A little further light reading....

Sciacca Coral has an exceptional and different colour from all other types of Coral ranging from paler to the most intense pink salmon. It is composed of long, tapered branches and generally does not exceed 8-9 millimeters in diameter, the clumps are not large and they were used mainly to create little balls, buttons, beads, cops and "cannette" (a typical cut in the shape of a very narrow tube). 

Every piece which passes through our hands holds a story, but this was too intriguing a mystery to put aside, so we decided to research the story. Evidently a men’s ring (due to the size) and as the inscription tells, a gift from one to the other with ‘Gratitude’ this was not your everyday event.

Ever since the art of alchemy began, there have been attempts to produce precious metals and gemstones from base metals and ordinary ingredients.

Cameo is a method of carving an object such as an engraved gem, shell, or piece of stone.

Opal is one of the most recognisable and enjoyed gems used in jewellery today...

We have within our collections quite a few pieces of intricate and beautiful jewellery which come within the 'Chinese Export' category. We'd like to share here a little of the background to their history and creation. A craze for orientalism and Chinoiserie first started in the West in the Georgian era,...

The Queen of gems, seen in many famous antique pieces such as Napoleon’s Engagement Ring for Josephine or Kate Middleton's Sapphire and Diamond cluster engagement ring, the Sapphire is a highly sought after gemstone that is a variety of Corundum (a crystalline form of aluminium oxide), and also contains traces of the...

As a natural Pearl collector, and a Brit I’ve always wanted to add a rare Scottish Freshwater Pearl to my collection. ‘Scottish’ Freshwater Pearls are found in the rivers of The Tay most famously, but also other fast flowing rivers such as the Spey. The Margaritifera Margaritifera species of Mussel...

The City of Chester on the banks of the river Dee, has a long history of prosperity, being founded as a fort by the Romans in AD 79. They built an amphitheatre which could seat up to 10,000 people, and it is the largest in Britain, giving some idea about how important the...

Intaglio is the art of carving a design or crest into precious metal or a suitable gemstone, so that all the design remains below the surface. It is the opposite of a ‘relief’ sculpture such as a Cameo, and is carved into metal, precious and semi-precious stones, which produce a...

Still often seen in Georgian era jewellery and in later jewels when recycled, in 1730 lexicographer Nathan Bailey defines a rose (cut) Diamond as“..one that is quite flat underneath; but whose upper part is cut in divers little faces, usually triangles, the uppermost of which terminates in a point.” An...

A beautiful scintillant square antique Diamond with rounded corners, the origin of the Cushion-Cut Diamond goes back to the nineteenth century. A step in the development of the Brilliant based on its predecessor, the “Mine-Cut”, with the invention of electric lighting and new cutting tools such as the Diamond saw, the faceting...

Often seen in Victorian period jewellery, the Old Mine Cut, a square-ish Diamond with rounded corners has been around since the 1700’s. An early Brilliant-cut, it is considered to have originated at the Diamond mines in Brazil, which became the world’s main supplier when the mines in India began to...

Perhaps our favourite cut of all, the Old European Cut (OEC) Diamond is a round cut of Diamond popular from 1890-1930, much seen in jewellery of the Edwardian and Art Deco period. These Diamonds were the predecessor of the modern round brilliant cut Diamond, which is now the most popular diamond...

A very unusual and interesting collector's piece: this is an original WW1 Aluminium ring made from the remains of the wrecked German Zeppelin L15 - 1st April 1916. Such pieces, usually badges and keyrings etc made from the wreckage of the German Zeppelin were sold to raise money for the war effort on the...

With fashion articles recently in the like of Vogue, it seems the wearing of a signet ring is undergoing a bit of a revival and has become fashionable again, particularly among young people looking for something unusual from the past to reference and accessorise their ‘look’. Here we have a quick peek...

An excerpt from Birmingham and its Jewellery written in 1898 by John Foster Fraser and Illustrated from Special Photographs by Harold Baker  ‘The Birmingham jewellery trade is different from any other trade. The works that are of any size are few. Operations are generally carried on in mean streets in...

In times past considered a precious reminder of a loved one, to give a lock of hair was a token of friendship and love, a strand of hair kept safe in a locket an intimate expression of esteem. Many antique mourning and sentimental jewels too contain a locket compartment home...

Natural Freshwater Pearls, harvested from the rivers and lakes of North America have been valued for their individuality and beauty for centuries and are of wonderful interest for the collector. The Native Americans were the first to discover freshwater Pearls in the rivers and streams of the Mississippi Delta, Tennessee...

A gorgeous antique mourning band dating to 1817; a collector's piece in fabulous condition, which because of the detail it holds and it's prestigious origin we are able to find out a little more background information.  Mourning rings were often given to close friends and family (sometimes written as gifts into...