Behind the dazzle of the Jenna Clifford jewellery brand is a powerfully intuitive woman with an inner wisdom that draws us in like moths to light.

In the days before my interview with Jenna Clifford at her studio in Morningside, I spent a considerable amount of time worrying about my appearance. I’d considered a new outfit, a hair appointment and even an expensive piece of jewellery. Not spending the money on the ‘Jenna interview outfit’ turned out to be the right decision. Never once did she stray from looking me directly in the eye. She didn’t size up my appearance in any way that I could see or feel.

She was always going to see right through me anyway.

Jenna answered my questions before I asked them. And the questions I did ask, I never got a direct answer for. New questions popped up in my mind and, as quickly, disappeared. Then Jenna would surprise me by answering a question as if I had asked it out aloud.

I’d wanted to ask, ‘Were you born with the name Jenna?’ I’d not planned to ask that question, but I’d wondered that, because of the similar resonance in the name Jenna and the word gem. Was it coincidence, fate or design?

An hour and a half later as I was standing to leave, Jenna looked at me and said, “My mother named me Jane. My mother told me I was a plain Jane.”

Jenna’s describes her upbringing us ‘tough’. Her father could be a determined and ruthless businessman and the same applied to his role as a family man. He imposed a strict sporting regime on Jenna; she was in the pool 4 hours a day – in the early morning hours and again in the evening.

In hindsight, Jenna says, sport was one of her greatest teachers. It gave her self-discipline and determination – qualities that defined her as a businesswoman and entrepreneur. “Pretty much it’s given me the resilience in this business to hang on through tough times and never give up. So sport is good. It’s an absolute essential.”

What sport didn’t give Jenna was a sense of her femininity and beauty. She says as a young athlete she never felt like a woman. Landing a temp position at Estee Lauder at age 17 changed that.

Jenna adored Estee Lauder for what she stood for as a woman, but also because she was, in those days, one of the few women in business. “That was my draw card to try get into cosmetics. I didn’t know then that it primed me for Jenna Clifford today. It entered me into a world of glamour, it taught me how to apply makeup, it taught me the art of conversation, of not being shy, it taught me lots of subliminal talents.”

Jenna takes her whole life experience into who she is as a businesswoman, even the heartbreak she endured when her first marriage ended in divorce. “Pain is your friend. We are taught pain is something you bury. It’s not.”

Jenna wants to share her experiences to help people see their painful experiences in a different way. “I always tell people that when it’s difficult, it’s your opportunity for success.”

I’m quite heady on feminine courage leaving Jenna’s presence. “Who said so?” She points her finger and her eyes bore into mine. This is not a question. It’s a command. And she emphasises every word, each one louder than the next, “Who. Said. So!” Jenna’s telling me to question the rules, just as she always has.

I also leave Jenna’s studio with a gift. During the interview she’d picked up the phone, made a few curt commands and, when I left, the gift was ready and waiting for me.

Inside the gift bag, among sweet-smelling rose petals, I find a jar of golden deliciousness accompanied by a very unusual pewter honey dipper. An elephant hugs the stem of the dipper. They make such a startling combination, the elephant and the honey. For me, it says so much about Jenna. Her acute business sense on one hand and her supernatural spiritual intelligence on the other. And, just like the honey dipper, it changes the rules in the most surprising and wonderful ways.