Fine Techniques for some Fine Jewellery

Since I started working with Marius at his shop, Marius Nel Jewellers, I have learnt more then I thought possible in such a short time. My style of jewellery has always tended towards the contemporary style but the exposure to the techniques used in manufacturing fine jewellery has helped me to refine my own work.
I am in one of the best positions to be in as a jeweller, I am able to design and manufacture my own pieces as well as learn all the tricks of the trade from someone who has been in the industry for years. We are working together on many new pieces, which can be seen below. Marius gives me designs for theses and I manufacture them for his shop.

A sterling silver brushed finish gypsy style ring with round, cabochon green agate.

A sterling silver pendant to match earrings with oval,facet citrine and round, cabochon peridots and rhodolite.

A sterling silver, double amethyst pendant.

 A few more pieces that Marius designed and I made for his shop.

 A pair of sterling silver drop earrings with oval, facet citrines and round, cabochon peridot and rhodolite.

 A pair of sterling silver drop earrings with oval, facet citrines and teardrop cabochon garnets.

 A pair of sterling silver drop earrings with oval, cabochon blue topaz and long amethyst briolettes.

Semi-Precious Colour to Tempt the Eyes

We all know the Big Boys in gems; Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire and of course Diamond. However, we forget about the little guys. The ones that we don't have to take a personal loan out to buy and that bring as much joy (if not more) to the wearer. These are the little known semi-precious stones that are making their presence known in contemporary jewellery.

While working at Read's Gallery, I came across many of these stones; each colour more interesting and exciting then the next. Their affordability meant that we could "play" with the colour combinations and experiment with the jewellery we were going to make with them.

Here are a few pairs that I made for Read's.

  A pair of sterling silver drop earrings with round, cabochon amethyst and smooth aqua calcy.

A pair of sterling silver drop earrings with round, facet peridot and briolette amethyst.

A pair of sterling silver drop earrings with round, facet citrine and briolette blue topaz.

A pair of sterling silver flower drop earrings with facet iolite, peridot, citrine, lemon quartz, blue topaz, rhodolite and briolette rock quartz.



And now an oldy but a goody. I made these last year and I love them. They looked incredible on the customer.

 

A pair of sterling silver drop earrings with facet, marquis cut labradorite surrounded by facet pyrite beads.

After being told many times that I should have more of a social media presence, I have finally taken the plunge and started my first attempt at a blog. I can't promise scintillating commentary on the meaning of life and where I see the world going but I will definitely try my best to hold my followers' interest with sparkly and pretty things. Maybe a book review or two thrown in to the mix.