One of the key elements of punk is a do-it-yourself mentality—if something doesn’t exist, you create it. That includes music, fashion, and in the case of Alexander Jane, fine jewelry.
Punk rock is rooted in rebellion, eschewing what is comfortable or conformist with honesty and, if required, conflict. Jane says he seeks to imbue his jewelry collections like Spiked, Eclipse, and Broken with that same purity, simplicity, and energy.
His fine jewelry brand, Xander Jane, does all of its manufacturing in-house at his Canadian atelier so he could marry design and production, Jane says. That decision has made all the difference.
“For us, it comes down to execution,” Jane says. “We hold our craftsmanship to the highest standard from start to finish. Our philosophy is that when there is no noise in a design, there is nowhere to hide. The execution has to be exact.”
Jane grew up on Vancouver Island in Canada, a country and culture known for its multiculturalism, nonconfrontational manners, and inclusivity. Jane says his strongest jewelry memories come from his teenage years when he became deeply immersed in the 1990s punk scene. Punk pushed boundaries, and its fashion was intoxicating, Jane says.
Showing up at his high school with a leather jacket alone would be noticed—but the numbers of eyes on you grows exponentially when people learn you were the one who added embellishments.
But those studs were more than a sign of his beliefs; they also spoke to what he could do. Maybe the signs that he would be a future designer weren’t there—yet. But Jane knew one thing for sure: High school wasn’t for him.
He took those early lessons in fashion and accessorizing and brought them to the next logical place—a shipyard.
Wait. What?
“I attended a few different high schools due to some attendance disputes. They wanted me to go, and I didn’t want to go. Ultimately, I didn’t meet the requirements to graduate,” Jane says. “My first real job was working at a dry dock at a shipyard, and I learned that it doesn’t matter how much you get paid; if a job sucks, it sucks.”
So, umm…what about higher education?
“Generally, college has a certain set of prerequisites, one being that elusive high school diploma,” Jane says.
In 2015, Jane opened his own designer resale boutique, Modaselle. This was the opportunity that pointed Jane toward design. He got to dive into designer jewelry, examine top-tier pieces, and learn exactly what exceptional quality and craftsmanship look like.
He started Xander Jane in 2019, a brand that reflects his now established yet still rebellious aesthetic. He started with just design, contracting out the manufacturing. He found that knowing what quality looks like is different than building it from scratch.
“The initial pieces weren’t turning out exactly as I envisioned. In the end, we had to bring all manufacturing in-house so we could marry design and production,” Jane says.
Today, Xander Jane channels those early lessons—how to grapple with real life, falling in love, heartbreak—into his jewelry. Jane works in downtown Vancouver, where he is not just the creative director but also the principal designer and engineer behind all the pieces.
He’s still punk…but with polish.
“When we started, we thought we were just going to make spiked rings,” Jane says. “Throughout the process of perfecting those designs, we realized there was an opportunity to use our precision manufacturing to expand from a single focus to other moments in a person’s life.”
Top: Alexander Jane of Xander Jane says punk influenced his life and then his fine jewelry. (Photos courtesy of Xander Jane)
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