“Since my teenage years I thought multiple lobe, cartilage, and nostril piercings looked interesting and beautiful when fit with jewellery that was deliberate and snug to the body,” says Maria Tash who set up a piercing studio in New York’s East Village in the early Nineties. The rings and studs available back then were simplistic and unappealing so Tash set about creating her own finely detailed line that coupled hypoallergenic materials with gold and silver beads and invisibly set diamonds.

“I wanted to create pieces that sat low to the skin and could live comfortably in the body for years on end if the wearer desired,” says Tash who is a favourite in the fashion business. Liu Wen and Tina Leung are some of the many clients who swear by her expert service and wondrous choice of single earrings.