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Angela Godden
29th March 2011 16:20

April is the month for a girls best friend - Diamonds!

 

The beautiful, brilliant diamonds are birthstones for the month of April and anniversary stones for 60 and 75 years of marriage. Celebrated as a girl's best friend, diamonds derive their name from the Greek word 'Adamas' which means invincible. These gems are internationally recognized as symbol of love, power, fearlessness and eternity.

Diamonds are popular for all jewellery, from the simplest to the most sophisticated because of their hardness, lustre and fire they can give.

Take a look, we have a new recycled diamond engagement and diamond wedding ring set in our cabinets!

White gold and diamond engagement ring

This pair of rings sits perfectly together. They were inspired by ripples on water and are made from 9ct white gold which has not been rhodium finished, to leave it with its more natural creamy-white colour. This lovely colour contrast perfectly with the bright white colour of the diamonds, further enhancing their sparkle. The central diamond weighs almost a quarter of a carat at 0.24cts and is approximately I/J SI2-Pk1 in colour and clarity. It is a lovely white sparkly stone which has been all around set to reflect the smoothness of the ripples in the band. The central diamond is a good ethical choice becuase it is recycled - it used to be part of a glamorous bar brooch (we have photographs of this brooch in case this is of interest) so will have sparkled its way round some wonderful ballrooms in its time! The band is about 3.75mm wide at its wider points and about 2mm wide at its narrower points and has a lovely rounded feel to the profile both inside and out. The 1.5mm white diamonds are fully brilliant cut and further add to the sparkle - they have been set in little almond shapes to echo the ripple shape of the bands. There are 2 in the engagement ring and 4 in the wedding ring.

Currently the most talked about diamonds are from the late Elizabeth Taylor's collection of amazing jewellery over the years. This includes the infamous Burton-Taylor diamond.

Burton Taylor Diamond

This is a 69.42 carat pear shape, later to be called the Taylor-Burton Diamond. It was cut from a rough stone weighing 240.80 carats found in the Premier Mine in 1966. When Elizabeth Taylor sold the diamond for allegedly $5,000,000 she planned that part of the proceeds was to build a hospital in Botswana.

With such a style Icon to follow, who wouldn't want to own and model such a stone with its own natural fire and when using a recycled stone comes with its own history.

Angela

Angela Godden
 
Harriet Kelsall
24th March 2011 10:43

Sunday Jewellery Studio Opening

 

We are please to announce that we are our two jewellery studios are open on the following Sundays:

  • Sunday 10th April (Hertfordshire studio)
  • Sunday 15th May (Cambridge studio)
  • Sunday 19th June (Hertfordshire studio)
  • Sunday 17th July (Cambridge studio)

Appointments for bespoke rings and jewellery are sure to book up fast so please book well in advance. The showrooms will be open as usual where you can browse our ready to wear jewellery or speak with someone about commissioning something from us.

Harriet

Harriet Kelsall
 
Tim Alban
24th March 2011 10:16

Jewellery Sales Advisor Job

 

We are currently recruiting for a Jewellery Sales Advisor role. The ideal applicant will be passionate about jewellery (a jewellery background is not essential), a hard worker and with good written and communication skills.

If this is you then please apply as this is an exciting opportunity to join our dedicated and passionate team in North Hertfordshire.

Tim

Tim Alban
 
Jessica Debnam
22nd March 2011 16:24

Engagement rings in Cambridge

 

We've recently added these stunning new engagement rings to our ready to wear collection here in Cambridge.

I love this delicate pink sapphire and diamond trilogy engagement ring.

White gold with sapphire and diamond engagement ring

The 18ct white gold 2mm wide band is set with a beautiful oval cut pink 0.66ct sapphire and is flanked by two brilliant cut recycled H SI2 diamonds totalling 0.10cts. The diamonds in this brooch have been recycled from an antique bar brooch and being reused like this makes them a good environmental choice whilst keeping them very affordable too.

I also love the antique look of this engagement ring.

Gold and diamond engagement ring

Again this ring incorporates nine recycled diamonds, originally from a 1950s brooch, that have been pave set into 9ct white gold giving the ring a pretty glittery look. The 9ct yellow gold band is fully rounded but it is still very comfortable to wear.

We now have a designer here Monday - Saturday, so if you would like to design your own bespoke engagement ring or if you would like to take a closer look at any of our ready to wear rings, do come in and see us.

Jessica Debnam
 
Leanne Sheaver
15th March 2011 16:49

Yellow gold Engagement rings

 

Hi there,

I was just having a scan through our cabinets and noticed a lot of our designs are white gold, platinum or palladium, however I'm quite old fashioned and love to wear yellow gold. We have quite a few beautiful yellow gold designs here in our Halls Green studio at the moment.

I still love this engagement ring,

Yellow gold and cognac diamond engagement ring

I love the fact it is 18ct yellow old with a beautiful natural cognac diamond. The chocolate browns and yellows go together so well. The Cognac diamond weighs 0.70 carats and is brilliant cut. The stone is held in a corner setting which can give that almost square look! To finish the design off, six brilliant cut diamonds have been pave set into the shoulders.

Here is another ring that has yellow colours.

Yellow gold and garnet engagement ring

This design is inspired by the colour of flames and is also 18ct yellow gold. In the 18ct white gold all around setting is a 0.79carat oval mandarin garnet. On the shoulders two diamonds and two citrines have been invisibly set.

So if you are like me and like to wear yellow gold take a look at our ready to wear collections, or pop in and we would be more than happy to show you some lovely designs.

Leanne

Leanne Sheaver
 
Tim Alban
10th March 2011 09:11

Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design in the Press

 

I've just been updating the Jewellery Press Cuttings section of our website.

We've had a lot of press recently because of the launch of Licenced Fair Trade Gold and the redesign of our jewellery studio/showroom in Cambridge, so take a look as there's lots of new stuff to see!

Tim

Tim Alban
 
Simon Gibbons
8th March 2011 15:15

Sapphire Engagement Rings

 

The current interest in Kate Middleton's engagement reminds me of when the ring first came to the attention of the public in the 1980s, then of course, it was Prince Charles presenting the engagement ring to Lady Diana Spencer and whilst the media attention today is pretty intense, back then it was absolutely unbelievable entering almost every strand of public life.

Working in a major high street Jewellers at the time, the executive rushed to have similar rings made in order to meet the expected interest and massed produced three versions, one in silver, one in gold and one in gold with real stones, whilst they sold very fast they clearly did not have the quality of a bespoke sapphire engagement or bespoke sapphire dress ring.

Since the ring has been featured in the media, we have seen an increased interest in rings with sapphires and whilst people are clearly inspired by Kate Middleton's ring, today's customers seem to be more discerning and very much want to put their own input into the design of a bespoke engagement ring.

I particularly like the way sapphires and white metals go together, whether it is with palladium, white gold or platinum, the colour tones all seem to compliment sapphires beautifully. The following two rings are previous commissions both with their own wonderfully inspiring stories demonstrating more than words can, how important are a customer's own personal experiences and memorable moments in developing the design of a bespoke sapphire engagement ring.

Platinum and sapphire engagement ring

This ring was inspired by the sea. Rings inspired by the sea or rolling waves I just find so uplifting and a reminder of the powerful forces of nature.

White gold and sapphire engagement ring

Art deco inspired Ceylon sapphire and diamond engagement ring. I have always had an interest in art deco and one of our designers is a keen Hercule Poirot fan and I particularly enjoy the architecture from that period which is cleverly incorporated into the TV series and love how these themes can be incorporated into a bespoke ring.

The two rings above are wonderful examples of how, in consultation with our fantastic designers, you can create your very own bespoke sapphire engagement ring, perhaps inspired by current events, but with your own thoughts and ideas very much incorporated into the design.

Simon Gibbons
 
Angela Godden
4th March 2011 13:52

Aquamarine - the birthstone for March

 

Ever thought about designing a piece of jewellery incorporating your partners, your own or your children's birthstones? It gives it that extra personal touch on top of the wonderful experience of having a piece of jewellery designed and created by such a talented team of people.

Below is one of the rings from our newly refurbished Cambridge showrooms collection and shows how well the birthstone for March can be incorporated into an engagement ring.

This striking palladium three stone ring incorporates a H SV 2 recycled 0.55ct brilliant cut diamond in an end only setting. On the shoulders are two all around set brilliant cut 3.5mm aquamarines, complimenting the bright white sparkle of the central stone. From the side the shoulders are split, creating a subtle step up to the settings, with an overall polished finish.

Palladium diamond and aquamarine three stone engagement ring
Palladium diamond and aquamarine three stone engagement ring

What I love about this ring is the fact it is also designed using a recycled diamond (diamond is the birthstone for April) and with the end only setting means you can admire more of the stone, as you can see in the middle picture. Not only by having a recycled diamond I in your piece of jewellery means you are doing your bit for looking after the environment but also gives it a bit of history and soul before it's even worn! If you would like to know more about recycled diamonds then please take a look at Alice's blog about recycled diamonds for more information.

If on the wedding day you haven't covered the something old and something blue then this ring holds it within the stones - the diamond is recycled and the aquamarines are blue!

Angela Godden
 

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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

Our designs are legally protected by design right and copyright law and cannot be copied.