The Gates collection was inspired by a friend of mine who came to watch the sunset daily and have a drink at the restaurant where I once worked.  Everyday without fail when I would walk past he would say “ Votre beaute n’as degal que votre sourire! “  With a big smile and a toast of his glass.

This went on for some time until one day my curiosity got the better of me and I asked him to tell me what exactly it was that he was saying to me everyday.   “To put it simply my dear” he said “ it means you are more beautiful when you smile !” A laugh and a blush later I asked him to write it down for me as I was intrigued and wanted to hang on to his words.

A couple of months later Gates died unexpectedly and a couple of months after that I stumbled upon the piece of paper on which he had written his words.  I looked down at them and smiled and decided that I wanted to do something with his saying to mark what his friendship had meant to me.  The Gates Collection was conceived that day with the creation of the Gates Pearl ring on which his words are inscribed.  To this day I have the original Gates Pearl ring but have made hundreds more as it has turned out to be one of my most popular designs.  I will always remember the man that inspired me to create the collection and made me smile everyday at work with his simple but accurate greeting.