Because every great

Because every great journey takes a detour GO YOUR OWN WAY 1 Rosh Mahtani How the founder of inspired British jewellery brand Alighieri struck gold Story Nathaniel Handy Photography Elliott Wilcox Rosh Mahtani says she likes to be “taken into someone’s universe”, not simply sold a product. With her jewellery brand Alighieri, that’s what she does. “As a kid in Zambia, I’d find shells, twigs, wire and make my own jewellery,” recalls the 25-year-old. Her customers now get the same thrill, of having found something authentic and talismanic. Every piece produced, in London’s Hatton Garden jewellery quarter, is rooted in a tale from Divine Comedy by Italian poet Dante Alighieri – the inspiration for the brand, right up to its name. “It’s a story about a man who was lost and trying to find his own path,” explains Mahtani, who has had no formal training in jewellerymaking. “That’s how I felt after finishing at university, where I studied French and Italian – as if I was in the dark wood that Dante’s hero finds himself in. I began making jewellery for fun, out of wax.” Her pieces, distinctive for their organic imperfection – as if they were found objects, lumps of gold sifted from the waters of a primordial river – now adorn the likes of Reed Morano, Olivia Wilde and Elisabeth Moss. Alighieri has seen 500% annual growth since its founding five years ago. Yet for all its success, Mahtani’s operation is raw, personal, unashamedly preoccupied with high art and the human condition. “Jewellery is all about storytelling – passing down from generation to generation, as you would a recipe,” she says. “It ties people together.” J 20 / Jaguar Magazine