Wandering Eye

If William Welstead’s name rings a bell, you probably own apashmina or two. The British designer was largely responsiblefor their popularity in the late ’90s, having discovered theshawls while traveling in Kathmandu and selling them to magazine editors back home in London. “I’m not a fashionperson,” Welstead says. “I’ve just always beeninterested in handmade luxury.” And his creative wanderlusthasn’t waned: In India, he recently unearthed a cache of18th-century cut diamonds, which he crafted into rings, earrings,and pendants, like the flat sliced-diamond one below. The gems are now available at Dover Street Market. “I never know what I am going to find in these remote places. But it’s so exciting whensomethingbeautiful and unusual turns up.”