Hand-crafted gold cuff bracelets
The Dragonfly
The cuff was made using a combination of rose, white and yellow gold. Among the varied selection of stones, the dragonfly's head is an aquamarine and its body, a black opal. Yellow diamonds and green sapphires were used to create the tail.
The water over which the dragonfly hovers is made up of little blue sapphires, while the cloud in the sky is another aquamarine. And finally, on the lily pad and reeds, there are tiny moonstone water droplets.
The hummingbird
Made from four different kinds of gold – 18ct white, yellow, rose, and 22ct yellow gold – and a wide variety of stones, I was delighted to discover recently that the hummingbird cuff won a gold award at the Goldsmiths Craftsmanship and Design Awards 2021.
It was entered in the senior category for 'high-quality handcraft skills demonstrated on fine jewellery' and the judges praised the 'incredible detail and thought' that went into it. The bodies of the hummingbirds are formed by two beautiful Australian black opals, while their heads feature two gorgeous sea foam blue tourmalines. Down the tip of each wing is a row of white diamonds.
The dolphin
The latest in my series of unique cuffs, features a dolphin darting through bejewelled coral reefs. The dolphin was inspired by those depicted in the famous fresco in the Queen's apartment at the Minoan Palace on Knossos, Crete, which reminded my customer of a dolphin fresco she had helped restore for the British Museum. The little fish above the dolphin’s tail was also inspired by the classical fresco.
Video:
Floats like a butterfly
Watch a short film which shows close-up the intricate craftsmanship of my work on a multi-gem gold cuff.
For this commission I came up with a variety of possible butterfly and background designs and, through discussion, we ended up with the pairing that you see above. The finished piece incorporated a number of stones that particularly appealed to my customer, and fitted with the exquisitely colourful nature of a butterfly.
