Compass Competition - Win This Silver Compass Pendant!

Compass Competition

Calling all Sailors and Navigators of Life!

Choosing, Changing or Re-Discovering your Direction – then maybe you need a compass…

Enter this FREE Compass Competition and you could be the winner of this Silver Compass Pendant.

See more pictures of the Compass in this Competition – a great gift for someone or a treat just for you.

How to Enter the Competition

Find out how you can enter this FREE Compass Competition – it’s easy!

Good luck!

  Annealing Gold with a Flame

The Flame of the Torch

Today, part of my usual time in the workshop creating hand made jewellery has been spent preparing for tonight’s Feu de la Saint Jean. Working with the flame of a torch annealing gold has been switched for preparing a much larger flame – a bonfire, in fact!

Bonfires from Tradition

One of the high points of the year in French Catalonia is Les Feux de la Saint Jean when the region celebrates the summer solstice with parades, parties, bonfires and fireworks displays.

Feted across Roussillon, on June 23rd, this thousand year-old tradition is a sight of merry-making not to be missed. Typically, the action centres around a parade during which the flame of Saint-Jean is brought down from the Pic du Canigou. This symbol of peace and fraternity is then used to set the sky ablaze with a thousand fireworks.

Fireworks and Finery

For miles around, folk put on their finery for several days and nights of intense partying – where merriment and dancing are high on the agenda!

  Denim Sapphire Libretto Collection

September Sapphire Birthstone

The Sapphire is a favourite gemstone for many of us … for so many reasons.

Well known as the birthstone for those born in September, the Sapphire is also the traditional stone of choice when celebrating the 5th and 45th wedding anniversary.

But what else draws us to the Sapphire?

Denim Blue Sapphire

The Denim Sapphire Libretto Ring and Denim Sapphire Libretto Pendant shown above have a fabulous denim blue colour and show off their inner structure beautifully. Whilst their appearance differs from a more typically recognisable sapphire such as in this Sapphire and Diamond Engagement Ring, they are still sapphires.

Set in the style of my Libretto jewellery collection, the pendant was selected and published in the The Best of WorldWide Jewellery Artists, an incredible visual art guide.

The Star Sapphire

Then there are Sapphires that have an asterism. That is, they have a six ray star that appears to float beneath the surface of the stone and move with the light source. You can see examples of these in this Blue Star Sapphire Ring in white gold – and this Black Star Sapphire necklace. I combined pink tourmalines with star sapphires in this Star Sapphire Bangle, too!

I love the Sapphire and have incorporated it in several of my hand made Sapphire Jewellery creations.

Is the Sapphire one of your favourite gemstones … ?

  Sapphire Silver Compass Pendant for the Bride

Compass Wedding Gift

On the day of their wedding, a gentleman presented this Sapphire Silver Compass Pendant to his wife.

The Bride and Groom

I often have the pleasure of meeting people who are looking for wedding gifts. Often, these are gifts surrounding the event of the wedding; gifts for bridesmaids, mothers of the bride and groom, gifts for the best man and other significant people. They’re looking for something unique and individual; a piece of handmade jewellery that will be a reminder of the special occasion and a gift to carry the memories of the day into the future.

Less frequently, I encounter the bride and groom looking for a gift for one another – a gift that is separate from the exchange of wedding rings. With all that’s involved in planning and organising the big day, the exchange of a wedding gift between the bride and groom seems to be rare.

Symbolic Compass Gift

This Sapphire Silver Compass Pendant, however, was one such gift. Carefully chosen, the sapphire went with the lady’s engagement ring and the compass itself was symbolic of their having met whilst travelling.

A wedding gift to connect the day they met … with the day they married.

  Hand Made Jewellery: Mischievous Amethyst

Ebb and Flow

There are days when I feel especially energised. I wake up ready to take on the day, achieve several tasks, create my hand made jewellery, to get outside and exercise.

Of course, not every day is like this. The natural balance of things is that there are quieter, calmer days. There is an ebb and flow of energy in life.

Vitality & Mischief

I admit it, the necklace in the picture was made on a day of mischief; a day to see how things unfolded, to indulge.

When I’m making jewellery, I often imagine my creations being worn. In my mind, these people are individuals who seek out jewellery evocative of independence and vitality; people who enjoy jewellery that reflects something about them. Not only do I imagine the creation being worn, but also being touched; the contours and textures being appreciated by the senses.

This Abundant Amethyst Necklace was made as part of my Libretto collection, although with more than a hint of mischief, too! I imagine a lively and spirited home for it in the future; for someone who loves life and laughter.

A Sense of Mischief

A hand made jewellery creation of delightfully unrestrained design.

Does that make me naughty?

  Lilac in the Garden

Lilacs and Violet

I recently added an Amethyst Waterdrop Bracelet to my gallery; a bracelet that comes with a story of how it came to be made, the love and thoughtfulness that went into its creation.

As a designer-maker of jewellery, creating custom made jewellery is especially satisfying. Looking through a window onto another person’s world and capturing the essence of a precious moment in a piece of jewellery.

Lilacs in the Garden

This special birthday gift was for a lady whose birthstone is Amethyst, the birthstone for February. Another personal element that was woven into the design.

Enchanted by the way that amethyst has been described as an extravagance in violet, I couldn’t help thinking of about the Lilacs in our garden in the same way. They are beautiful, and yes, they are extravagant.

Extravagant Lilacs

Apparently, the word extravagant is derived from medieval Latin with “extra” meaning outside and “vagari” meaning wander. To wander outside, to diverge greatly or perhaps to do something unusually exceptional.

How lovely that this idea has now become a part of the bracelet, too.