Gillian Conroy is a New York City–based boutique jeweler specializing in meticulously crafted, heirloom-quality pieces. Gillian started her company after studying goldsmithing and gemology in New York. To further her education, she spent time in India researching gemstones as well as design and fabrication techniques. There she met with masters in the jewelry trade whose skills had been handed down for generations.
Conroy & Wilcox was a successful creative collaboration between Gillian and Danica Wilcox. The two introduced their first jewelry collection in 2006 and ended their venture in 2014.
Since then, Gillian has been expanding her industrial design and metalsmithing processes and taking her jewelry line in new directions under the Gillian Conroy name. She continues to create a line that has become synonymous with elegant, minimalist design. Each original piece is meticulously crafted by hand, a process deriving inspiration from myriad sources, from nature to Old World and contemporary art to urban architecture and beyond.
Gillian’s aesthetic also borrows heavily from her travels around the globe. Her jewelry embraces clean, understated lines, as well as intricate and delicate one-of-a-kind creations. The pieces can stand alone or be styled with others in the collection, and act as talismans of special moments and milestones.
She will continue to put primary emphasis on source, and use materials that are both ethical and sustainable.
Background
Gillian trained in various art disciplines, studying in London and then Turin, Italy, following her university degree in Industrial Design from the National College of Art & Design, Dublin, Ireland.
She later studied gemology and metalsmithing in New York at the Gemological Institute of America and the Fashion Institute of Technology, and she took numerous classes to further perfect her industrial design and jewelry-making skills.
She began a professional career as a graphic designer at Ogilvy & Mather and moved on to become an editor for Rizzoli fashion publications. Gillian then became the New York correspondent for several Condé Nast France publications, including Vogue Paris, Vogue Hommes and Architectural Digest France where she worked for the editors in chief, Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt.
Gillian recently spent a year living in Tokyo, Japan. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband, David, and son, Luke.