Spinelli Kilcollin Celebrates 15 Years Of Crafting Modern Heirlooms
The founders behind every fashion insider’s favorite jewelry brand presents an exclusive NET-A-PORTER capsule to mark a precious milestone. By CHARLIE BOYD
Plenty of couples make it to 15 years married with a whole lot of love, but few can also claim to have grown a creative and commercial partnership quite like Yves Spinelli and Dwyer Kilcollin. Founded in Los Angeles in 2010, their fine-jewelry brand Spinelli Kilcollin counts Emily Ratajkowski, Dua Lipa and Joan Smalls as devotees – a far cry from its humble beginnings. “It’s wild to look back – we started in our garage in East LA with one ring. Now we’ve grown into this amazing community,” says Spinelli.
While the inspiration behind the brand stemmed from art, architecture and personal connection, Spinelli goes on to explain that its design DNA was sparked by a phone call to his dad. “I kept thinking about the idea of an interconnected ring – something you could wear stacked on one finger or stretched across a few. I called my dad, Antoine, who is a blacksmith from Italy and has always loved working with metal,” he explains. “I gave him a rough description over the phone – no sketch, no visual reference – and he just made it. I wore it, and people responded immediately. That’s when I realized we had something.”
The sculptural, modular jewelry aesthetic that has since come to define the brand – especially its iconic linked rings – was burgeoning. “It wasn’t calculated or overdesigned, it was born from intention and imperfection. That accident became the seed of the entire brand,” says Kilcollin. The couple weren’t phased by not having a guarantee of success, or a crystal ball to see the miniature maison’s future as a favorite of the A-list. “It’s okay not to know exactly how something will turn out. You just have to start. The magic often happens in the gap between what you intended and what actually comes to life,” muses Kilcollin.
Has their romantic partnership strengthened the business? “We complement each other well,” says Spinelli. “Dwyer is the visionary with a strong creative background, while I focus more on relationships and clients. Our strengths work together.” Unsurprisingly, Kilcollin echoes this sentiment. “We’ve always wanted to do everything together – we started a band, then a jewelry company, then a family. Two out of three stuck; the band sadly didn’t make it,” they quip. “But being in love and working side by side has always come naturally to us. The best part is that we’ve created this world together, for ourselves, our business, and our family, and the core idea of connection has never shifted.”
“We plan to keep building on that idea of connection – more designs, more collaborations, more stories
”Yves Spinelli
To mark this year’s anniversary, Spinelli Kilcollin has created a capsule collection of ultra-versatile hero pieces exclusively for NET-A-PORTER. The brand’s bestselling ‘Halley’ ring is offered in silver with white diamonds, bringing new brilliance to the beloved classics, while the ‘Kini’ bangle and ‘Helio Trio’ necklace, part of the Arc collection, appear in sleek silver and white diamonds for everyday wear. If you’re seeking a chic holiday gift then the ‘Zahra’ hoop earrings and the ‘Cara’ ring are universally adored; these are investment jewels that epitomize contemporary classicism and will effortlessly fit into any existing collection.
How do they hope the next 15 years will unfold? “We plan to keep building on that idea of connection – more designs, more collaborations, more stories,” says Yves. “Always rooted in the personal, but always open to what comes next.”
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