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Recently, War of the Ring interviewed Jasmine Watson, designer and creator of the gorgeous jewellery we have been awed by in “The Fellowship of the Ring”. She is also responsible for the jewellery in the other two films of the trilogy.

Jasmine graduated the Unitec School of Design in Auckland, NZ, but is now based in and working out of London. She was good enough to take time out of her increasingly busy schedule to answer our questions, and gave us a bit of an insight into what we can expect to see of her work in the upcoming movies… especially “The Two Towers”.

WotR - Jasmine, which of the pieces did you design specifically for "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King"?

JW - Continuing on from film one is the jewellery of Galadriel, Arwen, the Elves, including The' Evenstar', the Elven brooches and much more. The jewellery to be seen in "The Two Towers" includes a crown, brooches and ornamental belt for Eowyn, a crown for King Theoden, a pendant made of serpents for Wormtongue and an Elven style cloak clasp and buckle for Gandalf the white.

WotR - Which pieces were created with specific cultures in mind for "The Two Towers"?

Banner of Rohan

JW - For the Riders and the people of Rohan, we used a Celtic influence, predominantly with a horse motif, as it is such an important symbol to them.
Eowyn's jewellery in particular has a very Celtic look to it, with rounded, handbeaten disc - like shapes, in particular her belt, which also has the organic 'en-twined' look of Art Nouveau but is translated more simply.

For the Rohan people, we also used a lot of plaiting and braiding, taking inspiration from the leather work of saddles and bridles. Eowyn's gold crown is an example of this, with its simple braided band decorated with small, ornate Lapis Lazuli flowers.

As the king of the Rohan people, Theoden's gold crown is old and very tarnished, and is decorated with both Celtic style silver horse motifs, and the symbol of the rising sun, which are interspersed with gems.

The pendant for Wormtongue is an evil talisman with a Gothic influence, and is comprised of two serpents of dark, tarnished brass, twisted around a large shining black gem.

The belt buckle and cloak clasps for Gandalf the White have the Art Nouveau 'Elven' look, as does the rest of his new clothing, which in the story is crafted by the Elves following his rescue by Galadriel.

WotR - Which of the pieces you created for the films did you spend most time coming up with ideas for?

JW - I spent the most time designing the 'Evenstar'. It was such an important and complex piece, Arwen, being the Elf princess is the 'Evenstar' of her people, so as a pendant it symbolises her very being. It needed to be very delicate and beautiful, while also magical, clever and powerful as it was crafted by the Elves.

WotR - Is there any piece you are particularly proud of, or you would like to change having seen it on screen?

JW - My favourite piece is 'Nenya', Galadriel's Elven ring of power, but on screen it is Galadriel's gold and silver filigree crown that really stands out and has great visual impact. The crown, worn by Cate Blanchette, is featured in the publicity poster for film one, so may times i have seen it drive past me on the side of a large, red, London bus.

WotR - How has working on the three films influenced your design?

JW - I have always found inspiration in the beauty and complexities of nature, and have admired and been influenced by the style Art Nouveau. That was a huge advantage to me when designing for LOTR, and a source that i drew on greatly.

WotR - Is there any piece from your new collection which you would say sprang directly from the influence of LOTR?

JW - I like to come up with new concepts rather than repeating the same designs. My latest piece, the 'Silver Leaf Pendant' is similar to some of my LOTR jewellery in that it has very fine detail and an Art Nouveau influence. Those are the two aspects to my style that have always been very strong and identifying.

WotR - What do you think about a lot of the replica jewellery made by Badali, the Noble Collection etc?

JW - The jewellery merchandise is of varying qualities. Some pieces are very accurately portrayed and fairly well made, the 'Evenstar' for example and the 'Elven Brooch', for which Noble used my original patterns and moulds. Some of the other items, such as the 'Rings of Power' are not so well crafted, but are quite cute as they are more of a novelty value toy with their light up boxes.

WotR - Has working on the films been of great benefit to your career or has it interfered with your artistic credentials? The reason I ask is that Viggo Mortensen has had trouble with the art community largely ignoring his exhibitions due to the Lord of the Rings connection overshadowing it.

JW - Working on LOTR has been one of the biggest projects of my career so far, and it has certainly generated a huge amount of positive feedback and interest in my work. I wouldn't say it has interfered with my artistic credentials, in fact, quite the opposite. The films have such a wide and varied audience that the exposire and recognition as a designer has been huge and worldwide.

WotR - Are you going to be working on any other movies/series soon?

JW - Yes, definitely. I love the creative side of filmmaking, though at the moment, I am focussed on producing my own range of jewellery, so it's a case of trying to fit everything in!

WotR - What will be your lasting memory from working on the trilogy?

JW - Lots of long days and late nights to get everything looking perfect, then something would break or need to be changed at the last minute.... a state of outwardly calm panic!

WotR - I see that the first piece from your new collection is available. When will the rest of the collection appear?

JW - The 'Silver Leaf Pendant', available on my website, is the first piece of my 2003 Silver collection, the rest of which will follow soon. My 2003 Filigree Gold Collection will be available December 2002. My website will be updated nearer the time with more details.

Jasmine... thank you.

As Jasmine has intimated, she is currently in the process of working on her 2002/3 range of men and women’s contemporary jewellery.

Once again, we thank Jasmine for her time and patience in answering our questions. For those of you who wish to view more of Jasmine’s work, including the pieces she created for Lord of the Rings and Xena - Warrior Princess, visit her website - . You won’t be disappointed!

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