Antique jewellery has usually outlived its first owners, and the fashions it was made for. In Zurich, Harry Hofmann AG has been buying such pieces since 1978, and it also appraises and sells them. Its website had to bring all of this together: appraisals, a clear path for sellers, the collection and knowledge of the epochs.

Gold never looks warmer than against deep green. The site is dressed in olive and moss, with gold as the only accent: a script wordmark, widely spaced serif capitals, hairline rules and outlined buttons. Large serif numerals guide sellers through six steps, while wide image bands stage emerald, sapphire and diamond rings on green, wound with olive satin ribbon. As web designer and photographer at DD COM, I designed the site and photographed the jewellery.