Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design
Blog

Some lovely customers of ours just sent me this lovely picture of their daughter, Willemina, wearing a christening bangle that we designed at her baptism. I just had to share it with you because she is soooo cute!

Harriet

Did you know that the word sapphire actually originates from the Greek word for blue? Sapphires are however available in a huge variety of different colours as they are part of the corundum family of gemstones.

You can even get sapphires that have unusual optical properties known as 'star stones' or 'cat's eyes'. These gems have rare optical properties that make them appear to look like their namesake, these unique alignments of needle-like inclusions can give displays of asterism or chatoyancy.

A big favourite of mine from the corundum family is an extremely rare variety known as a padparadscha sapphire. The name padparadscha actually comes from the Sinhalese word for lotus blossom. Did you know that there are only two varieties of corundum that have their own unique name, these are rubies and padparadschas, the rest are known by their colour e.g. yellow sapphire or pink sapphire.

This stunning stone can show a beautiful display pink and orange together in a single stone. These lovely gemstones are usually sourced in Sri Lanka.

Recently I had the pleasure of handling some of these lovely gemstones and I found myself quite giddy with excitement, they truly are stunning! I soon found myself running around the whole studio eagerly showing the team our newest stunning arrival.

When looking at a gemstone it is really key for you to remember how significant lighting is when you view it. In order to appreciate a gemstone like this it is best to have a look at it in allot of different lights as the colour of the stone and intensity of colour can differ significantly in different lights. This I have found to be particularly true with a padparadscha and you may sometimes catch me running around various places in the studio to try and view the material in different light, in this case I found this lovely gem had an amazingly intense colour in the light in our workshop...so sadly our workshop had to put up with me oogling in the corner for a little while!

These really are lovely gemstones, so if you ever get a chance to see one do spend to time to appreciate this rare and beautiful find!

X teddy

Working in jewellery it's great on how much there is to learn and to become so passionate about, but not just the knowledge of gemstones. I personal like to find out about the little facts and the old wives tails. So in my blog this month i have put together a few i have picked up over the years working in the industry.

Although we do not produce it any longer, the UK used to produce 12 and 15 carat as well as 9 carat which we still have today. These became legal in 1854 for the simple reason that gold before this date was considered a symbol of wealth with 22carat and 18carat. However the jewellery industry wanted to expand their market and started to produce 9, 12 and 15 carat so that the working/middle class could also buy jewellery as well. However later on the British government decided to scrap so many different purities of gold and just keep 9 carat as this was the most popular.

All the ladies out there who love the idea of a 1 carat diamond will be impressed when i say that around one million diamonds are mined just to get that one perfect stone and over 100 tonnes of earth is moved to get to it.

The gemstone Opal is considered by some people as bad luck and others believe it gives you wisdom and good fortune. Back many years ago people believed that opal was pieces of heaven knocked drop to earth after a thunderstorm.

The gemstone in the queens crown is called the 'black prince's ruby' which is really a spinel.

The earliest recorded exchange of wedding rings was in 2,200BC in Egypt.

And finally one of my most favourite fact is that if we mined all the gold in the world and put it in cube shape we could fit it under the Eiffel tower, but this isn't the fact i like the most. The idea that before we started mining for gold, but before the earth was created that the engagement ring your wearing or proposed with or the wedding rings you both said 'I do' with. The materials within that piece of jewellery could of been floating in space for who knows how long, which means it could be as old as time it's self, truly making your jewellery eternal.

So come see us here in Cambridge or in our Hertfordshire studio our bespoke rings are out of this world.

Iain

We are looking for 6 couples in their late 20s - early 30s to appear in our new bespoke jewellery adverts which we will run in both local and national magazines, as well as our website. We want real couples, not models so we aren't looking for people you'd normally find in Vogue, but just nice friendly-looking real couples.

You'll be needed for a few hours in Hertfordshire and/or Cambridge.

You'll of course get copies of the photos and a payment for your time.

Please send your photo (image must include head and shoulders), along with your ages, heights and approximate clothes sizes to Kirsty at hkjewellery.co.uk for more info.

I've been looking at our collection of amethyst jewellery as it happens to be my birthstone and the Anniversary stone for 6 years. As my 6th Wedding Anniversary is looming it seems fitting for me to celebrate with amethyst!

This amethyst and pearl cluster pendant is simple and elegant. The pendant is made up of an amethyst nugget, river pearls and synthetic moonstone all thread onto a silk necklet, making it very comfortable to wear. The amethyst is quite a bit larger than the other stones so it stands out beautifully.

Amethyst, when worn, is said to heighten your natural intuition and help get in touch with your inner self, bringing peace and calm to your life - something I could most certainly do with!!

Deborah Souza-Smith

Last weekend I attended the RHS flower show set in the shadow of Cardiff Castle and Millennium Stadium. Whilst wondering around in the gorgeous sun, I caught myself standing in front of a display with what must have been hundreds of different types of Daffodils! Who knew there was more than a couple! After admiring the beautiful colours and shapes of the flowers they quickly reminded me of a lovely mixed gold colour diamond daffodil inspired engagement ring we have in the cabinet here in our Halls Green Studio.

The band of the ring is 18ct white gold with the flower being made from 18ct yellow gold. The petals of the flower hold a beautiful 2mm brilliant cut H SI diamond in the head of the flower. The ring was designed by Harriet Kelsall and is perfect for a spring proposal!

I recently saw this stunning Rock Crystal and Swarovski pendant in our Hertfordshire showroom. What struck me about this piece that it is really simple and elegant and something that would complement any number of outfits in my wardrobe?

I love the way the crackled rock crystals are off-set by the Sterling silver snake style chain. Another piece to add to my wish list.

Heya,

we have a fantastic kids design compeition running throughout the month of May.

Get your kids to unleash their creativity and design a fantastic crown for either William or Kate and they could be in with a chance of winning one of our fantastic jewellery making kits!

Simply design a crown for the future King or Queen, on one side of plain a4 paper with your name, age, and phone number on the back and you may be our lucky winner!

Entries can be dropped into us in person, at our Hertfordshire jewellery centre, by post or email.

We have 3 age catergories for this great competiton: under 4, 5-9 and 10+

The closing date for the competition is 31st May.

All the entries will be judged by Harriet and our head of design Rebecca - with the winners being announced at our Summer Jewellery event on 8th June.

There will be lots going on at the summer event, including kids jewellery making - so be sure to pop on down!

Good luck everyone!

One of the fantastic thing about working for Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Design is the lovely range of gemstones you can oogle!

Sapphires are always a popular choice for engagement rings, wedding rings and a whole array of different types of jewellery. This lovely pale blue sapphire has been recently catching my eye.

This is a wonderful choice for someone who is looking for something really unique. It has an unusual band of colour zoning running diagonally through the stone to give a 'yin-yang' type affect of dark and light colours. This stone has a really beautiful pale blue colour and is lovely and sparkly… a real find!

It is certainly a head turner with a weight of 1.57ct, it has a good depth and measures approximately 8x6mm in an octagonal step cut. This stone is a really lovely option and has a fantastic level of clarity.

Did you know that sapphires are known as allochromatic? This means that their body colour is a result of trace impurities in the stone rather than an essential part of their composition. In the case of a blue sapphire, its colour derives from the presence of iron and titanium.

Sapphires are a member of the corundum family and are available in a vast array of colours including pink, green, white, red (known as a ruby), padparadscha (an unusual colour which combines pink and orange in a single stone) etc. Sapphires can also be sourced with a number of unusual feature, for example have you ever heard of a star sapphire? These lovely gemstones have a feature known as asterism which gives the gemstone the appearance of a star with rays coming out from its centre, this is a result of a unique alignment of rutile needles and tubes within the structure of the material and can be quite a sight to see! Sapphires can also be produced and grown in a laboratory. Did you know that synthetic sapphires began being produced back in the late 19th century?

Check out our galleries to get some Sapphire engagement ring inspiration!

X Teddy

I love encouraging kids to be creative and like my kids to think about making something before they think about just buying something bland from the shops. And also we're really into recycling wherever we can.

The other day my 3 year old was sad that her soap-on-a-rope that she had been given last summer had finally run out. So we decided to embark a soap-on-a-rope making project. It only took about 20 minutes with all 4 of us helping out with the first step.

Step 1: Gather all the old little bits of soap from around the house (and you can include bar or two of new basic soap if you like) and grate it all up with a hand cheese grater.

Step 2: Add a small amount of hand-hot water.

Step 3: Wear rubber gloves and mix it all together - the consistency should be similar to playdough.

Step 4:- Add some essential oils if you like (I think you can add food colouring too although I didn't). We chose to add some tea tree oil and some geranium oil and added about 30 drops of each.

Step 5: Mix it all some more with your hands (Again use rubber gloves).

Step 6: start to spread it out a little like thick pastry on a piece of grease-proof paper.

Step 7: Get some rope or ribbon (we recycled the old rope from one Ellie had been given but you can use whatever you have, old paper bag cord handles work well) and wrap the soap round it so it goes down the centre.

Step 8: Mould the soap into whatever shape you like around the rope or ribbon (we chose an egg shape as it is the Easter holidays).

Step 9: You can add a face or other details if you like.

Step 10: Put it in a warm place (like the airing cupboard) to dry for at least a couple of days.

By the way, it is always a good idea to keep soap when you buy it for a few months in the airing cupboard or in your clothes drawers. In that time it hardens up and lasts much longer as a result which is better for the environment. Also whilst it is in the airing cupboard, the scent from the soap gradually seeps into your sheets and towels which is lovely same goes for scented candles.

We'd love it if you tweet us your pictures of creative projects you've been up to with your kids @HKBespoke and @HarrietKelsall

See you soon,

Harriet