with a portion of sales going toward prominent cancer research organizations in each of her core markets.

Ancient Inspiration, Modern Sensibility

Roman and Greek art and design have long been a source of inspiration for Herald. The launch of her Istoria collection (Istoria meaning story in Greek) marked her U.S. debut at Couture in 2024, with the line drawing inspiration from the classical period of Greek mythology and architecture, particularly the columns of the Doric and Ionic Orders and coffered domed ceilings of ancient Rome. Herald followed this with her Deities collection, unveiled at Couture earlier this year. The flagship piece within the line is her Light My Fire pinky ring, inspired by the fire-bearing Titan Prometheus. This design earned her second place in the Best in Gold category at the show’s award ceremony—her first international accolade.

The initial installment of the Aphrodite capsule lives as a subset within the Deities collection and was not only informed by Herald’s fascination with Greco-Roman art and history but also by her oceanside design studio. Greek mythology states that Aphrodite is born of the seafoam, which Herald saw washing up on the shores during her daily beach walks with her dogs and immediately conjured the image of Aphrodite in her mind. The first set of designs in the capsule focuses on the feminine shape of Aphrodite herself, emphasizing the female form in correlation with the charitable component of the collection supporting breast cancer research. However, next year, we’ll get a second interpretation of Aphrodite incorporating a new set of native materials, including New Zealand Jade (or pounamu as called by the indigenous people) and New Zealand wood.

With the current Aphrodite capsule, 10% of proceeds go to the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in New Zealand for online sales, to Breast Cancer Now for U.K. sales, and to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for U.S. sales. Yes, with Herald’s expansion into the U.S. market comes her own dedicated point of sale at a newly established multi-brand gallery in the heart of Manhattan called Casa Tres.

An Official Footprint in the U.S.

Casa Tres was founded on the principle of helping global high-end and fine jewelry brands like Herald to have a full-service partner and U.S. footprint. More than a showroom, factory, or logistics provider, Casa Tres unites all three under a single umbrella, giving designers the infrastructure to scale sustainably while preserving creative freedom. Founder Mirta de Gisbert is a luxury industry veteran. Before launching her own jewelry consultancy and Casa Tres, de Gisbert worked at Edelman and Sotheby’s, as well as a variety of fashion and jewelry houses, including Burberry, Jessica McCormack, and Paula Mendoza.

Herald’s trajectory feels deliberate, not meteoric. Her forthcoming residency at Bergdorf Goodman and partnership with Casa Tres signal a thoughtful expansion rather than a rush toward scale. Every piece still begins the same way—sketched by hand near the sea, imagined as much for its story as its shine.

In an industry often driven by spectacle, Alice Herald’s work reminds us that refinement can still speak softly and be heard. “

Words by Michelle Orman

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“An artist whose chosen medium is precious metals and gemstones, Alice Herald first discovered jewelry design while studying sculpture in Mexico. Traces of ancient, Mexican architecture can still be found in her work today, which is bolstered by years of intensive training, education and empirical knowledge. Her work is an expression of her lived experiences, her worldview and themes that spark her interest and curiosity. Legends of lore and mythology combine with concepts of art and architecture in her designs, and the unique beauty in the materials with which she works is enhanced by her unwavering commitment to responsible luxury.

Upon her return from Mexico to the UK, Alice cemented her newfound love by earning her BA hons in Jewelry Design from London’s prestigious Central St Martins. She went on to work alongside goldsmiths to the Royal family, skilled artisans, glassmakers and fashion designers, continually honing her acumen and expertise of her craft.

A love of the outdoors and skiing prompted her to move to New Zealand, where she now lives with her family, and from where she co-founded an international, online engagement ring website. After serving as the Product Manager and Head Designer of the site for 8 years, in 2016, she launched her eponymous brand.

Each of the designs in the Alice Herald brand conveys a sense of both fluidity and solidity. Elegant and sculptural, ethereal narratives come to life in the permanence of 18k gold, which Alice sources exclusively from alluvial deposits from New Zealand’s South Islands.

Her fastidiousness in her choice of metal is representative of her determination to give back to local communities and avoid the harms cause by mining and is fueled by the profound connection she feels with the Island nation.

The creative approach she’s developed over the years is underscored by a continual and intimate dialogue she has with the materials with which she works, and each of her designs is infused with a genuine appreciation for nature and humanity.

Alice’s choice of diamonds, also, ensures that the work she produces has a positive impact on the world. Her decades of entrenchment in the industry and her many long-standing relationships with site-holders allow her to be particular in the stones she hand-selects for her designs, and she is tenacious in aligning only with those who share her sense of social responsibility.

The authenticity in her dedication to creating pieces her collectors can feel good about is felt in all touchpoints of her brand, with a respect and admiration for the artisans with which she works central to the Alice Herald brand ethos.”

]]> https://aliceherald.com/vanity-fair-on-jewellery-annabel-davidson/ Thu, 10 Jul 2025 02:24:55 +0000 https://aliceherald.com/?p=10502

In the remote New Zealand countryside, Alice Herald has discovered independent miners who source gold without using cyanide or mercury-all the better to make her punky yet refined jewellery with, says Annabel Davidson

DIGGING DEEPER by Annabel Davidson

VANITY FAIR On Jewellery – July/August 2025

“THINK OF NEW ZEALAND, and most likely you’ll envisage sheep, bungee jumping, the All Blacks, and Hobbiton, the movie set where some of the Lord of the Rings series was filmed. Very few people think of gold, but for jeweller Alice Herald, Aotearoa, the Māori word for New Zealand, and gold go hand in hand.

“Traceability and responsible luxury are hugely important to me,” the Wanaka-based, British-born jeweller says. “And being in a small country like New Zealand, when you’re very far away from the industry, you have the luxury of being more in control, as you’re not that far from the source.”

Herald’s work, which ranges from ultra-wearable gold hoops striped with diamond rows, to dramatic, punkish bangles studded with diamonds and set with an oversized pink cabochon tourmaline, is now all made in traceable New Zealand gold-which wasn’t possible until she pushed for it. “We have gold in New Zealand, and I’ve been badgering a foundry here for two years to keep it separate from other sources, such as recycled gold or scrap metal,” she says. “Surely we must be able to make gold that is mined right here traceable? But it’s down to volume.

It’s not worth a foundry’s time and effort to keep newly mined New Zealand gold separate from everything else.”

That everything else is mainly lemel, the dust and tiny bits of gold from a jeweller’s bench; scrap, old, broken or unwanted jewellery, watches, silverware or anything containing precious metal; and sweep, the dust and other accrued material from any space that uses precious metal. It’s also newly mined gold from small-scale mines across Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand has only a couple of large-scale mines, but on the West Coast of the South Island, private, small-scale contractors can mine for alluvial gold (which has been naturally eroded from mountains by melting glaciers), often using nothing more than gravity and magnets to separate the gold from the black sand and silt it is found in.

“A representative for the foundry that is now supplying me with pure New Zealand gold literally goes around these private miners and collects their gold in glass jam jars,” Herald laughs. “And then it goes to the refinery in Auckland where it’s kept completely segregated, locked in its own vault, and only cast on certain days when they don’t cast any other type of gold.”

Last year, in a bid to sate her curiosity and see for herself first-hand how the gold is mined, Herald travelled to meet one contractor, who mines a claim on a bit of farmland near the West Coast town of Hokitika as a side gig to his contracting business. Earlier this year, she returned to learn more. “He has been mining since he was 15, and he’d be in his early Gos now,” Herald says.

“He drove me out to his claim past lots of exhausted ones, some of which haven’t been touched since the 186Os.” (New Zealand experienced a gold rush for about 20 years from the 186os.)

“There were old sites that were just holes, and mounds of debris and rocks, and he could tell me what era they were from because of their condition.”

When they reached one particular stretch of farmland, consisting of beautiful green grass mounds, like small hills, the miner announced that he had mined that site, and as per Department of Conservation regulations, returned it to beautiful grazing land. “A year earlier, it had been this big water pit being mined, and now it’s back to being lush green pasture,” Herald says.

“What makes the way he mines so environmentally friendly is that he’s working with the water table, so there’s no transporting of water or dirty water run-off. They work within the pit, take the silt back to his big shed where they just separate the gold from the black sand by spinning it centrifugally and using water and gravity. There’s no cyanide or mercury. It’s just so incredibly simple.” Simple, maybe, but if it wasn’t for Herald spending years campaigning for her miner contact’s gold-and others like it-to be segregated from the rest, New Zealand gold as a precious, traceable, responsibly mined product wouldn’t exist. It’s proof that the actions of one person can make a huge difference. May the industry as a whole follow suit.”

In the remote New Zealand countryside, Alice Herald has discovered independent miners who source gold without using cyanide or mercury-all the better to make her punky yet refined jewellery with, says Annabel Davidson

DIGGING DEEPER by Annabel Davidson

VANITY FAIR On Jewellery – July/August 2025

“THINK OF NEW ZEALAND, and most likely you’ll envisage sheep, bungee jumping, the All Blacks, and Hobbiton, the movie set where some of the Lord of the Rings series was filmed. Very few people think of gold, but for jeweller Alice Herald, Aotearoa, the Māori word for New Zealand, and gold go hand in hand.

“Traceability and responsible luxury are hugely important to me,” the Wanaka-based, British-born jeweller says. “And being in a small country like New Zealand, when you’re very far away from the industry, you have the luxury of being more in control, as you’re not that far from the source.”

Herald’s work, which ranges from ultra-wearable gold hoops striped with diamond rows, to dramatic, punkish bangles studded with diamonds and set with an oversized pink cabochon tourmaline, is now all made in traceable New Zealand gold-which wasn’t possible until she pushed for it. “We have gold in New Zealand, and I’ve been badgering a foundry here for two years to keep it separate from other sources, such as recycled gold or scrap metal,” she says. “Surely we must be able to make gold that is mined right here traceable? But it’s down to volume.

It’s not worth a foundry’s time and effort to keep newly mined New Zealand gold separate from everything else.”

That everything else is mainly lemel, the dust and tiny bits of gold from a jeweller’s bench; scrap, old, broken or unwanted jewellery, watches, silverware or anything containing precious metal; and sweep, the dust and other accrued material from any space that uses precious metal. It’s also newly mined gold from small-scale mines across Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand has only a couple of large-scale mines, but on the West Coast of the South Island, private, small-scale contractors can mine for alluvial gold (which has been naturally eroded from mountains by melting glaciers), often using nothing more than gravity and magnets to separate the gold from the black sand and silt it is found in.

“A representative for the foundry that is now supplying me with pure New Zealand gold literally goes around these private miners and collects their gold in glass jam jars,” Herald laughs. “And then it goes to the refinery in Auckland where it’s kept completely segregated, locked in its own vault, and only cast on certain days when they don’t cast any other type of gold.”

Last year, in a bid to sate her curiosity and see for herself first-hand how the gold is mined, Herald travelled to meet one contractor, who mines a claim on a bit of farmland near the West Coast town of Hokitika as a side gig to his contracting business. Earlier this year, she returned to learn more. “He has been mining since he was 15, and he’d be in his early Gos now,” Herald says.

“He drove me out to his claim past lots of exhausted ones, some of which haven’t been touched since the 186Os.” (New Zealand experienced a gold rush for about 20 years from the 186os.)

“There were old sites that were just holes, and mounds of debris and rocks, and he could tell me what era they were from because of their condition.”

When they reached one particular stretch of farmland, consisting of beautiful green grass mounds, like small hills, the miner announced that he had mined that site, and as per Department of Conservation regulations, returned it to beautiful grazing land. “A year earlier, it had been this big water pit being mined, and now it’s back to being lush green pasture,” Herald says.

“What makes the way he mines so environmentally friendly is that he’s working with the water table, so there’s no transporting of water or dirty water run-off. They work within the pit, take the silt back to his big shed where they just separate the gold from the black sand by spinning it centrifugally and using water and gravity. There’s no cyanide or mercury. It’s just so incredibly simple.” Simple, maybe, but if it wasn’t for Herald spending years campaigning for her miner contact’s gold-and others like it-to be segregated from the rest, New Zealand gold as a precious, traceable, responsibly mined product wouldn’t exist. It’s proof that the actions of one person can make a huge difference. May the industry as a whole follow suit.”

The Light My Fire Pinky ring in Diamond and 18kt New Zealand Gold

Couture Design Awards 2025

The Couture Design Awards are considered the Oscars of the international jewellery world and held once a year at the prestigious Couture show in Las Vegas. 

The gold category was the largest at the show with some insanely beautiful jewels up for the award. We entered the Light My Fire Pinky because it’s not only a very cool new design of mine but it is also crafted entirely in NZ alluvial yellow gold and diamond. The NZ gold being the point we were celebrating and showing off. A career high point and one I’m so incredibly proud of my team for doing so well in. 

There is no ‘i’ in team. I have a vision and keep working it until it sings. This is only the beginning. My CAD team bring my designs into 3d reality then my jewellery team test and tweak through modelling, resins and gold until all moving parts are perfect. Then we assemble, set and polish. It’s a constant conversation between many skilled designers and craftsmen to get the balance right. 

I’m thrilled that the 5 judges who are all at the top of their game saw the work that goes into a piece like this and have since received personal messages from some of them and other people of note saying just this. 

Sharing this with you, many of whom are clients, as I know you too share in the love of bringing a vision to life. This vision is part of a big dream that is ever so slowly coming into being….

Alice x

Our New Zealand Gold

Why it’s so important to know origin

If you follow me on socials you’ll know I visited one of our alluvial gold mines last week on the West Coast of New Zealand. I felt like I was on a school trip, totally fascinating to see the process first hand, meet one of the family-owned mines and verify what I’m being told is true.

So why is this important?

Historically, mining as a word has a bad name for itself. Extracting minerals from Mother Earth and the way in which it is done, as well as the impact on the surrounding environment and its community are all elements that can and have faced backlash over the years and for good reason.

For example, hard rock gold mining is far more invasive than alluvial gold mining. It dramatically changes the natural landscape as well as impacting the local ecology. Alluvial gold mining can be done in several ways and if done well is relatively low impact. Some methods are more harsh to the environment than others so it’s important to know which one your gold derives from and how the mining company is giving back to the environment, supporting it and it’s local flora, fauna and community.

New Zealand is known for its natural beauty so for me, to know that this is being protected not only by the Department of Conservation but the mining companies we use as well was a critical factor.

To be able to visit the beautiful place where our gold comes from only 6 hours away, learn how it’s mined responsibly adhering to the strict New Zealand standards, has a low impact on the environment and actually nurtures it for the future returning the land to a higher level is so uplifting.

To see and hear about this roadie of mine, visit my INSTA HERE.

More on the actual process for any of you slightly more nerdy people wanting to know more!

Alice x

Pure GOLD

More on the process next time – just so exciting to see the gold filtered out of the rock and sand by such a simple process using water and gravity.

At the source

Using the natural water table means no extra water is needed to pump up to the site or importantly away from it dirty-ing the rivers.

My jewels are designed and crafted in New Zealand proudly using traceable New Zealand gold.