The luxury jeweller with the secret high life

Every jewel has a story to tell, or so the saying goes, and it couldn’t be more true in the case of Sonia Petroff, whose designs are rooted in adventure and curiosity. Not that her family knew — until her vast archive of designs, photography and travel logs came into their possession following her death in 2015. It took another year before Maria Leoni-Sceti, the wife of Petroff’s nephew Elio, uncovered the jeweller’s prestigious past.

With no children of her own, Petroff’s possessions — including her entire 800-piece archive — were left to the Leoni-Scetis. As they went through them, it was one surprising revelation after another. “I’m going through her trunks and photo albums and I see a picture of her having a picnic with Marlon Brando in Paris. Then she’s in Argentina playing polo,” says Leoni-Sceti. In other photos, Petroff is pictured with Clark Gable. “I knew she was well travelled but I never linked it to her being this well-known designer in the ’60s to the late ’80s,” she tells me, a twinge of regret in her tone. “I didn’t know how successful she had been until I saw all the magazines.”

As Leoni-Sceti discovered how “really cool” her late aunt-in-law was, she was inspired to revive the jewellery label that Petroff founded in the 1950s. Sonia Petroff, as the brand is now called, is sold via its own ecommerce site as well as selected retailers such as Selfridges and independent boutiques globally. Petroff’s speciality included belts and costume jewellery that were exuberant and pulsated with colour, while retaining a certain sophistication — much like Petroff herself.

On cataloguing Petroff’s designs, Leoni-Sceti learnt about her past. She was born in 1933, in Budapest, to a Belgian mother and a Bulgarian father who was ambassador to Hungary, and she grew up in an aristocratic family. Her grandmother was lady-in-waiting to Queen Eleonore of Bulgaria and her childhood was steeped in upper-class eastern European traditions, lavish balls and ceremonial jewels.

During the second world war, however, Petroff’s family fled abroad. Then, during the Hungarian uprising of 1956, Petroff relocated to Buenos Aires and began to design costume jewellery, needing a way to make a living.

Local boutiques took an immediate interest in her designs, which encouraged Petroff to pursue a career in the field. As she sought to make a name for herself, she moved to Rome in the late 1950s. There, she quickly fostered connections. Having grown up in high society, she felt at home as she returned to it once more, attending glamorous parties and spending summers on the Italian Riviera and winters in Gstaad.

All the while, she continued to make jewellery — even selling her designs to luxury houses including Valentino, followed by Nina Ricci and Balmain — making her “the only one in the family earning any money”, according to a note from Petroff’s late father. “In the early 1970s, Valentino [Garavani] himself was in Rome,” adds Leoni-Sceti. “They were just two young creatives so she ended up designing pieces for him under Valentino.”

Petroff’s brand was initially called Sonia Italy and she also produced custom orders. A feature of the jewellery is its playful and whimsical style, which reflects her personality, says Leoni-Sceti. “She had a very good sense of humour and had always been creative.”

While there are examples of independent and uncompromising women in fashion, such as Madeleine Vionnet, Elsa Schiaparelli and Vivienne Westwood, during her time, Petroff was unusual in choosing a life of culture and travel. “We have a handwritten letter from her mother recommending that she settle down and marry a duke because it’ll give her a good name and she can be provided for,” says Leoni-Sceti. But Petroff didn’t listen and she didn’t get married until her late 40s.

As Leoni-Sceti seeks to rekindle Petroff’s vision, her priority is ensuring that the designs, priced £140-£975, stay true to the founder’s vision — jewelled seahorse and dragonfish belts, lobster motif earrings and surrealist eye chokers and bracelets are all made in limited quantities.

“We are adding new designs but I always base them on something that has come from Sonia,” explains Leoni-Sceti. “For example, I might be inspired by one of her belts but add a bit of length — back then, they only came in one size — or give it a contemporary twist, such as taking a brown style and remaking it in turquoise or pink. I try to come up with new ideas while staying true to Sonia.”

Has it been difficult to revive a brand whose founder remains largely unknown and therefore might not mean much to a new generation of customers? Leoni-Sceti says that the rebooted label has already been worn by the likes of make-up artist and entrepreneur Charlotte Tilbury, stylist Fiona Leahy and investor Carmen Busquets, who were enticed by its designs without knowledge of its past. “Kate Moss loves them and has been photographed in many of the designs. Rihanna also wore it on a cover story of Vogue.”

There’s no end to timelessness, Leoni-Sceti believes. “With Sonia Petroff, it’s about having a piece that will stay in your wardrobe forever, because, as you can see, they don’t really go out of style.”