Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design
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The birthstone for September is Sapphire, so I thought I would tell you a little more about this stunning new purple sapphire engagement ring that is currently in our Cambridge ready to wear collection.

The stunning natural purple sapphire measures 5.8x4mm and weighs 0.68cts, the colour of this beautiful stone is so vibrant and deep. The oval facetted sapphire has been claw set, which lets plenty of light get all around the stone. The claw settings have been given a gentle V shaping to reflect the negative space created by the split detail that meet either side of the setting.

The setting and the band is made out of palladium which has a D shape profile that measures approximately 3mm at the back and sides which then splits in two at the shoulders either side of the stone. To add a touch of extra sparkle three brilliant cut H SI diamonds have been set into each shoulder. This split detail coupled with the pave set diamonds adds an extra feminine and delicate look to the engagement ring. The ring has then been given a polished finish to give it a high shine.

Why not take a look at our galleries pages to see the rest of our ready to wear rings, or even better pop in to see us to take a closer look.

The traditional engagement ring tends to be the classic brilliant cut solitaire which will always be timeless and of course beautiful!

Here at Harriet's we all love sparkle and something a little different! I personally love jewellery that makes a dramatic statement and is a completely unique design. In our ready to wear collections in both our Hertfordshire and Cambridge showrooms we have some fantastic rings that are great for inspiration for your own designs.

This palladium engagement ring here in our Hertfordshire studio is a stunning design by Harriet, the colours of the blue and pale lilac gemstones complement each other perfectly with the diamonds adding sparkle and the round facetted cuts contrast well with the cabochon smooth domes.

The unusual cabochon marquise cut topaz is set in an all around setting and sits on top of a 18ct yellow gold satinised band that creates quite a striking design which is perfect for someone who isn't keen on sparkle and diamonds.

These two fantastic sterling silver rings hold a ruby and sapphire matrix in a bezel setting. They are both fascinating stones and could be worn as an engagement ring or a dress ring.

A lot of our customers comment on our unique designs and love how they can take elements of past commissions or from our ready to wear collection which they like to create their own design especially for them.

When you are looking for an engagement ring, or a wedding or eternity ring or just a dress ring, sometimes it can be a little tricky to find out your correct finger size! You want it to fit perfectly and feel comfortable because it is going to be something that you wear a lot! So I wanted to talk about one great services we offer here at Harriet Kelsall, and this is to send out a ring sizer to your own home, and these come in a narrow size and also a wide size. The narrow size is for bands that are a little thinner, usually about 3mm or less and the wide sizer is for bands over this size, and sometimes we use both sizes and one of our designers can then work out what the perfect fit would be!

What is the service - well, for £40 we will send you a proper metal Wheatsheaf ring sizer set that you can use in the comfort of your own home and the good bit is that assuming you go ahead with your purchase we will subtract this £40 from the cost of your bespoke ring. If you decide that you are not going to go ahead with your purchase, we will return £35 onto your credit card and leave a £5 administration and postage charge.

We do ask that the ring sizer set must be returned to us within 2 weeks of receipt and in the condition it was sent out to you, and it is recommended that they are sent back to us by recorded postage. These are such a good idea, and this service has been really successful in the past - as it provides you with a really accurate measurement and this might save resizing your ring in the future.

We also have a UK to US ring size conversion chart and this is so useful if you need to convert your size, and these include UK, US and EU size comparisons - they are accurate to within approximately 1/4 of a finger size.

If you would like to find out what your finger size is, just let us know that you require a ring sizer set and we can arrange to send one out to you - and we can advise which would be most appropriate for you! You can contact us on 01462 790565 or you can email me at enquiries@hkjewellery.co.uk.

Mel x

A few weeks ago in August you may have observed the Perseids, one of the best meteor showers producing up to 60 meteors per hour, the meteors are called the Perseids because they appear to fly out of the constellation Perseus.

The best viewing started from 11pm onwards so I braced the cold and went out to see if I could see anything shooting about in the sky, and to satisfy the little star gazer in me luckily I did! The sky was nice and clear, setting the stage for a spectacular show for the very bright meteors whizzing overhead.

Here at HK we have had many commissions in the past inspired by the night's sky and astronomy. In fact Antoinette has just had a telephone appointment with a customer about this exact subject.

This palladium engagement ring is currently in our ready to wear collection and is inspired by the nights sky containing a grey star sapphire and diamonds. This unusual stone resembles a cloudy nights sky with a four pointed star that moves across the stone where the light hits it as the wearer moves.

Why not take a look through our galleries for inspiration, or feel free to call us to discuss your ideas further.

The plans for our Cambridge Jewellery Shop refit are progressing well. Callum Lumsden has come back with some fabulous first ideas including are rather good chandelier idea to go above each appointment area where design work in progress can be displayed.

Watch this space for more updates on the shop design project!

Tim

The day you propose is such a memorable day - you will be asked about for years! If you have not yet decided upon a ring, or would like your partner to be involved in the choice of engagement ring, then why not chose a special piece of jewellery to remember the event? Why not propose with a pendant? Here's a lovely story about one of our customers.

Kevin had planned to propose whilst on holiday with his girlfriend and wanted to have something special to give as a gift but not an engagement ring as he wanted his girlfriend to be part of the design process for the engagement ring.

Kevin wanted something that his partner, Rupa, could wear every day, if she so wished. After discussing various design ideas we came up with the idea of making this lovely 9ct white gold ruby pendant.

The simple circle represents unity, wholeness and infinity, and the two rubies represent their birth stones.

Simply beautiful!

We know, however, that some of you like to have a plan for the ring ready for the day you propose and if that is your style, then of course we do offer our 'Proposal in a Box' idea, which is a great way to prepare.

I've been looking into all things ethical for Harriet (and for my own interest) and thought other people might also like to find out a little more about who's who in the ethical jewellery community and what some of the acronyms which people might use mean. I'll split my research so far across several blogs (as it's rather long!) starting, of course, with 'A'.

ARM

Alliance for Responsible Mining is 'a pioneering global initiative created as an international and multi-institutional organisation to ensure credibility, transparency and legitimacy in the development of a responsible production framework applicable to artisanal and small-scale mining'. They developed the original Standard Zero standards upon which ARM and FLO later developed the Fairtrade and Fairmined Standards for Gold from Artisanal and Small Scale Mining, including associated precious metals. Through site based and product certification and corresponding market incentives, ARM supports small-scale and artisanal mining organisations and communities to meet criteria for responsible social, labour, environmental, and trading practices, and does advocacy work with governments for improved rights for ASM. ARM is committed to social justice and environmental responsibility as the values driving the transformation of ASM.

ARM's vision is for ASM to become a formalised, organised and profitable activity that uses efficient technologies, and is socially and environmentally responsible, that increasingly develops within a framework of good governance, legality, participation and respect for diversity, it increases its contribution to the generation of decent work, local development, poverty reduction and social peace in our nations, driven by a growing consumer demand for sustainable minerals and ethical jewellery.

ASM

Artisanal and small-scale miners - miners who work on a small scale, generally without any mechanical help, which means that their work is less environmentally invasive than large scale mining. All Fairtrade gold will be mined by ASMs.

Australian diamonds

Diamonds mined in Australia which are considered ethical because working conditions are controlled and regulated. As a company we don't use these as we feel that we should support the people in developing countries whose governments really do depend on the income from the mining to pay for healthcare, education etc and who really do need the work. The diamonds tend to be laser inscribed on the girdle so you can look up your individual stone on a database, which does appeal to some customers.

BJA

We're members of the British Jewellery Association - the national trade association which promotes and protects the growth and prosperity of UK jewellery and silverware suppliers (originally set up to support goldsmiths and makers but they have now become more retail orientated). Members of the British Jewellery Association have got to have a policy of only using conflict free diamonds, in fact the BJA have been very influential in the introduction of the Kimberly Process in this country. The BJA are members or the RJC. Their magazine is Retail Jeweller.

Blood Diamond (film)

The Leonardo di Caprio film made in 2006 which brought the problem of conflict diamonds to global public attention. It shows the plight of people in Sierra Leone caught up in the conflict between the government and rebel forces, and how diamonds have been used to fund the violence. The end of the film shows the meeting which was the start of the Kimberley Process.

Blood diamonds (gems)

Conflict diamonds, also referred to as blood diamonds, are diamonds that originate from areas in Africa such as Sierra Leone and Angola which are controlled by forces or factions, or corrupt governments responsible for fuelling conflict and wars. Small scale diamond mining was exploited and these diamonds were often used to fund military action by the forces, action that has resulted in the loss of an estimated 3.7 million lives in Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Whilst many of these conflicts have now been somewhat resolved, the problem of conflict diamonds still exists and always will. The Kimberley Process has also gone a long way to preventing conflict diamonds from getting into the legitimate supply chain, but as a company we feel that we have a continuing duty to the millions who have suffered to make sure these diamonds do not infiltrate the diamond industry. For our own peace of mind we ask customers who are using diamonds bought elsewhere to provide evidence that their diamond is conflict free or sign to say that their diamond is from an old piece of jewellery and they therefore cannot tell its history.

You may have read in an earlier blog that Ali, our General Manager, has left to become a foster parent. We were all very sad to see her go and wanted to give her something special that will be a reminder of her time here. Naturally, she has built up quite a collection of jewellery over the last seven years, so, as she loves to read, we decided that a silver bookmark would be a good idea. This was made by Deborah, one of our makers and also our Accounts Manager (she is so versatile) and we then had a beautiful flower engraved on the front and an inscription on the back. Ali was absolutely thrilled with our gift and will be able to enjoy it for many years to come.

That is the beauty of making everything from scratch on the premises. You can basically choose whatever you want and finish with something beautiful that can be treasured.

Hopefully, Ali will think of us all when she gets time to relax with a new novel and a cup of tea.

Katy

Harriet's latest article submitted to the Business Matters Website is now available to view. Its a really good one called 'If Lord Sugar can do it, why can't I' - well worth a read.

Tim

If you're planning to propose with a bespoke engagement ring but are feeling a little overwhelmed by all the design choices, then why not opt for our 'Commission in a Box'.

It's a great way of getting your partner involved in the design of their ring (takes the heat off of you a little!) and it means you have beautifully presented keepsake to give to them at the crucial point of being down on one knee.

We're not the only ones that think it's a good idea; take a look here to see what journalism.co.uk is saying!