Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design
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I'm very pleased to announce the launch of our new Summer Glow jewellery collection on our purple label dress jewellery sister site.

The collection is packed with fresh and strong pieces of dress jewellery - just right for this time of year - flattering and eye-catching without taking over and feeling too heavy in the summer heat.

All of our purple label jewellery comes gift-wrapped with your own hand written message at no extra charge - so its perfect for summer birthdays and weddings too. We hand make everything in small runs in Cambridge, so you are supporting a British craft business when you order from us.

I hope you enjoy the collection.

Harriet

I'm watching on a daily basis for the announcement telling us the palladium hallmarking law has gone through parliament, however it seems the MP's are a little bit busy to be passing this law; some problems about expenses and Speakers and stuff apparently? Anyway, we are currently hoping that the use of palladium hallmarking is now on track to be used voluntarily as of August although this not 'set in stone' as of yet.....so watch this space...and the below link for updates....

The Assay Office

The latest news is that the compulsory marking is still due January 2010.

I'll keep you posted.......

Tracy

Whereas Mother's Day has been officially recognised since 1914, Father's Day has only been a tradition since 1924, after President Calvin Coolidge publicly became the first president to support the concept, and declared it a national event. This year is the 85th Anniversary since Father's Day was first founded, so why not buy something extra special for your Dad to celebrate this happy occasion.

In our Purple Label Jewellery collection, we have a wide range of beautifully handcrafted cufflinks that would be cherished for the years to come, and are suitable for every man. Is your father a bit of a DIY enthusiast, but also careful about his appearance? If so, why not have a look at our Sterling Silver nut and bolt cufflinks. These charming cufflinks have an element of fun to them, with one in the shape of a nut and the other in the shape of a bolt - a perfect gift for someone with a sense of humour and a stylish fashion sense!

If your father's job requires him to dress quite soberly, we have cufflinks to suit - in the collection are several pairs of plain and unadorned cufflinks in varying shapes and metals, which contrast nicely with dark work suits. Or, to jazz up an outfit, why not think about our engraved cufflinks - simple, elegant, but guaranteed to add a bit of interest to a plain white shirt!

And finally, we have some cufflinks which are not just metal, but with gemstones as well! Hematite, blue lace agate, mother of pearl – the range of choices mean that, whatever your father's preference, you're sure to find something that he'll love!

Fun Father's Day Facts:

• An American lady named Sonora Dodd started the tradition of Father's Day, as a way of honouring her father, a widow who had brought up her and her siblings single-handedly.
• Although in many countries, such as England, Japan and Canada, Father's day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June, in other countries, it is celebrated on different days - for example, in Sweden and Norway, Father's Day is on the second Sunday in November, and in Brazil, it's on the second Sunday in August.
• Although President Calvin Coolidge was the first president to officially declare Father's Day a national event in 1924, it was President Lyndon Johnson who signed a presidential proclamation designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.

Vicki

One of my favourite rings that we have made recently is this one:

It's completely mad but there's something about it that works really well, and Ryan's craftsmanship is absolutely stunning. I love the fact that each stone is a different colour and shape, and that each one is unusual in its own right - for example, you don't see pentagonal stones very often and this one is even more exciting because of the fact that it is a yellow tourmaline when you normally see green or pink!!

Duncan was brave enough to commission this as a surprise having shown sketches to his sister and future mother in law, who both agreed that it would suit Rachael down to the ground. She loves it too and sent us a heartfelt card saying so:

'The design is stunning and so many people have said how well it suits my personality. You did a brilliant job working with Duncan and have produced such a special ring for us.'

Alice Rochester

I have just spent a few very relaxing, peaceful days in North Devon, where I was able to soak in the beauty of our coastline. The weather was perfect. Turquoise seas flowing into the coves with fluffy white crests enhancing the waves and the warmth of the sun shining yellow in the sky, telling me that summer was well and truly upon us.

My thoughts on returning were how to keep those holiday memories in our minds and I was immediately inspired by the jewellery in our collections. They looked so summery and bright, with the blues of the ocean and the greens and yellows of summer. Why not be inspired too by our stunning Turquoise/Aqua and Yellow collections that can be found on our Purple Label Jewellery website - and treat yourselves to visions of summer days.

My particular favourites are these:

Happy holidays,

Deborah

With the credit crunch in full swing and the majority of us feeling the pinch, indulging in a little bit of retail therapy should be the last thing on our minds.

After all, what is the point in spending much-needed cash on high fashion that can only be worn a handful of times and will be out of date within a matter of months?

However, it seems we are still getting our feel-good shopping fix - but by-passing the clothing racks and deciding to start spoiling ourselves with investment jewellery pieces.

Customers are much more conscious now about design, quality and how their pieces are made after all you'll be wearing it for a lifetime so why not buy something handmade by a craftsman and designed especially for you?

Rather than buying jewellery on a whim, there is definitely more thought being put into the purchases. Customers are thinking, quality and craftsmanship, rather than 'off the shelf', and 'mass produced'.

So 'on trend' for many of our customers is to be rummaging around in the drawers for heirlooms that are not being worn, reusing stones from engagement rings that are not your style.

Or even reusing old gold into a new piece of jewellery for sentimental value.

This year I am going to avoid the sales, bypass top shop, ditch the mass produced jewellery and treat myself to a diamond pendant:

and some matching diamond earrings:

Knowing that they will last me a lifetime, and that is what investing is all about.

Kate

Here we are in the middle of May, wedding season upon us and I suddenly thought that we have given you so many ideas for jewellery for the brides, the bridesmaids and the mothers, but what about the boys? Not only do we have some brilliant gifts for men, but you can alter them with your own flare of imagination to create something that is unique and sentimental for your special day to remember always.

Our selection of ready to wear cufflinks are great presents for that special guy in your life and there are so many different types for you to choose from that he will be spoilt for choice. Here are some of my favourite designs which I think are perfect to finish off that dapper suit.

Another good thing about thing about these cufflinks is that you can have them engraved with your own bespoke design. I think that this is such a lovely idea as you can add a personal touch to them to give him something to keep forever. But, if you are feeling adventurous you could always design some from scratch. We recently commissioned some cufflinks for a lady who wanted to surprise her husband for their first anniversary, so she designed these brilliant little adornments.

They were brilliantly crafted by our meticulous goldsmith Chung Shan, whose delicate hands made the details of these pieces stand out to give them their own special character. The options are endless when it comes to tailor made jewellery, not to mention the types of jewellery too. You could set us a challenge and come up with some new great designs for your loved one.

Leanne

Its wedding season and we are really feeling it here in the showroom! We have a constant stream of brides to be's searching for jewellery for their bridesmaids and they are trying to find all sorts of pendants, earrings and bracelets which will go perfectly with their dresses. Thankfully, we are here to ease this stress!! The brides all end up leaving us here at Halls Green full of the joys of spring knowing that they have one less job to do as they have found what they wanted all along at Harriet Kelsall!

Recently, I have noticed that brides have been choosing pieces of jewellery which are of claret, aqua, teal and lilac colours for their bridesmaids (and sometimes for themselves as extra treats!). If you are looking for something similar, I have chosen a couple of my favourite pieces which you might like:

Here are some ideas if you are aqua or teal colours

Lilac and raspberry colours

Claret – deep red

That fabulous blue diamond I spoke about in my last blog has just sold - for a whopping £6.2 million!! There's more about the stone on this BBC news page, along with a couple of videos showing off the sparkly thing itself. We think that such a stunning stone really deserves a more interesting design for the ring it's in, but I don't think any of us would complain if we were given it!!

Alice

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8047042.stm

I have a real 'thing' about coloured diamonds, so I was really excited to hear that Sotheby's are currently showing off a stunning diamond that will be going on sale next month - an exceptionally rare, flawless 7.03ct fancy vivid blue. You can read more about the stone in this Times article.

If you’re interested in having something similar for yourself (my Mum always wanted a blue diamond since that stunning collection that was exhibited at the Millennium Dome) do remember that heat treated blue diamonds are also available; you get that fabulous colour and sparkle, but because the stones have been heat treated they're rather more affordable! We have made a few engagement rings with blue diamonds, more recently using them as small side stones to add a little splash of colour like in these rings:

They come in lots of other colours too!

Alternatively, if you want to just see more coloured diamonds then do remember The Vault at the Natural History Museum if you're ever in London. It's a permanent and free exhibition of every colour of diamond under the sun! You can read Hattie's original blog on The Vault.

Hurrah for bright sparkly things!

Alice