• Lifestyle
• Fashion
• Obituaries

Taylor Swift, Naomi Watts, Kylie Minogue and Jennifer Lopez all wore her jewellery, but pearls were the best friend of Australian entrepreneur Jan Logan, who died on Saturday morning at the age of 86.

At countless fashion events and fundraisers, Logan was rarely seen without an enviable rope of pearls encircling her delicate neck, and they exemplified the toughness and polish of the modest jeweller who launched her business in 1989 when she was 50 years old.

Jeweller Jan Logan with designer Akira Isogawa in his Marrickville warehouse in 2018.Credit: Jessica Hromas

“My mother poured her heart into everything she created, but it was her family values, kindness, integrity and an uncompromising commitment to quality that truly defined her legacy,” says Logan’s youngest son, Angus Logan, managing director of the business.

“She believed deeply in Australian craftsmanship and in creating pieces that would be treasured for generations. We are proudly continuing to honour and evolve her design vision.”

The first Jan Logan boutique was in the affluent Sydney suburb of Double Bay, with outposts now in Melbourne and Brisbane, but Jan’s fascination with jewellery began in her home town of Narrabri in north-west NSW.

The farmer’s daughter dabbled with gems while raising her three sons and working at the town’s chamber of commerce. The chamber’s president offered her a 20 per cent share in his jewellery business, and soon she was hosting private sales around the state.

“I had a passion for fashion and loved the movies,” Jan told this masthead in 2006. “Then, once I was married, I travelled to exotic and beautiful places to see things I would never have seen living in the country. I lived in my imagination and could easily have become a fashion designer, but my paths led me to jewellery.”

Taylor Swift wearing Jan Logan jewellery and a Rachel Gilbert dress at the Sydney premiere of 17 Again with Zac Efron in 2009.Credit: Getty Images