Enamelling...

...is a skill separate from making jewellery, it is the colorful result of fusing powdered glass to metal. Its an art I have been interested in but never found my style - but I think I have finally figured out En Grisaille and you can expect more of it in the future!
enamelled brooch 3 x 3.5 cm

Switched Diamonds.

"When I was in my Teens I took a pendant into the local jeweller to have an extra ring put on the bail. When I got it back I was sure they had switched my stone, but now I realize that I just didn't recognize it clean!"
I have switched stones, but only when asked to by customers, usually we call this 'replacing a chipped stone with a new one'. The term 'switching' is saved for when Jewellers take a good stone and replace it with one of lesser value or in the case of a cubic zirconia, no value at all.
But lets imagine that I am unscrupulous, and look at your risk levels;
- Nobody (smart) steals a 1993 Honda Civic for its resale value, and the same goes for a diamond under 30 pts, its not worth my effort - why risk my business!
- Nobody (smart) steals a neon pink Smart car - too easy to spot. Same for stealing an unusual diamond, I couldn't find a pink princess cut of lesser quality that would fool the customer into thinking it is their original stone.
- A car with a good alarm system is less likely to disappear. Larger diamonds (over 50 pts) these days usually come with a laser engraving on the girdle, the numbers are recorded in your Appraisal. When you get the stone back from me, walk into another jewellery shop and get them to confirm the registration numbers using their microscope.
- Do you let just anybody work on your car?? I recommend that you build a relationship with your Jeweller, one based on trust. And to do that you start by not trusting them and get an Independent Appraisal done on all work. After a few interactions in which the Jeweller's work and the Appraiser's info are copacetic, you can start to trust.
Mona's 18k Palladium gold pendant.

10k, 14k & 18k?

What do those numbers really mean?
Lets start with 24k that's pure gold, 100%.
So 18k is 18/24s pure gold or better put 3/4 or 75% pure gold.
14k is 14/24s pure gold, so just over half gold or 58.5%.
10k is 10/24s pure gold, so less than half gold or 41.7%
A piece of jewellery can also be stamped with just the percentage number, so it may say 750, 585 or 417 instead. All jewellery for sale must be stamped with the metal content and a trademark which shows who made it.
So what is the non gold part? Its usually a mixture of copper and silver in yellow gold and nickel or palladium in white gold.
The K stands for Karat which is a unit of fineness in gold. Don't confuse it with Carat which is a unit of weight for gemstones!
Pendant design and face by Rob Chaplin, 18k yellow and white gold metalwork by me.

Jewellery repair

I just want to confirm my humanity here - I'm afraid of car mechanics. When they give the quote are they just pulling numbers out of their heads because they know that I know nothing? Do they really replace the broken part with a new one or is it a rebuilt one? Is anything broken at all??? Every time the old van started acting funny I got all stressed out. And I know many people feel that way about taking their treasures to a jeweller for repair. I sympathise and I got some common sense advice for you;
1. If the job is going to be complicated, get a second opinion. Make sure that both jewellers agree on what the problem really is. If they don't, go get a third opinion.
2. If a job is going to be expensive go get a second opinion. And don't go with the cheap guy, go with the person who can explain the problem to you and why its going to be expensive to fix.
3. The only way to get a truly independent Appraisal is to look up Jewellery Appraisal in the phone book and pay for it yourself. The "Independent Appraisal" that the jeweller gave you probably reflects what the jeweller wanted written.
4. Don't bother asking for your gold back when you have your ring sized. The little piece of metal is our profit margin, we will just charge you extra for the hassle of remembering to put it in a baggy, and what good is it to you stuck in your underwear drawer?
5. If you want me to fix your earring, bring me the unbroken one too. That way I can make sure that they still match after, you look silly if I only polish one.
6. Don't try to fix it yourself. I charge extra to remove pipe solder and plier marks.
7. Every year bring your jewellery in to be looked at. Its much cheaper to re tip claws that replace lost stones. Ask to have stuff polished and checked, yes it will cost money, but so does any tune up.
8. Don't tell the jeweller to 'just make the ring a 1/2 size bigger" invariably that is wrong. Always get your finger measured.
9. If I say I will call you in a couple of days with the estimate, it means that I must figure out the price, maybe I need to calculate the diamond replacement cost or maybe your jewellery is so dirty I need to clean it before I can see the whole problem. If I just tell you a number Right Now I'm going to guess high so I don't put myself out of business.
10. hmmm I'm sure I will think of more...

Unusual metalwork

Requests are an important part of my business, Im willing to make anything! I like new challenges, keeps the world interesting. This coronet is sterling silver, and made up of approximately 50 pieces.

Old is New Again

The original brooch is part of the Fishpool Hoard - I think it was dug up in some Englishman's backyard when he was putting in a pond. The original is missing all its pearls and some of its enamel but I always thought it was a graceful piece. My version is 18k yellow gold with glass enamel and freshwater pearls.
The reason I got into jewellery was my interest in medieval history, and I believe good design does not go out of style.

Unusual stones

There was a time in history when silver was much rarer than gold. The Norse graves have left us many lovely objects including some crystal sphere pendants. Mine is based on a 5cm diameter sphere from a swedish grave, but my sphere is only 2cm so I had to put a lot into this little package. Its a bit of a puzzle to make too!
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