Hollie Bonneville-Barden collection at De Beers Diamond is poetry in motion

She's already been hailed a "jewellery prodigy" by W magazine, but to meet the head designer of De Beers Diamond Jewellers, Hollie Bonneville Barden, is to realise just how youthful she is. And the manner in which the 27-year-old Welsh wunderkind landed such a lofty role with one of the largest jewellery houses on the planet is a tale in itself.

"First I was approached by a former tutor of mine from Central Saint Martins," she says of the London university whose alumni include Stella McCartney, Bruce Oldfield and John Galliano among others.

"She had been in touch with De Beers, and knowing the brand's requests and requirements, my tutor recommended me, knowing that I possessed the skills and the spirit that De Beers was looking for."

Bonneville Barden was home in Hay-on-Wye, a small market town in Wales, when she got the call from De Beers. She immediately grabbed her portfolio and flew to London. A couple of meetings later, she had the job.

That journey has led to her De Beers Aria collection, a sparkling catalogue filled with rings, cuffs, pendants and bracelets with a running motif of fluidity and motion.

"The whole creation process for this collection took 18 months, with six months dedicated to design. It required absolute focus on the project and constant communication with the workshop craftsmen to ensure a true realisation of the concept from my sketches to reality."