Meeting Franc

We had a successful weekend just gone exhibiting at the Confetti Live show in Punchestown Racecourse, but I have to say that the highlight of  the show, aside from Cocoa Moiselle's devine Chocolate biscuit cake (see right) was meeting Franc!
He is every bit like he is on the telly, personable, charming, witty and a real gent.
He is a man after our own hearts as he is recommending to all his current brides that they go for handmade wedding rings, he talked about the importance of getting to know your ring maker and discussing your needs and desires and personalising your wedding rings after all they are on your fingers for life. He himself wears a handmade ring, which has been personalised over the years with the addition of a birthstone for each of his children.  He mentioned his dislike for mass manufactured High Street "bands" as they are made in a factory overseas with no thought or personality injected into them. Its was great to hear a man of his profile promoting Handmade Irish and good to know that he tries to instil the value of handmade into the purchasing decision of all of his clients.

Clicktailing - Week 1

Well, week 1 is finally over, and I have to admit that the 5.30am starts were beginning to wear me down, I normally only get up at that time if Im catching a flight! Our week began in the amazing warehouse venue on Sir John Rogersons Quay, vacuous would be the best description Our stations we all laid out and waiting for us, I was so eager not to be late that I arrived an hour early so I snapped some images of the venue while I was waiting.there was an old "house" style annex which was where we listened to our guest speakers, I have to say that it was a little eerie and perpetually cold... On the first day Sonya Lennon and Brendan Courtney came along to share their experience of bring their brand Lennon & Courtney.com online which was really helpful to hear their experience. I have to go now and edit 150 shots for Tuesday morning! ,

Clicktailing

I had a visit recently in the studio from a chap who announced himself as a representative from Clicktailing, and asked if we had a "buy online" website, ( we don't) and if we were interested in having one developed that we should fill in the online form and with a bit of luck we would be selected!! We were!!!!:) Over 100 Irish companies applied for this opportunity and only 20 were selected and we are one of them. Clicktailing.com is, in its own words "Transforming traditional bricks-and-mortar retail businesses into online retail destinations. From start to launch in 5 weeks. Clicktailing is a voluntary collaboration between designers, developers, stylists, photographers, logistics providers, online marketing and payment processors. To transform your business into an online retail destination." And I have to tell you its incredibly exciting and very ambitious project part funded by the European Development Fund, and its started today with guest speakers on e commerce and web design. We met our designated web designers, who would have thought we would have our own web designer!!! Tomorrow sees an early start on Sir John Rogersons Quay with professional Stylist Eleanor Harper and Photographer Neil Hurley. Ill keep you posted

René Lalique

I thought I'd share a little about one of my favourite jewellery designers, René Lalique. He was born in 1860 in rural France and by the turn of the century at age 40 he was one of the most celebrated jewellers in the world, renowned as an art nouveau artist and designer.

At age 16 René became an apprentice to one of Paris's leading jewellers at that time, Louis Aucoc, and whilst working there he studied at the Ecole des Arts Decorative.

In 1887 he went to college in Sydenham, England and on his return to Paris he worked designing jewellery for a relative and also spent time studying under the sculpture Justin Lequien

By 1881 René was working as a freelance jewellery designer for such names as Cartier and Boucheron. Lalique's designs were greatly influenced by the natural world.

He used many materials not generally used in the making of high end jewellery such as glass, horn, semi-precious gemstones, enamel and pearls

Lalique only used expensive gemstones if they enhanced what he was creating, his jewellery was not designed as a carrier for expensive stones, each individual piece was a wearable work of art in its own right.

From a design perspective he had the mind of a true artist and from a goldsmithing perspective his skill was astonishing!

The Facts White Gold

I have been asked so often about this subject that it prompted me to write this post about it. White gold is not a naturally occurring metal, it is made by alloying yellow gold in various proportions with other white metal alloys to create a "whitish" gold.

For example a very common grade of metal used in this country is 18ct white gold. 18ct white gold is made up of 18 parts of yellow gold and 6 parts of other white metal alloys. The finished metal is made up of 24 parts in total, 18 of which are yellow gold so naturally the finished product has a yellowish hue, this is the natural colour to 18ct white gold. In order to give it its bright white finish it has to be rhodium plated, a process of plating rhodium (a platinum alloy) to the white gold to make it white.

As this is a plating process it does wear off revealing the natural colour underneath. I would recommend replating your 18ct white gold rings perhaps once or maybe even twice a year depending on how hard wearing you are on your jewellery.

14ct white gold would need to be plated less often as it is 14 parts yellow gold and therefore less yellowish to start with. I hope this has been helpful and not too technical. Ill explain the rhodium plating process in the next blog. If anyone has any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. Addrianna

Labradorite

Labradorite is an iridescent gemstone which displays a fascinating “schiller” or iridescence when viewed from different angles. It’s a member of the feldspar group of gemstones, my favourite as these gemstones display almost a rainbow of colours and often look as though they have an internal light source!

Labradorite has a background colour of smoky grey, but when light strikes the stone in a particular direction it displays striking colour reflections. Most typically these metallic flashes are blue and green but more rarely yellow, orange and even red can be seen, as in the pendant in the photo.

We bought this stone several years ago from a gem dealer and we were reluctant to set it as once it was on the shop floor we knew it would be gone rapidly. It took less than a week! Labradorite of this size and spectacular colour display are so hard to come by that I find it difficult to let them go! This effect is so unique to labradorite that it is referred to as labradorescence.
Labradorite is usually cut en cabochon or in flat slabs in order to best display the iridescence. Labradorite was named after the Labrador Peninsula in eastern Canada where it was first found around 1770. Deposits have also been found in Australia, Finland, Madagascar, India, Mexico and the Adirondack Mountains

There is a Canadian Eskimo legend that claims that the Northern Lights were once trapped in the rocks along the coast of Labrador where an Eskimo warrior saw them and smashed the rocks with his spear to release the lights. He managed to free a lot of the lights but some were still caught in the rocks which now form the gemstone Labradorite. You could almost believe it when you first see the flash of colour for yourself!

22ct Gold Vermeil

Vermeil (pronounced vermay) is a French word which came into use in the English language in the 19th Century .

It is a process of coating sterling silver with 22ct gold. Vermeil differs from gold plating in that in order for a jewellery item to be described as vermeil the base under the gold must be silver.
In the case of gold plated items it is normally a base metal that is coated with gold which can often cause an allergic reaction in sensitive people.

All our gold vermeil pieces are coated in 22ct gold, and although it is hardwearing, the wearer should ensure to care for their piece, and avoid allowing it to come into contact with chemicals such as detergents, soaps and perfumes.

22ct Gold Vermeil is an affordable way of creating a beautifully luxurious and stylish look.
Check out our website for shots of our 22ct Vermeil collection