How Bianca Librandi’s White November is breathing new life into old jewellery
White November founder and creative director Bianca Librandi launched the brand in August 2012 after falling in love with jewellery while studying at RMIT Melbourne.
In the midst of COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, the founder of a Melbourne-based jewellery label decided it was time to put the sparkle back into old gemstones, diamonds and other vintage pieces that had been left to gather cobwebs in jewellery boxes in the corner of the room or at the back of the cupboard by breathing new life into them.
For White November founder and creative director Bianca Librandi, who launched the brand in August 2012 after falling in love with jewellery while studying at RMIT Melbourne, offering to remodel and repurpose old pieces of jewellery in order to create new and more modern pieces during COVID led to an over 450% increase in sales.
Since COVID, Librandi, who has worked at Mimco and as a watch and jewellery specialist for Chanel, has remodelled more than 1000 jewellery pieces for clients and sold over 2000 pieces of jewellery since launching her brand.
White November has more than 36,000 followers on Instagram and has one physical stockist in Victoria, Filly’s Stable in Albert Park, as well as two online stockists in Australia, House of Matilda and The Addition, and one online stockist in the United Kingdom.
Librandi also works with a master jeweller who creates all of her pieces, with the founder now focusing on customer service and the design aspect.
Speaking to SmartCompany, Librandi said people love to have things they connect with when it comes to the treasure troves hidden in their drawers.
“What really made me go in that direction was, just before COVID, my mum had organised a meeting with one of her friends who had heaps of old gold that she wanted to remodel because it was just sitting in a safe at home and she really wanted to wear it,” Librandi told SmartCompany.
“So mum suggested that I help her with that.
“We ended up making five new pieces out of all the old gold and gems that she had. We added some new stones as well.
“But then during COVID I (questioned) how I was going to make money (because) jewellery is such a luxury item and is anyone going to want this service.”
Librandi decided to use the content she had created from the process of doing five remodels for her mum’s friend and the designs they had come up with.
“I put it on Instagram and I did a small little education series called Gem School,” she says.
“(It) just ignited people’s inspiration and people saw that all these precious gems and gold was (just) sitting in their cupboards when they could have something really new and not super expensive or that honoured their past or heirloom pieces.
“It really took off then and I didn’t expect to go in this direction, but I love it. It really utilises all my skills.”
According to White November’s website, customers have the option to sell or recycle the metal for their new piece when it comes to remodelling old jewellery.
With every handcrafted piece of jewellery, the label employs only ethically sourced diamonds and gemstones and utilises metals such as gold, platinum, and silver, prioritising their responsible sourcing.
White November also integrates recycled metals into its creations whenever feasible.
Last year Librandi was also enlisted to create gold rings with coloured gemstones for members of The Wiggles, which she presented to them during their shows in Melbourne in September.
Librandi said that White November’s leadership in remodelling is important because it promotes sustainability within the industry, as well as a personalised and cost-effective service for customers.
“Ethical sourcing is also another part of this where we’re not mining new materials. We’ve got materials that people have in their own closets and it’s also an investment preservation as well,” she says.
“So, instead of getting rid of dated jewellery, we can remodel it and make it new again. I think it’s really important for us to be leading the way in that as well.
“But another way is artistic expression, the way that we express our creativity. We can push the boundaries and show the traditional jewelers how trends have changed and people’s tastes have changed as well.
“I think it’s really important to have a strong brand or reputation and attract customers who see the value in sustainability and like unique designs.”
Librandi added that people now know you don’t have to have a round, one-carat Tiffany’s ring anymore for your engagement ring.
“You can have a blue sapphire, a purple sapphire or a green emerald. There are so many options and people are now being inspired by that,” she says.
“I think that there are so many more ways to express yourself and I think I can also see that in terms of the way that clients are coming in together to design engagement rings.
“I think that people want to be a part of the process and have little sentimental details embedded into the ring to make it unique and special to them.”
As well as expanding White November’s footprint globally, Librandi said she wanted to also run some workshops and classes.
“Education is so important for me and my clients and that’s what I feel like really helps me stand out amongst the crowd,” she says.
“There are so many revolutionary ideas in the AI space as well and how we can work to integrate that into our business.
“I’ve also always wanted to do a men’s line as well. So that’s sort of always been in the works. I’ve got a few men’s pieces, but I think they need to be a little bit stronger, so I’m looking for more ideas in that area.”
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