by Polly Gasston | May 24, 2021 | Events
When I watch Antiques Roadshow I usually learn something new but seldom retain it. This week, however, not only did I learn something new but I actually retained it, and was so fascinated by it I had to find out more and pass on this little gem of knowledge –...
by Polly Gasston | May 10, 2021 | Gems
When I put a new piece of jewellery into stock I usually just describe the stone as ‘cabochon’ or ‘faceted’ but actually, I should get more technical when it comes to the facet cut stones we use because there are so many different types of cut....
by Polly Gasston | Apr 19, 2021 | Gems
Jasper and Jade aren’t named for Jim and Judy’s twins in this instance but are two of the three gems in the directory of gems that begin with J. The third one is Jet which I wrote about a while ago, and I thought I should look at these two as well. Jasper...
by Polly Gasston | Apr 16, 2021 | News
It’s been a different and quite difficult year – understatement! – but it’s all beginning to come alive again which is so great. So far it looks as though Goldsmiths’ Fair is going to go ahead, one week later than usual, and we will be...
by Polly Gasston | Apr 5, 2021 | Gems
There’s no telling what will inspire my next article, and this week I was surprised that it was the curtains in my conservatory that did the job! For no particular reason they made me wonder about stars in jewellery, and most particularly the significance of...
by Polly Gasston | Mar 22, 2021 | And everything else
While it’s true to say that wearing jewellery makes you look and feel wonderful, shows off your wealth, makes a statement about who you are and all that, it hasn’t always just been about decoration. Jewellery, especially in days gone by, often had a much more...
by Polly Gasston | Mar 8, 2021 | Gems
The other day we brought out a collection of lovely stones that Polly bought at auction, with a view to deciding which we’d use first. They’re lovely pieces but none of them are perfect (which makes them perfect for us, of course) and it got me thinking about...
by Polly Gasston | Feb 22, 2021 | Jewels
Scrolling through Instagram the other day I saw what I thought was carved glass jewellery. It turns out it’s resin, but it got me thinking and wondering about glass jewellery. When we were children we used to swap sweets for beads in Northern Kenya and only now...
by Polly Gasston | Feb 8, 2021 | Gems
Since Polly came back to the bench in 2007 after a 30 year hiatus, her work has been, and still is, influenced by the ancient jewellers; mycenaean, Egyptian, Persian and of course Roman. Recently we’ve been drawn to Roman design quite a lot, in particular...
by Polly Gasston | Feb 1, 2021 | Jewels
During a session of Magpie Therapy (i.e. going through my jewellery box on a rainy afternoon) I found this little pendant that I haven’t seen or thought of for ages. As far as I know it’s made with a butterfly wing and while I have never seen a butterly...
