The Decisive Moment with Glenn Spiro

0:02ASSOULINE:Glenn Spiro is a self-taught master jeweler whose one of her handpieces sell to a tiny circle of the world's wealthiest collectors from his salon on Bruton Street in Mayfair. He's a pioneer in titanium in Haute Joyerie and has showrooms in Saint-Tropez, Saint-Bart and Los Angeles. Glenn, welcome to The Decisive Moment.

0:21Glenn Spiro:Thank you for having me.

0:23ASSOULINE:So I'm really happy to have this conversation with you today because the first time I met you was about 10 years ago. Yes. when I was living in London. And you welcomed me in your atelier. I don't know if you remember that. And you showed me your behind the scenes. It was so inspiring. And I can tell you that really, it left a mark on me until this day.

0:45Glenn Spiro:Well, thank you. Thank you.

0:48ASSOULINE:So you painted in titanium in Eau Joiri, as I mentioned, which is lighter than gold. That allows for more colors and structure. The big house thought you were mad. when you started to do that. Yes. When did you know they were wrong?

1:05Glenn Spiro:The truth is, you know, jewelry was a very, very old school traditional business. That's what you were taught. I'd been doing it since I was 14. So I left school at 14. It was very young. We don't want to go there because I was.

1:18ASSOULINE:I mean, let's go there. You started as a child actor, right?

1:20Glenn Spiro:I was a child actor, yeah. I did The King and I. I was Louis, the teacher's son. With Jules Brunner. When I was 14, yeah. And I sang on the stage. I was great with Jules Brunner and Sally Ann Hals. So I thought it was going to be a Hollywood star. Then I got a part as the champ with John Voight. And I had to read in this pawnbroker shop with John Voight at the time, which is in Mile End Road, which is not a very pleasant street in East London. And I sang, read a part with him, but my parents wouldn't let me go to America because they'd never been. So he said, no, you can't go there. And that movie went on to win the Oscar for the best movie, the child that I'm not allowed to swear on a podcast but that sort of threw that out the window and then I had this job which at Cartier English Artworks I was making the teas and sandwiches and going up and down Bond Street which didn't mean much to me in those days with a and you learned how people made jewelry but it's gold and platinum gold and platinum and then sometimes used to go to these things in the evening and see these women owning these very expensive earrings but soon as they finish the first course they're sort of taking them off and putting them in their bag which I thought that's somewhat bizarre you spend all the money you take them off because they're too heavy so I never really understood it so I'd played around with

2:37ASSOULINE:different metals and how can you take them off it doesn't how can you spend I'm a little bit of a

2:42Glenn Spiro:logical man dollars are dollars you might as well spend it right and use it right I said they're not wearing them so we have found this metal titanium which some people had used but I don't know I I played around with it at a later stage when I started on my own. And I had this, I don't know, I was comfortable with it. I played with it, fought it. You have a battle with it, but I mastered it. And we used to make a lot of the jewellery, was my main business, for the big brands. So we were big supporters of the big brands. So I'm a gem dealer, really. So I collect only old material. And I take that old material and I convert it into jewellery.

3:17Glenn Spiro:And titanium was a good house for it. Because women can now wear these big things on their ears, look fan and it's like paper it's fabulous and the value is somewhat negative it's all in the stones anyway so titanium became a big thing for us in those days it was an interesting period titanium's wonderful but some people still prefer the tradition of owning gold or platinum some

3:40ASSOULINE:people really refer to the value because of the weight of it right so in my business i'm just a

3:46Glenn Spiro:little bit i do what i feel i i'm i want to enjoy it i can't work by the book and go that's what you supposed to do and this is what we all do and that's how you should do it because every human is different every lady is different every man's different so every project should have its

4:00ASSOULINE:different philosophy so you mentioned earlier on in your career um and how you really started and how you got this thing so at asurine we have something called the decisive moment it's that moment where you really really realize that this is your calling in life this is what

4:15Glenn Spiro:you're meant to do as a jeweler so i will tell you an amazing story actually really really good story because i have not said this for a long time and i'm going to show you here in front of you and hopefully this will transpire over this microphone during my younger career i was making jewelry and i was doing fine in london i remember when my joe was born my son it's not easy this i I don't know how many people, finally a customer. What am I doing here? What am I doing? And at that time, Christie's came to me and said, look, we'd be really interested. Would you come work for Christie's and help us design and put on big auctions?

4:56Glenn Spiro:But I've never worked with anyone since I was 14. I'm now 20. I was 30. I was 30. And I've had my own business and sold it and bought it back, a jewellery business, but it was tough, man. It's lovely being busy, but putting money in your pocket was a different thing. and I'll never forget this man. It was called Gilbert de Botton. He was my first wife's cousin. I loved my father, but I didn't really have a mentor in those days. I remember knocking on his door, explaining the situation, and this sweet man took an A4 piece of paper. I cannot believe I'm remembering this story. And he changed my life.

5:32Glenn Spiro:And I explained, look, this is who I am. I'm on my own, but this is Christie's. And he went on a piece of paper. He said, this is the world. And it was a circle. I went, yes. And then he took his little sharpening pen and he went, this is England. Yes. And smaller and smaller, this is London. Tiny little dot. And he goes, where do you live in London? I went, I told where I lived at the time. He goes, my pencil is too large for the dot. So here's my advice to you. If you stay on your own, the probability is you will remain in the dot. But if you go to Christie's, the world is your oyster. You will see the world.

6:08Glenn Spiro:I went, whoa. Wow. He said, don't chase the money. go and see the world. And I literally left his place in St. James. I walked across the other side of St. James, knocked on the door and said, you know what, I'll take the job. And I had to go all the way back to the beginning again, and then I became head of jewellery worldwide and this and that and head of Los Angeles and in Hong Kong and New York. I just saw the world. And that was my moment. With Christie's. And I became, you know, a senior director of their jewellery department. I designed for them. And it was, oh, my God, the world. then you know what's going on in the world because with respect he's right I would have stayed a normal jeweler would serve two miles that way two miles that way maybe have a few customers here or there that was the tradition that was the big decision in my life that changed my life that was then I went wow there's a lot of people in the world and there's a lot of styles and a lot of avenues to go that was my defining moment then I thought okay I'm gonna I need to I need to understand the world more before I start.

7:10Glenn Spiro:Then I brought back my old workshop nine, 10 years later. And then we have the workshop today and now I'm designed for the world. So I see it.

7:19ASSOULINE:One of your iconic design that you've made is that stunning butterfly. So papillon ring that you did for, for Beyonce a few years back. Um, it has a mechanism that makes the wings move, right? Uh, can you walk me through the process of how you make this metal feel alive? well i am not actually a designer i i pull everything together and i know how to create

7:45Glenn Spiro:things i know what i want so i think you call what do you call that creative director creative director that's probably what i'm more to i know metals i know the carved wax i know so i know it all do i design a paper but i have two people next to me so while i scream and shout and they're drawing next to me i go yeah yeah that the more loam then it comes together so in order to your question that was probably my daughter in central pay found a little thing in the market yeah the little one but the younger one and it was 18 years and it just moved this thing and i i can't remember i gave her five dollars or euros or six but can i borrow it she said well you can borrow it for seven so i said all right well seven i'll borrow it and i just i took the mechanism and then i looked at all the people like the big brands without mentioning them and they're flat they make something and you know you know what i realized most big brands have to make things they have to produce and they have to have things for sale i actually don't have to i can do what i like so everything we make today i make sure it's made how i think it should be there was no rings that were oh my god there's nothing moving now i made one that moved so for a lady to sit at a place and have a little pet every time she bend her finger this beautiful thing was flying and everyone comes over and says sorry what is on your finger and that if if i may say our level of craftsmanship probably is up there with the best i i think we're pretty good it's it's good our stone content is sensational we use the best but our makeup jewelry is is pretty high it is pretty top class so i think that mechanism came together and it was just you know what i felt like the pixar movies you brought something to life it just came to life and actually it was only going to make two or three it was loads it was a limited collection but it was lots of them and then and then I stopped I

9:38ASSOULINE:said that's enough but it was very important for me you are one of the best I can tell you that's very nice thank you thank you really admire what you do so that ring later on was was donated to the V &A.

9:53Glenn Spiro:Yes, she donated it to the V &A, which was very nice of her.

9:57ASSOULINE:What I'm interested in is, for you, how does it feel to have a piece that you made that ended up in a museum among crown jewels all during your lifetime?

10:10Glenn Spiro:When you actually go and stand there, and you're sitting in the V &A, and it's right in the center, and everyone's talking about this guy, Glenn Swann, because you're in the crowd listening and looking at this beautiful Papillon.

10:23ASSOULINE:Wow, how cool is that?

10:25Glenn Spiro:It's a, what a great honour. It's a, from what I understand, they've now told me it's for life. So it's never moving, which is only one of nine pieces coming without the never moving. I'm a bit gobsmacked of my life today anyway, the whole thing with my four kids, with life, with business, people that I serve, people who come and sit with me, people who trust me, the people who ask my opinion, who let me do it. I still get in awe that I sit back today at 64 this year and think, wow, that's cool. I don't know. And I do feel a sense of, I don't want to let anyone down, actually. And once I'm in it, once the whistle goes, you know, the game starts, I'm in it.

11:05Glenn Spiro:I can't help. Someone flicks a button, I'm in it then. And I bet your father is the same. He moans, but once the order's done, okay, let's get this. It's got to be, you just click a button. And I'm sure you're organizing this when you're ready. You're adrenaline kit now. If I'm going to do it, let's get it. It needs to be great.

11:24ASSOULINE:Prosper. One said that if Asoulin was a car, he would be a Jaguar Roadster Type E, which I know you drive.

11:34Glenn Spiro:That was bizarre. That's weird. You both seem to have and to be very similar on certain points.

11:43ASSOULINE:How was the process of making the book together a few years back?

11:47Glenn Spiro:So I will tell you, so your father, I did not know. I went to a dinner at a mutual friend's house, and there was this lovely Frenchman sitting next to me who had this beautiful accent. I thought he was putting on because it was too perfect, even as a Frenchman. And I said, what do you do then? And he told me what he did. And the way he spoke, I was in awe of this man. I thought, wow, he looks so cool and chic. And the way he spoke was beautiful. And he said, what do you do? I said, well, I'll make jewelry. I'm sort of, you know, that was it. And I don't know what happened, But I left the room.

12:18I came back and he said to me, have you ever thought about doing a book?

12:23Glenn Spiro:I said, I have. Well, to me, I didn't think I was ready. I don't know. Maybe. He said, I would be very honest to do a book with you. I said, well, I think I'll be very honest to do a book for you. He said, do you know our books? I said, no, but I've heard you speak French and you look great. So that'll do for me. He said, do you want to see the books? I have to be honest. Everything looks great as you are, so let's not spoil it. And, of course, I looked after. but he just got it.

12:48ASSOULINE:We reprinted it again last year.

12:50Glenn Spiro:Yeah.

12:52ASSOULINE:Yeah, very happy to have it.

12:53Glenn Spiro:And in turn, I was told when I was doing the book, people talk you out of don't go to Asseline, there's other ones, it's cheaper, there's this, there's that. I went, why are you going to Asseline? I went, don't know, I feel like I'm at home in Asseline. I feel like I want to go there. But there's cheaper. You get what you pay for. I'd rather go and do it the right way. And I have to say, that has been a pivotal thing in my career, that book. Because that book allowed me to enter many people's homes that otherwise I don't think I would have been in their homes. Especially that one, because that has about my children, my life, how I started, my dad.

13:33Glenn Spiro:So you spend most of your time in London still? Yeah, I still live in London. I've got a bit of an empty nester now. Now they're all sort of grown up a little bit now, which is weird. Now I have to talk to my wife. She talks to me. I said, we've got nothing to discuss about the kids. But we travel a lot. We live in Saint-Tropez three months a year, which I love. That's become part of our lives.

13:53ASSOULINE:Your atelier salon, it's 26 Bruton Street, right? In Mayfair.