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Alison Murray
30th March 2008 11:50

Cambridge new look unveiled!

 

We are very excited to reveal our new look shop! The refit has been hard work but all has gone according to plan and we are really looking forward to seeing how people like it in Cambridge today! Our handmade jewellery is displayed amongst beautiful graphics of our workshop, goldsmiths and designers, presenting a strong sense of the skill and care that goes into the creation of each piece. Nowhere else will you see such a unique combination of traditional and contemporary craftsmanship and design in such a stunning high street setting! If you are anywhere near Cambridge, please do go in and see for yourself!

Alison Murray
 
Harriet Kelsall
19th March 2008 11:13

Rising Gold Prices

 

Gold barA lot of our customers have asked us about the high price of gold at the moment. What happens is that when the world economy is uncertain, people like to invest in precious metal (particularly gold) because it is considered to be a 'safe' place to store your money as the value doesn't tend to go down. So with the current economic uncertainty, the price of gold has rocketed upwards.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/36 81938.stm - here is an interesting bbc article from today's news.

So what does this mean? It is a bad time to buy gold because the price is high? The short answer is no - it could even be a good time to buy gold before the price goes even higher and also this whole pattern of economic activity just proves that gold can be a good investment.

See you soon

Harriet

Harriet Kelsall
 
Deborah Souza
8th March 2008 13:32

Pearls

 

I’ve been researching pearls recently and have found some really interesting facts.

Almost definitely the world’s first gem, and the birthstone of June, pearls are created by molluscs (shellfish) and made up of Calcium carbonate, conchiolin and water.

NATURAL PEARLS

Natural Saltwater pearls – found mainly in oysters

Natural Freshwater pearls – found mainly in mussels

A foreign material, a sharp object or parasite for example, enters the shell and cannot be expelled. To reduce irritation the mollusc covers the intruder with nacre, the same secretion it uses for building its shell. Around the 19th Century a natural pearl diver would plunge to the bottom of the sea holding on to a rope ties to a rock. The diver would then feel for and collect as many oysters as possible. After about 1 minute, he would tug on the rope to be pulled back up. During this time his ears would pop, his sinuses would ache and he also feared shark attack. He would then rest for several minutes before diving again. There would be about 40 dives a day, sometimes coming back up empty handed.

On the surface workers opened the shells, at times going through hundreds to find a single quality pearl.

The darker pearls were placed on rugs on the beaches to sun bleach them. Some would be peeled to remove blemishes.

There is not a great deal of natural pearl collecting in the world today.

CULTURED PEARLS

Cultured Saltwater pearls

Inside onshore labs baby oysters are hatched in glass tanks. When the oysters are large enough to live outside, they are transferred to baskets under rafts in a bay. They are at their healthiest in their 3rd year, which is when they are nucleated, into the reproductive organ of the oyster with a shell bead and mantle tissue (from a freshly sacrificed oyster). It is the small live piece of mantle tissue, which induces the oyster to produce a protective pearl sack, and then coat the nucleus with nacre.

Culturing time has reduced more and more to cut costs and accelerate income. The shorter the culture times the thinner the coating and layers of nacre. These pearls are made up of mainly round shell nuclei so with just a thin nacre coating the round shape remains.

Cultured Freshwater pearls

Most cultured freshwater pearls are made up of nacre. Unlike an oyster’s (saltwater) mantle tissue, the mantle in a freshwater mussel is large and thick and covers the inside of both shells. Small live pieces of mantle tissue (from another mussel) can be inserted into small slits in the mantle tissue. This is enough to start nacre production. The placement and shape of the inserted tissue can determine the shape and quality of the finished pearl.

The natural colours of freshwater pearls can range from white to tan to grey, including silver, cream, champagne, green and blue. The colours depend mainly on the species that is used in production.

Most pearls have been bleached or dyed to improve their colour

There are 3 main ways of treating a pearl:

Dyeing The use of silver nitrate to change the colour of the nacre of the pearl.

Irradiation - The use of gamma rays to darken the nucleus of the pearl.

Lustre treatments - Typically a coating treatment placed on the surface of the pearl to artificially enhance the lustre.

Pearls are polished by tumbling in pumice or something similar.

CARE

Pearls should be cleaned using a soft brush (like a make-up brush used for powder or blush), and a mild detergent, followed by a thorough rinse in clear water. If the pearls are strung, laying them flat to dry will prevent stretching the cord.

Pearls are a lot less durable than many other gems, sensitive to acids, dryness, heat and humidity.

Deborah Souza
 
Harriet Kelsall
6th March 2008 13:10

UK Hallmarking

 

Hi there

http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/current_hallmark_symbols.html

I was chatting with one of my colleagues earlier to show her how we hallmark here in the UK so that she can understand the different elements of the hallmark, and found these charts at the link above which you might find useful if you ever want to know what the numbers should be in the hallmark and what it all means! There is also on this same site some interesting background and history to hallmarking. Its really facinating reading. The UK hallmarking system is something to be proud of. It is, for the customer, a guarantee of the purity of the metal by a government run assay office - and I can't think of any other country that has a system like this. Actually most countries just have the jeweller stamping it themselves which is not a real guarantee at all.

Harriet Kelsall
 

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  • Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, North Barn, Fairclough Hall Farm, Halls Green, Weston, Hertfordshire, SG4 7DP, England
    Phone: +44 (0)1462 790565 Fax: +44 (0)1462 790140 enquiries@hkjewellery.co.uk
  • Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, 6/7 Green Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3JU, England.
    Phone: +44 (0)1223 461333 Fax: +44 (0)1223 365269 cambridge@hkjewellery.co.uk

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