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Harriet Kelsall
29th October 2011 15:30

Twitter Give-away for Ollie

 

Ollie Saxton is 3 years old and has Cerebral Palsy. His family, based in Sheffield in the UK, are raising funds for a life changing operation to walk for the first time. They still have 4000 pounds to raise and only 6 weeks in which to raise it!

I noticed their campaign a while back on twitter and was touched - having little ones myself who are not far from his age, and also having a friend with Cerebral Palsy. So we are running a little give-away to help to raise awareness (and hopefully funds) for this good cause.

So I have made 5 beautiful pairs of satinised hematite and Swarovski crystal sterling silver earrings. I'm calling them my 'Ollie earrings!'. They are just perfect for this season...subtle but with a little sparkle to warm up the winter weather!

Ollie earrings

It only takes about 2 minutes to enter ...all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is compete these 3 easy steps ...

(1) Follow @sendollietostlo on twitter

(2) Follow @HKBespoke on twitter

(3) Tweet us both to show your support but remember to include both twitter addresses at the end of your tweet so that we can see it (eg you might tweet "I really want to help raise funds to help Ollie to walk! @sendollietostlo @HKBespoke").

You can be as creative as you like with your message – send a picture, make us smile - It is all about spreading the word about this good cause, and we hope that some people will look at the Ollie's website http://www.sendollietostlouis.fullonweb.com/ and contribute a little if they can as only 4000 little 1 pound donations would do the trick! But the tweets that we like best will win the lovely earrings too!

On 1st December we will choose our 5 favourites tweets to be the winners.

Good luck!

Harriet (and Ollie's mum, Rachel).

Harriet Kelsall
 
Alice Rochester
27th October 2011 09:20

Jewellery Design Competition

 

We are currently organising the first ever bespoke jewellery design competition with students from the University of Creative Arts, in Rochester. It's not just a first for us - as far as we can tell it is the first competition of its type, and we're rather excited about it!

We will be talking to the students at UCA about the design process and the way we work with individuals and couples to create the perfect piece of jewellery for each person, taking into account everything from likes and dislikes, to drawing inspiration from how or where they met. We will show the students this video of someone who could be one of our customers telling us a little more about herself so that the students can come up with a design for an engagement ring for her. It's just like a brief that we could get from one of our customers so we can't wait to see the student's concepts!

The prize for the competition is to have the winning design made by our talented team of goldsmiths, and for the winner to keep the resulting piece. This is particularly unusual as most other design competitions might expect the winner to make the piece themselves or even for the piece to be manufactured and then sold by the company running the competition. What we hope we will do is not only to get lots of press for the winner (which is fantastic for their portfolio) but also encourage any students studying design to think about bespoke jewellery and how it can work as a career.

We can't wait to meet everyone and we're really looking forward to meeting them again in the new year to see what they've come up with! We’ll keep you posted...

Alice Rochester
 
Katy King
21st October 2011 14:01

Autumn jewellery

 

It seems rather strange that we are into October and seeing all the Halloween decorations in the shops, when outside the sun is shining and the temperature is still warm. Nevertheless, it is officially autumn and have a beautiful collection of jewellery in our Purple Label range, which depicts all of those gorgeous colours that we associate with this time of the year - striking bronzes, oranges, gold, browns and greens that we can see on the trees and surrounding countryside.

Here are some examples that I particularly like, but please take a look for yourself and see our full range. There is something for everyone

RED SHELL PEARL AND HEMATITE DROP EARRINGS
AMETHYST SPHERE AND SILVER PENDANT
9CT YELLOW GOLD FLAME INSPIRED PENDANT
MOSS AGATE CLOUD PENDANT ON SILVER CABLE NECKLACE
DUSKY PINK CLUSTER NECKLACE WITH TOURMALINE, QUARTZ AND PEARL

Katy

Katy King
 
Harriet Kelsall
17th October 2011 14:18

Article on entering business awards

 

Hi

I have recently written an article on whether "entering business awards as a SME (Small and medium enterprises) is really worth it" for the UK's leading SME business Magazine 'Business Matters'

If you would like to have a read of this, please follow the link

Harriet Kelsall
 
Angela Godden
12th October 2011 11:27

Autumnal colours

 

We are getting closer to my favourite time of year, particularly with the colours of nature surrounding us on our daily travels to work. I am based at the halls green showroom so my journey takes me through the village and down country lanes surrounded by fields and trees and my journey ends up at the gorgeous barn on a farm.

As the project manager I get to see the lovely pieces of jewellery our goldsmiths make, the colour combination of the metal and stones of the below ready to wear rings have really drawn me in because of my love of the autumn colours.

The ready to wear rings shown below have a lovely autumn feel to them with the warmth of the yellow gold and the lovely rich cognac diamonds.

18ct yellow gold 0.70cts natural cognac coloured diamond engagement ring
This 18ct yellow and white gold ring with a cognac and white diamond is in our RTW collection

Bonfire night is what comes to mind whenever I look at this ring and the mandarin garnet!

Flame inspired 18ct yellow and white gold engagement ring with a mandarin garnet

And lastly this beautiful spinel ring reminds me of the next season…winter, it takes me to the redness of the berries on the holly and the whiteness of the snow with a log fire burning inside……

White and rose gold spinel and diamond ring inspired by ice and fire

Why not pop in and take a look at these pieces yourself, you can see and feel the full force of nature in a single piece of jewellery.

Angela

Angela Godden
 
Iain Robinson
4th October 2011 11:19

2012 Diamond Jubilee

 

Today i thought i would write a little on Commemorate hallmarks as 2012 is fast approaching with not only the Olympics but Queen Elizabeth 2nd's diamond jubilee 60 years on the throne.

There are now six commemorate hallmarks that appear on pieces of jewellery and silver wear on certain years since 1935 to celebrate the silver jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary in 1935. In 1953 the hallmark to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth the second was made, then in 1977 the next commemorative hallmark was the silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. And in the year 2000 there was a Millennium mark to celebrate the coming of the Millennium. In 2002 the hallmark to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth 2nd and 10 years on for 2012 a new hallmark has been designed to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

The Jubilee mark of 1935 to celebrate King George V and Queen Mary Silver jubilee this hallmark shows a double profile of the two monarchs was stamped on silver pieces.

Jubilee mark of 1935 to celebrate King George V and Queen Mary Silver jubilee

To commemorate the Coronation of the Queen Elizabeth 2nd, the coronation mark of the new Queen's head was stamped on gold and silverware. In 1952-1954 it shows the Queen looking to the right.

Coronation of the Queen Elizabeth the second

In 1977 the hallmark of Queen Elizabeth 2nd head is looking to the left, this was to mark the Silver anniversary of the Queen's coronation. In this year this mark was placed on silver items that were made in Britain but only on pieces over the weight of 15 grams.

silver anniversary of the Queen’s coronation

In 1999-2000 the Millennium square cross was the new hallmark to celebrate the new Millennium. This is shown as a cross with 2000 within it.

Millennium square cross

The hallmark to celebrate 50 years of the ruin of Queen Elizabeth 2nd. The golden jubilee in 2002, this shows the Queen with her head to the right.

golden jubilee

And finally to celebrate 60 years of Queen Elizabeth on the throne. A new hallmark have been made and will applied from 1 July 2011 until 1 October 2012 commemorating Queen's Diamond Jubilee of her coronation. A interesting fact to add to this is that the diamond jubilee is in 2012 and yet the coronation of the queen was in 1953. This is because of the amount of planning that had to go into this event it took just over a year to get everything organised.

Diamond jubilee 2012

When designing a ring with us at Harriet Kelsall Jewellery design you can request to have this Hallmark stamped into your ring for a small additional fee and then when you hand down your ring through the generations they will see that it was specially made for you with Harriet Kelsall between 2011-2012. You will see Harriet's Makers mark on all of our rings 'HK'

Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design makers mark
Iain Robinson
 
Jenna Lawson
1st October 2011 11:29

Antique and Vintage styled engagement rings

 

After a fabulous evening at the Specsavers Everywoman in Retail Awards at The Savoy I couldn't help thinking about the beautiful surroundings of the Lancaster ballroom where the awards were held. It was such a grand venue, filled with history and the fantastic decor set me thinking about antique and vintage styled rings.

I love the simple detailing of antique and vintage rings and here at Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design our designers are great at incorporating this style in to a modern engagement ring. There are certain finishes which can give a very simple ring a stunning vintage look.

Platinum and diamond engagement and wedding ring set

This lovely platinum and diamond engagement and wedding ring set which is in our ready to wear collection in Halls Green has 12 pave set diamonds to give it this vintage feel. The central diamond of the engagement ring is a 4.4mm (approximately 0.28ct) brilliant cut diamond in a classic four claw setting and there are three 1.5mm H SI brilliant cut diamonds pave set either side of this central stone. Pave setting was traditionally used in Victorian jewellery and adds to the detail of the band with the beads of metal that hold the diamonds in place really adding to the sparkle of the entire ring. The fitted wedding ring holds six pave set 1.75mm H SI brilliant cut diamonds to match the engagement ring. The engagement ring has a really interesting cross over leading up to the central stone and intricate millgrain detail also.

A millgrain or beaded finish is often used to create an antique or vintage look to a ring. This finish consists of small bead indentations and raised sections usually used at the edge of a ring or around a gemstone setting. This detailing is used in this beautiful Platinum engagement ring with cornflower blue sapphire also from our ready to wear collection in Halls Green. This design, although quite simple really showcases the stunning brilliant cut 0.97ct sapphire. The slim band tapers up towards the stone and the grain detail in the shoulder really draws the eye to the stone.

Platinum engagement ring with cornflower blue sapphire

If you too love antique or vintage style jewellery please contact us to discuss how we can create a unique ring or piece of jewellery just for you. There are lots of ways to incorporate your personality, likes and lifestyle into your bespoke piece and our talented designers are brilliant at suggesting design ideas, materials and gemstones that you may not have thought of.

Jenna Lawson
 

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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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