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Are you on trend for 2024?

Numerous new looks made an appearance during London Fashion Week which one will you choose?

The jewellery on display was as diverse as the fashion itself, offering something for everyone. After many years of delicately layered and stacked jewellery, for 2024 we seem to be moving in a different direction.  One of the standout trends of this season is the resurgence of bold statement pieces that took centre stage on several catwalks during London Fashion Week held in February.

fhb bangles
A major trend this season included silver re-emerging as one of fashions favourite after being in the shadow of both yellow and white gold for some time.

This time around silver is bold yet keeping things to a minimum with clean lines and paired back details shown by the use large cuffs worn on both wrists which was prevalent in both Rabanne and Schiaparelli shows also decorating the wrist across several displays was the use of large dramatic bangles stacked with each other, in this bold approach many exhibits included oversized earrings either worn as a pair or independently.

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These bold and dynamic pieces added a sense of drama and flair to the overall aesthetic. With its diverse range of designs the jewellery on display proved that accessorizing is not just about embellishment but also about self-expression and individuality.

Van Gogh and Gego in one day

Having just spent just over a week in New York, one of my favourite cities. I managed to visit both the Met and the Guggenheim. Having always been extremely interested in fine art I was lucky enough to visit one of the largest exhibitions of Vincent Van Gogh I’ve seen.

van gogh

The exhibition called ‘Cypresses’ described as a “groundbreaking” exhibit of around forty works including many famous paintings and sketches also included was several pieces of work which had never been shown to the public before. The exhibition focused Vincents love of these majestic trees beginning with paintings and sketches from Arles in the south of France, where his imagination began to be preoccupied with cypresses and ending after a two year study of this subject with paintings during his stay in the Saint – Rémy asylum which brought his exploration of his subject full circle.

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I also managed to re-visit the Guggenheim whose main exhibition was by the German artist Gertrud Goldshmidt also known as “Gego” (B- 1912 – D-1994).

The exhibition was called ‘Measuring Infinity’ and was shown around the five floors of the Guggenheim’s rotunda which included nearly two hundred pieces of work from the early 1950’s to the 1990’s including drawings, sculptures, textiles, prints and some of Gego’s sketch books which I could have spent days looking over.

guggenheim exhibition

Alone some of her sculptural pieces can look “spindly” and slight odd but when shown together as one larger installation they manage to create something quite wonderful and somehow manages to transport you into another magical and almost earie world.

Overall, an excellent couple of days at both venues.

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Cullinan Diamond

fiona seeing the replica of cullinan diamond

Cullinan Diamond

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Scottish Gemmological Association Conference. It is a conference that happens annually exploring the science, history, and use of gemstones within the jewellery industry & a great place to meet a multitude of experts & learn more about these fascinating creations of nature.

There were a number of renowned experts in their field at the conference, and I was extremely lucky to meet Mark Cullinan, who granted me the pleasure of holding an exact replica of the uncut Cullinan Diamond that his grandfather, Sir Thomas Cullinan discovered in 1905. It is the largest diamond ever to be found, weighing in at 3106 carats & Mark delivered a fascinating lecture on its mystical history, since its discovery at Sir Thomas’s Premier Mine in South Africa.

cullinan diamond

Following its discovery the stone had to be cut into several, smaller sized, more wearable stones and the cutters chosen for the task were the Royal Asscher Diamond Company based in Amsterdam. The Asscher brand were made famous at the turn of the 20th century when Joseph Asscher patented the “Asscher Cut” in 1902, and the business remains family run to this day. In February 1908 an excited audience gathered to witness Joseph Asscher cleave this incredible stone, but on delivering the first blow, he was left holding a broken blade & banished the audience from the room. He returned to the task the following week with new tools & successfully split the stone. Legend has it that he fainted due to the effort he put into that strike, but it was a success nonetheless.

From this uncut stone, nine of the largest cut and polished stones were created and are found in the British Crown Jewels or owned by the British Royal family. The most famous being The Cullinan I which weighs a whopping 530.20 carats and is set in the Royal Sceptre and The Cullinan II which is set in the Imperial State Crown.

fional hutchison barr - id and pass

Are you a mixed metal girl?

Are you following the mixed metal jewellery trend?

A stunning combination of the rich warm tones of 18ct gold or rose gold contrasting against the cooler tones of 18ct white gold or even silver.

This trend has been increasing in popularity for a while now and doesn’t look like it’s disappearing or going out of fashion anytime soon. If you are a convert to this trend rather than following the old rules of never mix your metals, do you restrict it to mixing your jewellery to one area for example your ears, wrists or neck or do you like go all in and mix it in several places? Personally, I think keeping it in one area looks best as it draws more attention to the overall effect. With this trend I’m a fan of more delicate pieces being used when layering and mixing your jewellery rather than bolder heavier pieces which can look too dominant and not so refined.

Although it’s very much in fashion at the moment, combining both gold and silver is not a new trend, as it extends as far back as Ancient Egypt and is called Electrum. A mixture of both metals were melted and employed in a variety of ways including being used to paint statues, the top of obelisks and making jewellery. An excellent example of this can be found in the Brooklyn Museum, where they have a signet ring which is inscribed for Akhenaten, he was a controversial pharaoh and father of Tutankhamun who ruled over Ancient Egypt for seventeen years around 1351/1353 – 1336 B.C.

Something blue

Having recently spent some time in Miami and Palm Beach, it struck me the amount of blue that’s around from the sky, sea and the vast array of buildings that are painted assorted shades of blue. These glorious shades of blue are amplified by the sun’s rays that reflects off the buildings and glistens in the sea. This has given me the idea to concentrate on mixing a combination of sapphires, aquamarines and diamonds in a new up and coming design project.

Using this combination of gemstones was made infamous by Princes Diana in 1981 when she chose her engagement ring. The ring chosen was a 12 carat oval Ceylon sapphire surrounded with diamonds which was made by Garrard and influenced from a brooch that was given to Queen Victoria, who was known to adore sapphires from Prince Albert in 1840. The sapphire and diamond brooch was also handed down to Queen Elizabeth II who was often seen wearing it at both formal and regal events.

The lustre of Pearls

Many years ago, I did a course on valuating and pricing of pearls by The Academy of Valuers. I have always had a fascination with pearls the rich lustre on them also the colours available from the lightest shades of white, pink and champagne through to black Tahitian pearls which are a favourite of mine. The lustre reflected in Tahitian pearls smooth surface ranges from peacock green, petrol blue, deep purple or a rich pink. Tahitian pearls, as the name suggests are found in both Tahiti and the French Polynesian Islands where they are available in a variety of sizes.

Pearls have been used in jewellery and the adornment of clothes since 2300 BC where Chinese royalty would be gifted pearls as they were seen as the ultimate status symbol. Evidence that pearls remained popular through out the centuries is found when a fragment of pearl was discovered in the sarcophagus of a Persian Princess from 420 BC which is currently on show in the Louvre, Paris.

Closer to home Elizabeth I was also a keen wearer of both pearl jewellery and utilised pearls in the adornment of her clothes again ensuring her status was known to all. The significance of pearls is further underlined with famous rumour that surrounds Mr Pierre Cartier who in 1917 swapped a strand of pearls for a mansion on Fifth Avenue, New York.
 
Pearls are the birthstone of anyone born in June (along with Moonstone).


The beauty of Sapphires

My appreciation of gemology started while studying Jewellery Design as it was part of the course curriculum. I was apprehensive at first, as gemstones were not my thing my style is more minimalistic and I had always opted for a more simplistic style of jewellery. The only stones I knew I did like however, were diamonds with their cascades of sparkle & light.

Having been introduced to gemology in the early stages of my course it has started a deep interest in the subject which I have discovered that the more you look the more you want to learn.

Currently my favourites are blue sapphires, rubies with aquamarines thrown in for good measure, the depth of colour found in Sri Lankan sapphires is mesmerising not only are they available in what is their most favoured colour blue these stunning gemstones are available in a host of colours across the entire colour spectrum.

Probably the most famous of all is the Logan Sapphire which originates from Sri Lanka and since 1971 has been exhibited at the Smithsonian and weighs a whopping 422.99 carats making it the second largest faceted sapphire in the world making the late Princess Diana’s 12 carat oval Ceylon sapphire engagement ring possibly the second most famous.

Sapphires are the birthstone for anyone lucky enough to be born in April and zodiac sign Taurus, Aquarius, and Pisces.

Morning coffee at the Mitchell Library

Nothing nicer than my first morning coffee in the cafe situated on the ground floor of the Mitchell Library with its floor to ceiling glass windows. This is a place where I spend quite a bit of time when I want a change of scenery from my studio. It’s a wonderful place to research new and exciting idea’s as well as exploring new artists and designers. On the fourth floor is where you’ll find a fantastic selection of reference books on some of my favourite designers, artist’s and sculptors.

It’s here where I spent quite a bit of time studying Alessandro Castellani who is famed for introducing us to granulation in the late 18th and early 19th century. Granulation is a process that has been around since the Etruscan era, while excavations were being carried out in the early 1800’s in both Rome and southern Russia Etruscan and Greek jewellery was discovered that had been decorated in granulation.
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This is a technique were the surface of the precious metal which was usually a high carat gold was adorned by fusing small balls called granules in complex patterns to the golds smooth surface which resulted in intricate patterns of varying degrees of decoration adorning bracelets, cuffs, necklaces and earrings.
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The joy’s of stone setting

There’s something cathartic about stone setting.

The pleasurable act of drilling, burring and burnishing while listening to your favourite music while I work on something that will become someone’s engagement ring marking a new chapter in their life or a pair stunning earrings that could be a special birthday or Christmas present for a special person.

It’s a design day

Well this is my favourite kind of day at work – I have spent my entire career designing in some form and my passion for it has never left me.

Having the privilege to be able to decide what I want to design and choosing whatever influences me at the time whether it’s something I have been thinking about for a while or something that has just popped into my head is an absolute joy.

I am an old school designer were I spend time researching and throwing various ideas around tracing ideas and shapes and re-tracing until the perfect proportion, shape and form appears.

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