A London-designed jewellery brand, started by Marisa Hordern at her kitchen table, now making layered gold and silver pieces with a studio in Notting Hill and shops in Covent Garden and Marylebone.
Missoma is a British jewellery brand that describes itself as a pioneer of demi-fine jewellery, which sits between costume jewellery and fine jewellery. It sells necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings and gifts, from 18ct gold vermeil on recycled silver to sterling silver and solid gold. Its pieces range from about £19 to £98 on the products shown, with engraved and initial jewellery, birthstone and layering ranges, and collaborations with Lucy Williams, Harris Reed and Savi.
The company says it began in 2007, and founder and creative director Marisa Hordern says she started it because she wanted fashion-forward, high-quality, affordable jewellery and could not find it. Its own words are that jewellery is "a personal and emotional experience" and that its aim is to help people look and feel good in pieces they can layer, stack and wear daily. It also says it grew mostly by word of mouth. On its materials it admits that 100% sustainable jewellery does not exist and says it aims to get as close as it can, using certified recycled 18ct gold vermeil.
Missoma calls itself "a London brand through-and-through", in founder Marisa Hordern's words. It started at a kitchen table in London and grew into a studio in Notting Hill where the team designs each piece. Its first permanent shop opened in November 2023 at 46 Monmouth Street in Covent Garden, with a piercing bar planned for early 2024, and a Marylebone flagship was reported in December 2024. Outside London, the pages we read did not name other shops, so we can only say the brand is London-based.
The company describes its team as passionate creatives who design in house, with ideas sketched and discussed in the studio before being made by hand. It says it has more than 18 years of experience in micron plating, and that each piece takes about a year to go from design to delivery. It runs a blog called The Chain, and it has a careers page. We could not read the Stylist interview with the founder because it is behind a paywall, so we have no first-hand account of day-to-day culture or of the number of staff.
A brand like this needs jewellery designers and product developers, buyers and production planners who manage makers and plating partners, piercers and store advisers, e-commerce and social media teams, photographers and content creators, and finance and customer-service staff. The mix of design, retail and online work makes it a good example of a start-up that grew into a name known by young shoppers across the UK.
Website: www.missoma.com
PURPOSE helps school and university students explore 62 sectors and over 1,000 entry-level careers in the UK, then connects them directly with employers.
Explore PURPOSE