Journal

Few pieces are as special to make as those for whom you adore. We had the great honour of making my brother and his wife’s wedding rings. Never has crafting a piece been more joyful or more pressure ridden (you see, he and I share a love of impeccable craftmanship and he’s got a well trained eye!).  They chose to keep things relatively simple with...

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Sometimes dream projects come along. When these are also brought to us by the loveliest of customers, well, then the whole process is something quite magical. Jani’s first email landed in my inbox with a pretty clear idea of what she and her fiancé Peter wanted for her engagement ring, a beautiful 5 stone U-cut setting. After chatting through all the details, they decided on...

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Our studio is full of chatter, much of it idle, some of profound, most of it hilarious. But we decided the time was right to delve into a more intentional conversation between Ash, our founder, and Claire, the founder of Botanica Jewellery and not so coincidentally the brand with whom we share our studio. Ash: I think we should probably start at the beginning, and...

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Pure gold is also known as 24 karat gold. In its natural form it is simply too soft to be made into jewellery. In order to strengthen it, and make it suitable for jewellery, pure gold is combined with various other metals (depending on the desired colour ). The ratio of gold to alloy is what determines the karat. Think of it as a recipe,...

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Not all pieces that carry the word gold in their title are created equal. So what is the difference?  Gold plated objects have a micron thick layer of gold chemically plated onto the surface of a lower quality base metal (often brass). This layer is so thin that it will wear off quite quickly, especially if worn often or if the wearer has relatively acidic...

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There are many pros to online shopping. Endless choice from the comfort of your own home. Selecting brands that align with your values. And, when shopping online from a small business, the opportunity to connect with artisans directly, resulting in an even more personal experience than traditional customer/salesperson encounters. What’s not to love? Well sizing comes to mind! How do you go about ordering the...

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Lab grown diamonds have taken the jewellery industry by storm in the last couple of years. This popularity may lead you to think they are a relatively recent invention but in actuality the first lab grown diamond was grown in 1954. Their growing acclaim is due, in no small part, to the growing awareness of the human and environmental abuses so prevalent in the mined...

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Lab-grown diamonds, also known as cultivated diamonds, are created by duplicating the conditions under which diamonds develop naturally in the earth’s mantle. Conflict free Mining Free Quality and Beauty Are lab-grown diamonds real diamonds? Possibly the most common question people ask about lab grown diamonds is, are they real diamonds? The answer is a definitive yes. Lab-grown diamonds are chemically, physically and visually identical to...

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Catharina reached out just after the new year with my favourite sort of email. It said that she and her boyfriend Erns really aren’t into jewellery but that our pieces had caught her eye. I count that as the ultimate compliment. If our designs resonate with non jewellery lovers as well, then we must be doing something right? It was an absolute treat to make...

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