This week the first ever virtual Goldsmiths’ Fair will begin, and this itself is a huge milestone in the long and illustrious history of not only the Goldsmiths’ Fair but of the Goldsmiths’ Company. It seems like a good time, then, to look at the history of the company and the Fair and see the other momentous changes it’s been …
Ever since I was a fledgling magpie I’ve loved lime green as a colour. In fact I had the walls in my first solo bedroom painted lime green and I must have been about 8, so it’s been my thing for a very long time! No surprise then that every time I go into the stock tray for something, the …
When Polly was a student training at John Cass in London the style of her work was greatlly influenced by various jewellers, the most prominet of whom was Dorrie Nossiter probably because, as a young Magpie, Polly used to play with Mum’s jewellery in which there were two pieces by this marvellous woman, and it must have made a huge …
One of the great features (and there are many to choose from!) about Polly’s jewellery is her use of semi-precious stones. They’re not always cheap by any means, but they go so perfectly with the yellow metal, and quite a plain stone can be lifted to new heights by 22ct gold. One stone that ticks all the semi-precious boxes is …
It could be considered a negetive side effect of the pandemic that hardly any gems are arriving in this country at the moment, or it could actually be viewed as a benefit… it means that we’ve been forced to really sort out our stock and find lovely things we’ve forgotten about, and make something with them. This is exactly how …
Apropos of absolutly nothing I suddenly decided I needed toe rings, so I carved a pair in wax, got them cast in silver (just to test – gold will follow depending on their success…) and then had them beautifully finished with soft edges. I slipped (forced, actually) them on to my toes and completely love them, and while all this …
When I was doing my research for ‘Hey, Pinkie!’ I came across this pot of coral beads the palest of which caught my eye – as I was thinking pink – and Polly told me it’s called ‘angel skin’. How lovely is that! She also suggested that coral would be a good subject for an article and of course she’s …
While I was bathing in Vitamin D among my pots full of every colour pink geraniums, I got to thinking about pink gems and wondering what else there is out there apart from tourmaline, which we use all the time. We don’t use a lot of pink stones so I thought I’d try and figure out why not. It turns …
In my history box, which is full of interesting things from my grandparents mostly, I found this photo of my grandmother, taken about 100 years ago in Entebbe. That’s my Mum, aged about 3, in all her little bare foot glory. But the other thing that’s so important about this photo is the necklace my Grandmother is wearing which is …
Every time we go through the PGG stock my eye falls on this lovely pendant; it’s a perfect size and a delicious colour, but aventurine, which is what this pendant is made of, is not my favourite blue coloured stone, and there are many to choose from. No, my favourite by far is turquoise – not the colour but the …
