June’s birthstone is pearl. Learn a little about the history of this classic, sophisticated and timeless gemstone.
Pearls, known as the “Queen of Gems” have been admired for centuries and are known officially as the worlds oldest gem.
Are you getting married this year and are yet to select your wedding bands?
Wedding bands represent endless love and commitment. It is important for you to both choose bands that you love and want to cherish forever.
Even though they are one of the few everlasting parts of your wedding day, they are often left last on the agenda when it comes to planning the ‘big day’.
Is your birthday in May?
The birthstone representing the month of May is Emerald, it also signifies the twentieth and thirty-fifth wedding anniversaries.
Emerald is known for its attractive green to greenish-blue colour. It belongs to the gemstone family Beryl, alongside Morganite and Aquamarine, with a hardness of 7.5-8 on the Mohs scale of hardness.
April's birthstone is Diamond
The origin of birthstones is believed to date back to Biblical times, specifically to the breastplate of Aaron which contained twelve gemstones. Historians believed there was a connection between these twelve stones, the twelve months of the year and the twelve signs of the zodiac. Each gem was thought to offer the wearer special powers during the corresponding astrological period.
Look no further. We buy watches, jewellery and even scrap gold.
Recently, a customer commissioned a small ladies signet ring version of her grandfather’s ring. As you can see our hand engraver copied the initials exactly.
Pictures below illustrate the stages this signet ring went through to become the finished product.
We are asked on many occasions, 'do I really need a valuation, or can you give me an approximate valuation for this item'. The answer to these questions does require some explanation.
Antwerp, for the specialist diamond traders, this high security district is adorned with high buildings with each and every level and office occupied by individual companies representing the Jewellery trade. It was Kylie and Lauren's (from our Uckfield Showroom) first trip to Antwerp, to experience the expertise and process of buying diamonds.
We have been designing unique and individual jewellery for over 40 years. There is something very special about knowing that you own a one-off piece that you will not see anywhere else in the world. This story started a couple of years ago, when David Clark (4th Generation Owner) and Daniel Blackford (Director) were on a gemstone buying trip. Having done this for 20 years we both have a lot of experience in dealing with fine gemstones. Sometimes we will buy gemstones, knowing that they will make spectacular jewellery, but not always having the final design in mind there and then.
A leap year only occurs every four years, where an additional day is added to the month of February as the 29th day.
History and tradition suggest that the thought goes back to the 5th century when legend has it that an Irish nun known as St Bridget made a complaint to St Patrick (Patron Saint of Ireland) that woman we’re having to wait too long for their suitors to propose. St Patrick was then said to have struck a deal with St Bridget and ordered that there would be this one day in February that occurred every four years, when woman would be allowed to propose.