A short walk from King's Cross across a wide, open courtyard by the canal is the Old Granary headquarters of Central Saint Martins. It's just what you would expect of Britain's foremost art school: plenty of exposed brick and vast expanses of glass. There's a perfect cast of would-be art students waiting nervously in reception-a beautiful set of French girls nattering agitatedly in the corner, a smart Italian accompanying his pouting son, and an array of choker-sporting, Doc Marten-dragging millennials all clutching their portfolios.

Central Saint Martins is a special place, revered the world over for its artistic education. While there is an abundance of bejewelled avenues along which many have meandered into the world of jewellery design, a CSM education has long been almost a byword for a certain calibre of designer: a shortcut through a groaningly saturated market to finding those with ingenuity.




Meanwhile, first-year students Muneera Alsharhan from Kuwait and Edwin Charmain from Java are just beginning their journey. Muneera, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, ran a successful jewellery design business back home but, like her classmates, wanted guidance about the next stage. She's passionate about speaking to her peers about jewellery, particularly the work influenced by Khaleeji design from eastern Arabia. The Arab world has a well-heeled history as a home of jewellery lovers but Muneera feels the designs favoured neglected their own rich cultural history. Her pieces are exquisitely intricate and set with coloured stones, which are often ignored by Arab clients in favour of diamonds. She cites the launch of Vogue Arabia and the rise of fashion culture in the Gulf as signs of the growing domestic market she hopes to tap.

Her classmate Edwin Charmain, who previously studied back home in Indonesia, creates bewitching pieces made by silver-filigree craftsmen in his hometown using ancient techniques. Part of Edwin's education here is to hone the process of collaboration with these craftsmen on the other side of the world.