Stephen Webster remembers standing in front of Garrard, the crown jeweler, as a young, unknown designer, when the grand London store was the first to give him a break by stocking his bold and edgy work. This week, Webster (above) can walk into Garrard with a new role as creative director. And this time, he is expected to bring more than the rock 'n' roll spirit he tuned into when he spent the 1980s in California. photo Leonie Purchas for the International Herald Tribune

The skills that Webster learned in Medway College all those years ago can be seen in a silver ring of entwined thorns or in the lacy wings of bats and bugs, as seen above. photo Stephen Webster

Like all of Webster's work, an example of which is on the left, there is something of the night about it - an underground spirit far from the dainty diamond flowers of conventional jewelry. photo Stephen Webster

Finally, spurred by the fresh investment, the Stephen Webster brand has made it, with 20 international boutiques and global points of sale. The crowning glory will be the opening of a flagship in London's Mount Street in April. Or perhaps it will be this week, as Webster walks through Garrard, which is about to start a new phase with a designer who can turn a bug into a jewel (above) and who has brought to the temple of high end rocks a blast of rock 'n' roll. photo Stephen Webster

Lire "Stephen Webster of Garrard's: The crown hipster of jewelry" by Suzy Menkès, http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/10/arts/fjewelry.php