A London-designed British brand of watches and jewellery, founded in 2011 by Jemma Fennings and Lesa Bennett, now part of the Movado Group.
Olivia Burton is a British brand of fashion watches and, since 2017, jewellery. Its watches are known for hand-illustrated dials with flowers, bees and other nature motifs, and for seasonal colours, so many customers buy them as collectable accessories or gifts. The brand describes itself as proudly British and "just a little eccentric". Designs draw on catwalk trends, vintage heirlooms from a London antique fair and English meadows, and the company says every design is born from curiosity, creativity and a love of detail.
The company was started by two friends, Jemma Fennings and Lesa Bennett, who met on their first day at the London College of Fashion and both worked as fashion buyers. They left their jobs in 2011 to create a new feminine watch brand, and the first collection came out in September 2012. The name honours Ms Bennett's great aunt. The brand started by selling online and through retailers across the UK and grew quickly. The sources do not give a mission statement, so we have not made one up. What they do show is the founders' aim to offer something a little surprising for everyday wear, special occasions or gifts.
Olivia Burton is London-based. Its design studio is in East London, and the sale announcement in 2017 said the founders would keep running the brand from its London office with the current team. In that sale the brand became part of Movado Group, an American watch company, and it is still sold under its own name in the UK. We do not have a current address, so check the brand's website for where its team works today.
On people and culture, the company's story page says Ms Fennings and Ms Bennett lead the brand and work closely with a small team on each design. At the time of the sale, Ms Bennett said the team and employees would stay on so that the change would be smooth for customers and partners, and Movado's chairman praised the founders' work building the brand. We did not find anything on working practices, sustainability or community work, so those are gaps.
A brand like this employs designers and product developers who turn ideas into watches and jewellery, buyers and merchandisers who work with shops, e-commerce and digital teams, marketing, social media and PR staff, and customer service and finance people. Many fashion accessory businesses are small, so a student can learn how an idea goes from sketch to a shop shelf. Anyone interested in design, retail or marketing will find the story of two buyers who started their own brand a useful one. The brand's website is the place to see current openings.
Website: www.oliviaburton.com
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