Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design
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I love it when we have new rings come into the showroom; I get so excited about seeing fresh ideas being made into jewellery and our designers are so good at their jobs that they keep making me change my mind about what I would want for a ring in the future. I am still deciding on what that might be but, for now here is my new favourite design in the showroom and it is this 9ct white gold diamond solitaire below.

This ring has a lovely classic feel to it as well as having a contemporary twist combined into the design. The H SI diamond is 4.8mm in a brilliant cut and it is 0.46ct so it is quite delicate in appearance when worn on the hand but, the design makes it stand out perfectly. The stone is held in a six claw setting which allows you to see more of the diamond and the claws also allow more light to shine through the stone as there is less metal covering it up. Both of these design features allow the light to bounce through the diamond more and so it adds to its sparkle that draws more attention to the ring. It is made in 9ct white gold which suits all skin types but, the colour of the metal makes the diamond stand out more as the whiteness of the stone appears brighter against the creaminess of the white gold. I love this colour combination and I think that it would be a perfect choice for an engagement ring for any girl.

We have a lot of rings which are designed in a twist formation which is a great feature to have in this modern world but this ring is a little more subtle in its construction. For me, the twist looks a lot like the crest of a wave as the twist is in an asymmetric arrangement. I love the sea and the shapes that the water forms and this ring always reminds me of this theme. I love the way that the metal gently sweeps up to the stone and then sweeps away in a similar motion towards the back of the ring. It all flows so elegantly and it looks beautiful on the hand as it sits so comfortably and looks so natural between the fingers.

The tapering of the metal towards the stone helps to show off the diamond again as the gold becomes more slender as it flows towards the setting. A wedding band would look gorgeous against this ring too as you could have another shaped band below the engagement ring which would only enhance the asymmetric design. Depending on your style, you could have a wide or a narrow wedding band to match as the engagement ring as it is so graceful in width that it would leave plenty of room for you to add your own character to the wedding ring. Here are a couple of examples of the types of wedding and engagement ring sets that you could go for.

I really like the organic feel to the twist designs, they can be made to any shape and size that you are after and the end result is always the same, a beautifully unique ring for you and you alone. There are so many options to choose from when designing a matching wedding band. You could tailor it to your own style and have all sorts of contrasts to the engagement ring if you wanted to for example you could choose another metal to contrast the colours, you could have a different surface finish or you could always add some engraving or some stones to give the ring its own individual character; or you could go with a lovely matching set like the ones above.

I think that modern adaptations on a classic design are gorgeous as you get the best of both worlds. We have some more wedding and engagement ring sets coming along soon so, why not come down to the showroom and have a look and see which one tickles your fancy?

Sarah

Our Summer Jewellery Collection is now live on our sister site www.purple-label.com

Please do have a browse at all the stunning new pieces - perfect for the summer sunshine!

Did you manage to see the documentary last night about the curse of The Hope Diamond? it was piecing together clues into its true history and curses it is reportedly famous for. I watched it, as it sparked my own interest into curses, myths and of course sparkly things!

The Hope Diamond is a large, 45.52 carats, deep-blue diamond, housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. The Hope Diamond is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure. In 1988 the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) described the colour as 'fancy dark grayish-blue.' However rephrased the description in 1996 to 'fancy deep grayish-blue.' The clarity was determined to be VS1.

The cut was described as being 'cushion antique brilliant with a faceted girdle and extra facets on the pavilion.' The dimensions in terms of length, width, and depth are 25.60mm x 21.78mm x 12.00mm.

One aspect of this famous diamond that most people do not get to see is its fiery red phosphorescence that results from exposure to ultraviolet light, which continues for more than a minute. The mysterious red phosphorescence, rarely seen in other blue diamonds, added to the Hope Diamond's mystique and allure where some saw this as a supernatural force. However, the mystery has now been solved. Scientists observed that almost all natural blue diamond's show phosphorescence that has components of blue and red light. In some cases, including the Hope Diamond, the red colour dominates, and the phosphorescence appears red to the eye; but for other diamonds, the blue colour dominates.

The Hope has been displayed as a loose gem since late summer of 2009.

The stone is to be temporarily reset in a newly designed necklace, created by the Harry Winston firm. Three designs for the new setting, all white diamonds and white metal, were created and the public was allowed to vote on them via the internet. The winning necklace will debut sometime this year! I can't wait to see it!

Over the years we have made a wide range of blue jewellery with treated blue diamonds, sapphires, star sapphires, aquamarines, moonstones, topaz and we currently have a lovely whopper of a blue zircon!

Shown below are a few gorgeous engagement rings from our current collection of jewellery.

These all come with a magical fortune of sparkles on your fingers and no curse in hand.

Angela

If you are not familiar with the summer events here in Halls Green then why not come and visit us for a fun packed day out with family and friends? Harriet Kelsall is inviting all members of the public to come and visit our lovely converted barn for a glorious sunny day out.

Come and meet some experts Goldsmiths who will show you how we make all of our fantastic pieces of jewellery with some creative demonstrations.

Our team of designers will be here too, talking about their designs as well as working in the children's jewellery corner where they will be showing children of all ages how to make jewellery of their own. So, if you know any little ones who would love to make and play with jewellery, then bring them along too as they are more than welcome.

We currently have a raffle in place in our showroom and the prizes are some fabulous pieces of jewellery that Harriet designed herself as well as some gift vouchers for our Purple Label jewellery. All of the proceeds from the raffle will be donated to the NSPCC charity along with any other donations made from the day.

If you have any old jewellery that you would like to redesign then bring it along too as our designers can give you some tips and ideas as to what to do with them to make them more versatile for you to wear more often.

Now if that does not sound like a tease to get you all in the countryside on a Saturday, to make the day that little bit more special there will be lots of Pimms for you all to sample too along with some fruit juices as well for the drivers!

On the same day it also happens to be the 21st birthday of the Letchworth vintage and classic car club and they will be hosting their annual picnic in the next field to us. There will be an amazing display of some fabulous examples of classic vehicles for you all to ogle and walk around for a closer look. If you have a classic of your own by all means bring it with you to the picnic, if you would like to park it in the field along with the other cars then there is a £5 fee which automatically enters you into their raffle. There will also be live music and a bar to keep the entertainment going the whole day long! The picnic starts at 12pm and will finish around 5pm.

Here are some photos from last year of some of the gorgeous cars on show.

So why not start the summer with a day in the countryside where there are lots of activities for the young and younger. Trust me; it is a great day out and worth looking into. Hope to see you all there!

Hi All

I thought I would write about a substance that has been known since prehistoric times, something we in the jewellery trade handle on a daily basis, and craftspeople and consumers probably take a little for granted. What am I talking about - Gold!

As we are so used to seeing, and wearing gold I thought you might like to know a few interesting facts and something of the symbolism and myth associated with it.

Along with copper, gold was the first metal to be discovered by man, around 5000BC, and is referred to as a precious and a noble metal.

Number 79 on the periodic table, it's chemical symbol being Au derives from the Latin aurum, which means 'shining dawn'. Aurora was the Roman goddess of dawn which relates to the warm, yellow colour of gold. Other origins of the word come from Sanskrit Jval; Anglo-Saxon gold; meaning gold.

Gold has an excellent chemical stability, it's impervious nature to most acids and oxidation/tarnishing associated the metal with the sun, as well as purity, power, wisdom, importance and immortality. Resulting in it becoming the most prized metal of all, demonstrated by its world-wide popularity as the chosen metal for wedding rings.

The wedding band itself, a symbol of eternal union through its never ending circle, is supported by the lasting qualities of the metal. There is much folklore in gold's magical properties, a common belief for the cure of throat ailments was to wear a row of gold beads around the neck. To cure eye complaints it was thought that the patient should rub the area with a gold ring, and to strengthen eyesight one should wear a gold earring. Although these particular cures are maybe less well known now, there is still a strong ongoing belief by many in the healing properties of gold jewellery.

Gold's gemstone partner is diamond, the greatest of all stones, also symbolic of the sun's light and purity because of its vibrancy and transparency, its hardness connected with immortality and incoruption, for this reason it was believed to be the embodiment of Christ.

Gold has spiritual connections, not only being one of the three gifts given by the Magi to the newly born baby Jesus, it has been chosen by the church for it's radiant splendour and purity. Also because historically it was considered to be an earthly manifestation of solar spiritual energy in solidified form, therefore was regarded as noble enough to honour the glory of God, and play a religiously important role. God reveals himself through the purity and lustre of gold (and silver - gold's Luna partner), when polished symbolic of God's shining light. For this reason the interior gates inside Cathedrals are made from gold, and are a symbolic reference to the gates of heaven.

When alloyed with other metals gold is measured in Carats (or Karats if in America). A Carat was originally a unit of mass (weight) based on a bean or Carob seed which was used by ancient merchants in the Middle East. Gem stones are still weighed in Carats, the weight of 1 carat equalling 200mg. Gold now uses Carats to measure the purity of the metal - pure gold is 24 carats.

Quick facts:

Isotopes: There are 18 isotopes of gold. Gold-198, with a half-life of 2.7 days, has been used to treat cancer and other illnesses.

Density (g/cc): 19.3

Melting Point (°K): 1337.58

Boiling Point (°K): 3080

Colour: In mass, gold is a yellow-coloured metal, although it may be purple, black, or ruby when finely divided.

Malleability: One ounce of gold can be beaten out to 300ft2

Heat: Gold is a good conductor of electricity and heat.

Versatile uses: Because gold is inert and a good reflector of infrared radiation, a very thin layer of 24ct gold is applied to the visors of astronauts helmets to fend off dangerous effects of solar radiation. To ensure reliable, corrosion-resistant and static-free performance of satellite microelectronics which instantaneously relay data around the globe, gold components are used. Gold is being used more and more in advanced technologies such as optics, telecommunications, aviation as well as space. Even in medicine injectable gold has been proven in modern times to help reduce the pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis.

Hope you enjoyed learning a few things you hopefully didn't know about gold.

Cheerio for now Antoinette!

Hi there

Just wanted to let you know that we are running another great charity raffle for the NSPCC. Tickets are £1 each or 11 for £10 and 100% of your money will go to the NSPCC.

There are loads of great prizes (27 to be exact!) and I think I worked out that the probability of winning based on last year's raffle sales is something like 70% chance that you will win something if you buy £10 worth of tickets! The prizes are on display in the small cabinet near the coffee table in our showroom so please do pop in and get your tickets, even if you can't make it in to join us at our NSPCC jewellery event on 5th June when we will draw the raffle.

Best wishes

Harriet

The birthstone for May is emerald which many people covet for their beautiful green colour. We often recommend tourmaline as a harder wearing alternative because emeralds are so brittle and can be very expensive.

We've recently added some new ready to wear rings to our cabinets in Cambridge and this new green tourmaline and palladium eternity ring that really grabbed my eye.

I love the zingy stripe of green tourmalines that sparkle and reflect other colours as the ring moves with the wearer. The proportions of the metal either side of the stones are really balanced for a crisp, contemporary look. If you love earthy, fresh green coloured stones, tourmalines are a fantastic option. They come in a variety of colours so if you are interested in this stone, we can source you a selection of different tones for you to pick your favourite!

The bright green contrasts really prettily to the stark white of the palladium, but if you prefer a lower key look, green sapphires can often have a smoky, less vibrant colour like this gorgeous ring below, set in the darker 18ct white gold.

This design also uses channel set stones but diamonds this time to add some sparkle into the band. Green sapphires are fascinating stones that come in every colour in the rainbow. My personal favourites are the green examples because I love the simplicity in how the green colour comes about - green sapphires are made up of layers of yellow and blue, so when you look through them you see green - just like mixing primary colours at school!

Other zingy green stones are tsavorites. This double band ring in our dramatic cabinet in Cambridge holds this stunning vibrant green stone. Tsavorite is essentially a green garnet, so you can achieve the beautiful bottle green of an emerald with the durability of garnet. In this engagement ring, the side-only setting is in white gold to make sure the stone really presented and shown off to its full glory while the bright 18ct yellow gold compliments the bright colour of the stone.

If you love green, another alternative for you could be a green diamond. No other stone sparkles like a diamond, so with green, pink, blue, red or cognac diamonds, you get a stunning colour as well as glittering sparkle! This ready to wear ring has two apple green, two forest green and a white diamond channel set into the stylised wishbone shape of the band, drawing your eye down to the point for a striking look.

So if you know someone that either loves green or has a birthday in May, one of these rings might be perfect for them!

I have just sent out a mass of invitations to our open day which prompted me to write a small blog reminding everyone what a great day it will be.

High on the list of things to do and see will be Ryan - one of our goldsmiths, who will be working at his bench all day. Ryan made his first jewellery on work experience and loved it! He has an uncle in the business and did his apprenticeship with him while doing a goldsmithing qualificatin at London Metropolitan University. His fresh face belies his advanced knowledge of making and he has made many of the bespoke engagement rings that we have created over the year. Ryan will be happy to show you exactly what he is doing and answer questions.

We all hope to see you at our event on 5th June - lets hope the weather holds out like it is today.

Tim

The Assay Offices are concerned that the trapezium shape surrounding the 950 mark is not different enough to the platinum mark. Both metals have a purity mark of 950 but the shapes surrounding the marks are different. The platinum mark is rectangular shape on three sides with a little peak on it so is very similar! See below for the shapes. When I first saw this I thought just the same. Both metals have a very similar colour and even though platinum is more dense so you can feel a difference in the weight it could be tricky to decipher between the two when the marks become worn. The palladium mark now has three ovals around the 950 to make this more clear.

It is expected that because the palladium mark with a trapezium shape was only used for just over a year that they may come more valuable and collectable in the future.

Here are some engagement and eternity rings in our ready to wear collection that have the original mark!

Palladium has become increasingly popular as an option for an engagement ring. It has a lovely bright white colour to the metal which lots of people love as it really does set diamonds off very well. It is also not a metal that is plated unlike white gold often is which means it will keep this bright colour (although as all precious metals the shine will wear over time). It is a less expensive alternative to platinum allowing you to spend a little more on the stones!

I am beginning to get used to choosing a gift for my husband on Father's Day as we have an eighteen month old son. Last year he received a pair of Superman slippers! So this year I think he needs to be treated to something a little more special. I am thinking of picking out a pair of cufflinks from our Purple-Label collection. There are some fantastic designs for me to choose from. Then, to make it really special, I can have them engraved with a personal message from son to father. A perfect Father's Day gift for Sunday 20th June 2010.

Last week I wrote about some of Alice's recent commissions that we had used sapphires in, so this week I thought I would write about some of the stunning ready to wear rings in our Cambridge showroom that have sapphires in. We currently have several gorgeous ready to wear rings but I have decided to just talk about a few of my favourites.

I really love the beautiful subtle colour in this 0.59cts brilliant cut lilac sapphire, which has been end only set to let lots of light into the stone. This setting also creates petal shaped windows that adds a very delicate feature. To add a bit of extra sparkle there are two channel set 2mm brilliant cut H SI diamonds set on either shoulder. The band is made out of 9ct white gold, I really think the softer creamier tones of this metal suits the subtle tones in the lilac sapphire, and the softened profile of the band adds to the feminine look of this pretty engagement ring.

This fabulous ring has an unusual 0.67cts brilliant cut blue/green sapphire, which changes colour depending on the light it is seen in. It has been all round set and has a grained detail applied to the edge of the setting, which is very pretty and adds lots of sparkle as well as giving the ring an antique-like look. The scooped detail under the setting, which can be seen when looking side on at the ring, is a really pretty detail but it also lets light into the stone helping it to sparkle. Like in the ring above, the band in this ring is also made out of 9ct white gold, to add the antique-look in this ring there is a grain set 2mm brilliant cut H SI diamond on each shoulder.

This pretty ring has a slightly more modern feel to it compared to the previous two engagement rings but it also holds a fabulous sapphire, in this case a 3.6mm x 3.6mm and 0.34cts natural African green sapphire. I really love the combination of the clean crisp lines of the flat palladium band and the central princess cut stone contrasting with the soft round shapes in the 1.5mm brilliant cut H SI diamonds coupled with the round window detail on the side of the setting, which like in the previous two rings not only looks very pretty but also lets light into the sapphire. I think the bright white colour of the palladium really adds to the geometrical features and adds to the modern look of this engagement ring.

We have so many more stunning sapphire (and other gemstone too!) engagement rings currently in our Cambridge and Hertfordshire ready to wear collections, why not take a look.

As part of our training here at Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, we've been doing some research into the stones we work with and I've been looking specifically at quartz. Quartz is the most abundant material in the Earth's continental crust and is naturally clear in its pure form, just like sapphire as Michelle mentioned in her blog last week. This clear quartz is known as rock crystal and we use this a lot in purple label jewellery because it can be polished, satinised, crackled and facetted so lots of different looks can be achieved with just one stone! Different types of quartz include amethyst and citrine which are both used regularly in commissioned pieces, but I wanted to highlight a stone that is often overlooked in this country: tigers eye.

So far, we haven't commissioned an engagement ring using this fascinating stone which may be because in this country we possibly because can't fully appreciate the luminous effect it has with our general lack of decent quality sunshine! This is another reason why we don't see other stones that are best worn in sunnier climes like alexandrite.

In its natural state, tigers eye is an unexceptional rock with a dull sheen. However when polished and particularly when cut en cabochon with the fibrous structure parallel to the base of the stone, a narrow band of light reflects from ridges, fibres and tubes within the transparent structure of the stone and moves across the surface of the stone when the gem is turned back and forth. This effect is called chatoyancy. This luminous streak is always perpendicular to the direction of the fibrous structure of the stone and is the reason for the stone's name as it resembles the slit of a feline eye.

Tigers eye is a classic example of pseudomorpous replacement by silica of the fibrous mineral crocidolite that forms in elongated crystals. The German mineralogist Ferdinand Wibel proposed that tigers eye forms in the Earth's crust when quartz dissolved in hot water infiltrates the spaces between crocidolite fibres and then slowly replaces these molecules while retaining the structure of the original fibres. The brown colour comes from a chemical reaction that transforms some of the iron in the naturally blue toned croncidolite into brown coloured iron oxide.

Most tigers eye is a yellowy brown colour. Honey coloured stones have been used to imitate the much higher valued cats eye chrysoberyl but very unconvincingly, and red tigers eye is brought about through gentle heat treatment.

Unlike the transparent, glass like quartzes amethyst and citrine, tigers eye has a silky luster, and this silky appearance is further emphasized as the luminous steaks resemble a reel of silk thread. This interesting stone is found all over the world but most notably from the United States, Canada, China, Brazil, Namibia, Australia, India, and Burma. The most important mine for Tiger Eye is in South Africa and the best examples come from Griqualand West.

A lot of people are interested in the meanings behind the stones they choose in their commissions. Tigers eye is the 9th anniversary stone and astrological stone for Capricorn so if you are looking to design an eternity ring for a 9th wedding anniversary, tigers eye could be your stone! Other myths and legends regarding this stone include an association with wealth. Roman soldiers wore tiger's-eye for protection in battle because of its 'all seeing' eye-like appearance. 'Eye' stones are often associated with clairvoyance and personal insight.

If this inspires you to commission a design using this fascinating stone, then just let us know and we can source a selection of stones for you to see! We have several purple label designs using this stone so why not treat yourself to a new piece of summery coloured jewellery. Another thing to keep your eye out for is a selection of pendants and rings using interesting stones like tigers eye that we designers and assistants are making in our making training once a month!.

Jodie.

Hi

We are currently recruiting for a new General Manager. You may have noticed that this is actually my job! I have been working here at Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design for over seven years and am leaving to become a full time foster parent. I joined the company back in 2002 as a Project Manager and there were only half a dozen of us. It was such an exciting time to join the company as Harriet's vision of creating unique bespoke jewellery designed especially for the individual customer was really starting to be recognised as something different and something very special. Over the next few years we grew from strength to strength moving to larger premises and taking on a second studio in Cambridge and increasing our staff numbers to over thirty. I became Production and Design Manager and later General Manager. The thing that makes the company so special for me, and for our many customers, is that throughout this growth, we have retained the personalised one to one customer service on which we built our reputation. Each customer is still as important as they ever were. They are as individual and unique to us as the rings and jewellery are that we design for them. We have met so many amazing people who have such wonderful stories to tell, like the wonderful man who wanted a ring to represent Ayres Rock and took his fiance there to propose.

I am very sad to be leaving such an amazing company in a few months time, but look forward to watching it continue to grow. Once again the company is at an exciting stage in its development and is looking for just the right person to help take it forward. If you think that you might be that person and want to work for an inspirational company with amazing staff, please forward your CV with a covering letter to me.

Hi All,

If you remember rightly in my blog not so long ago I shared with you all one of my most memorable commission so far. This gorgeous ruby and diamond wedding anniversary gift. Rubies have such a significance with all pieces of jewellery to date and have been used for many years and are still one of the most popular stones around. So I thought it would be nice to share little bit of background information with you about this true beauty.

This wonderful gemstone is a fantastic choice to include in any piece of jewellery. Aswell as the richness of its colour it also has a hardness of 9 making it one of the hardest coloured gemstones alongside sapphire, which comes in just one below diamond on the MOH's scale - making it a perfect choice for an engagement ring. The ruby is in the corundum group, which sapphire also falls under, and is referred to the 'red corundum'. This red corundum can be found in a huge variety of shades ranging from the rich deep red shown in the above image to the more pink/purple to the more brownish reds. These colours will all depend on the amount of Chromium and iron content evident within the stone.

A few examples of the ranging tones rubies can be found are below, examples of previous commission using this stone.

You will find that when rubies are mined in large specimens they are expected to be a particularly deep rich red in colour. The more pinky tones from the corundum family are known as a pink sapphire. The corundum family have a long history of heat enhanced stones which is done under a high temperature and a controlled cooling process. The benefit to this particular treatment is that they can help clarify and improve the stone and striations within the ruby. This process will not decrease the value of the stone by a great amount. This is why natural rubies are extremely rare and valuable.

The value of rubies are dictated by many things, for example the size, colour, clarity and particular cut can increase or decrease the value quite considerably. The large, finer and deeper rubies are more rare therefore tend to be the more valuable stones to purchase. Due to their rarity it is said that rubies in such a large size can be a lot more valuable than a comparable size of a diamond.

All rubies will be mined and cut with natural imperfections within the stone, which can include a colour striation or small inclusions of rutile needles known as silk. These imperfections will be what defines a ruby as a naturally mined gemstone, if there are no traces of this within the stone then we can presume that most of the time this gemstone will have gone through a form of heat treatment where the temperatures reach approximately 3000 degrees during this process. Rubies can occasionally show asterism when they proceed through the cutting process and the stone is cut into a cabochon, this is often referred to as a star ruby. The value of these particular stones can sometimes be more valuable than normal rubies due to the asterism found within the stones being very rare.

The majority of rubies are mined in countries such as Africa, Asia, Australia, and Greenland. Although, rubies are can be found in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Madagascar, Thailand, and have also been mined in parts of America. Some of the finest rubies that have been mined to date have been found in the Mogok Valley. In some of these areas there are sometimes small traces of Spinel that are evident when rubies are mined, this similar geographical formations can be mistaken for these very valuable rubies, however these fine red spinels are said to approach the average ruby in value.

The world largest ruby is the Rajaratna Ruby, which weighs 2,475cts (495g) because Rajaranta shows asterism; it is also the largest star ruby. The world’s biggest double-star ruby (with a 12 pointed star) is the Neelanjaliu Ruby, weighing 1,370 cts (274g).

I hope you have found this of interest and I look forward to sharing some other beautiful discoveries soon,

Best wishes Kerrie-Ann

This palladium ring holds a stunning cabochon cut 3.46ct oval grey star sapphire which measures 7.94 x 7.15mm. This unusual stone resembles the night's sky.

Star sapphires are cabochon cut to allow the 6 pointed star to be created within the sapphire, which happens because of the way a single point of light reflects from the internal structure of the stone.

The angle of light entering the stone bounces off the needles and accentuates the appearance of the star. Star sapphires come in a wide variety of colours; the one we can see here is a beautiful greyish blue with velvet like softness.

The sapphire is set in an all around setting at a slight diagonal angle across the finger.

In the twisting, tapering band there are three invisibly set 1.5mm brilliant cut H SI diamonds which compliment the sparkle of the star in the sapphire.

The palladium band is 3mm wide at the sides and has a flat profile for a contemporary look. It has a polished finish to further compliment the sparkle of the stones.

It has been lovely to see this ring going through the making process and come out as this absolute stunner! This engagement ring is currently on display in our Halls Green studio so please feel free to come and take a look - we would be delighted to show it to you.

Alice and I had a great meeting with Greg Valerio yesterday. We are hoping to be one of the very first licence holders for Fairtrade gold which is rolling out later on this year.

We can't wait to be able to supply even more Fairtrade gold both for bespoke fair trade engagement rings and more of our ready-to-wear rings too. At the moment, as you know, we have pre-certificated fairly traded gold but this will be the icing on the cake.

More info about this soon on this blog!

See you soon,

Harriet

Dear All,

We are pleased to announce the date of our regular Summer charity event - 5th June 2010 from 12pm - 5pm, in aid of the NSPCC.

As last year we will have goldsmiths and jewellery designers on hand to meet people, do demonstations and talk about bespoke jewellery ideas that you may have. Perhaps you have a special piece of jewellery that you aren't wearing and would like redesigned - we can talk this through with you and you are under no obligation to go ahead then and there.

In addition to what we did last year, we are including children's jewellery making. A very successful activity from our Christmas open day, for a donation to charity your children can have lots of fun creating simple necklaces etc, perhaps for upcoming birthday presents.

Don't forget that you can browse our dress jewellery Spring Collection or see some great ideas for Father's Day.

Outside our showroom (in the farm) is a classic car rally timed to coincide with our event. Entry is free to have a look around or £5 if you happen to have a classic car that you'd like to bring along. There's a bar and a band or you could bring a picnic.

So the two events together will form a fantastic day our for the whole family and we look forward to welcoming you with a glass of Pimms in our studio.

For more information visit the jewellery charity event on our website.

Tim

As part of my training I have been researching different types of gemstones and I have recently been learning about the corundum group of stones; sapphire and ruby, which has made me think of a few of Alice's recent commissions that I have been helping her with.

Sapphires come in a variety of colours and shades but corundum is actually colourless, the colouring of sapphires and rubies is due to a small amount of metal oxide impurities found in the corundum.

Many people think of sapphires as only being blue in colour, in fact all corundum that is not red and that is of gem-quality is called a sapphire. From the middle ages up until the end of the 19th century the name sapphire was only used to describe the blue form of corundum, green corundum was known as 'Oriental peridot' and yellow as 'Oriental topaz'.

Nowadays we still use the term sapphire when referring to blue sapphires but other coloured sapphires are described by their particular colour such as 'pink sapphire' or 'green sapphire' etc. The exception to this is the padparadscha sapphire which is the only other variety of corundum other than ruby to be given its own name. This is a pinkish orange colour which is produced when the Corundum has tiny amounts of iron impurities within it.

The variety in shades of blue is dependent on the country that the stone was mined in, the shade can vary from nearly black, cornflower flower blue right through to a pale grey blue. Another very interesting example is known as a 'colour change sapphire'. This blue stone shows flashes of different shades in varying light and Harriett has recently sourced some gorgeous colour change sapphires that flash a wonderful purple shade. The engagement rings below are some more of Alice's recent commissions which show just a few of the variety of beautiful blues that sapphires come in.

The rings below were commissioned by a very sweet couple, Jason and Vicky. Jason first contacted us because he was planning on surprising Vicky with new wedding rings, as they were going to be renewing their wedding vows. He came in for an appointment and had lots of ideas, once he had surprised Vicky with the news they both came in together to finalise the design of the rings. Vicky decided to use 9ct white gold with a 9ct rose gold heart shaped overlay and a pair of 1.5mm brilliant cut pink sapphires. Jason decided to adapt his own Sterling silver wedding ring so the two rings would look like they would fit together. Jason then secretly came in to commission a eternity ring that would fit next to Vicky's new wedding ring, he chose to go with a 9ct rose gold ring that has had three 1.5mm brilliant cut diamond invisibly set into it, although this isn't where the surprise ended. Victoria also wanted to surprise Jason so she called and arranged for there to be some engraving on the inside of his ring. This is a really gorgeous set of rings that work really beautifully together.

The striking pink colour in these sapphires is due to a small quantity of chromium found in the Corundum. The varying shades of pink are dependant on the amount of chromium present; with a smaller amount giving a paler shade while higher levels give a more intense pink that forms a continuous colour range with rubies. It is believed that pink sapphires, like rubies, ward off ill-health and misfortune. However, it is thought necessary for the stones to be in contact with the wearer's skin for this to work because of this, pink sapphires and rubies tend to be cut quite deeply so that the back of the stone can make contact with the skin.

Alice has got several more commissions that are currently going through with some more really beautiful sapphires and rubies in which I can't wait to see once they have been completed!

Michelle

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As many of you will already know, each November we hold a charity open day. This is a fantastic day of fun and jewellery. You can come along, bring friends, and enjoy a glass of mulled wine or winter pimms with us and speak with the designers who will all be on hand for an informal chat about whatever you want! We can clean your jewellery whilst you wait and advise on any jewellery ideas. You can watch our talented craftsmen and women at work on their benches and have the opportunity to ask them questions about how things are done. There is also a big charity raffle with super prizes and also a very high chance of winning something.

Each year we also raise a substantial sum for charity. Last year we decided to raise money for the NSPCC. Then after the open day we got to thinking - what else could we do throughout the year to raise extra cash for this brilliant charity? As many of us enjoy reading and watching DVDs, we decided to start a book exchange corner in our studio all year round.

So when you come to our Halls Green studio now, you will notice a basket of books and films in the corner by the sofas. Please do have a good dig round and if you would like to keep anything you just donate £1 or £2 into the NSPCC box on the counter. This is going really well - the basket keeps filling up and emptying and the box is getting fuller!

Many thanks to everybody who is contributing to make this a success - and don't forget to bring your old novels with you when you come for your appointment to recycle!

Thanks

Harriet

Sam commissioned an engagement ring for Jo last year. He proposed with sketches of what we thought Jo would like and then they came in together to finalise the design. The ring was a slim 9ct white gold, 3 stone, twist style band with diamond and sapphire in claw settings. Jo came to collect the ring while Sam was out in Afghanistan and loved its delicacy. Sam is back safely and the couple are getting married in a few weeks time. Jo emailed to enquire about a set of wedding rings along with a picture of their silhouettes which they wanted engraving on to the outside surface.

Hand engraving something like this is no problem if you have a certain amount of space however Jo wanted her ring as slim as possible approximately 2.5mm wide which would be very tricky to get the detail in! So I thought laser engraving maybe the way forward as we could get the detail. I think it works really well.

The laser engravers took the artwork and made it into a file for the laser machine and then the engraving was done, scaling the image up a little for Sam's wedding band as this was a wider band. They wanted the engraving to have the effect of it almost stamped into the metal rather than a single outline of their heads so this technique definitely gave us the best effect.

If there are any designs that you may like to see if they can be laser engraved or hand engraved let me know and I can let you know what is possible!