Born in Spain and raised in the UK, jewellery designer Monica Vinader honed her craft while living in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Her cosmopolitan background is evident in the colourful and bohemian pieces she designs in her eponymous jewellery line, which started in Norfolk as a bespoke business in which she created one-off pieces by hand for friends and family.  As Monica’s reputation of creating beautifully wearable jewels spread, her business expanded and in 2009 Monica Vinader won Brand of the Year at the UK Jewellery Awards. Her instantly recognisable range of stacking rings, friendship bracelets, earrings and pendants is now stocked in Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty and on Net-a-Porter.  Today Monica alternates between traveling the globe sourcing precious jewels for her designs, which are frequently worn by celebrities, and developing new pieces in her Norfolk studio. She tells Telegraph Luxury about the favourite pieces from her own jewellery collection.  This is an emerald ring from Baja Precious, our first collection using precious stones. I love the art deco feel of the channel-set emeralds. I’ve only just got this ring, so I wear it all the time.  This is a 1940s ring that my mother gave me as a gift when I was in my early twenties. Instead of traditional birthday presents, she always finds the most unique treasures she thinks we’ll love and surprises us with them at random. She found this ring at an auction and it was one of my first really glamorous rings. I love the way the leaves wrap around the finger and for a big ring it’s very comfortable. I wear it on my pinky.  I bought this vintage piece at Alfie's Antique Market in Marylebone years ago. I have a soft spot for Italian mesh cuffs. It’s amazing, so cleverly articulated. The 18-carat gold knitted links mean it flows and sits on the wrist like fabric. It’s the perfect party piece.  This 1960s Italian gold bracelet is another piece my mother handed down to me. It’s so chic, I just love wearing it. My mother built up an impressive collection of jewellery from the Forties, Fifties and Sixties – from Van Cleef & Arpels to costume jewellery, it was all fabulous and such an inspiration to me. I used to spend hours as a child rummaging through her dresser and its many little compartments for all kinds of jewellery. She was never precious about me ruining any of it.  From time to time we would open the safe and hang all of her beautiful necklaces on the wall in the bedroom, a tradition I now do with my own daughter. I loved all of her jewellery and she certainly had a huge influence on my jewellery education. She’s responsible for some of my preferred aesthetics, and obsessions.  This pendant was made by the fashion house Henry a la Pensee in the 1920s for my grandmother in Paris. It is her initials, T.A, which are also my mother’s, and it has now come to me. I love a monogram, and I wear it on a long chain from my collection over chunky knits. The silver is quite tarnished, but I never polish it as that would ruin the patina.
The jewellery designer, 46, talks us through her favourite pieces of jewellery and how they have influenced her own designs