Spring and Summer are all about green! Spring ushers in the lovely new deep green foliage we all love to see, and Summer gives us our limes and chartreuse.
In the Jewellery world, however, the months of May and August celebrate the same hues…
Drop by Jewel Envy and celebrate Green!
Spring is a time of growth, renewal, and energy. Expressed through floral motifs, bright colours, fluid lines, and circles, here are just a few pieces from our talented goldsmiths that encapsulate the feeling of Spring!
Silver and gold detail floral earrings by Hyewon Jang / H Jewellery.
Textured silver and pearl necklace by Robin Cassady-Cain / House of Cassady.
Sawpierced silver and raw emerald necklace by Shafiq Sarwari / Shafiq’s Jewelry
The Basics of Jewellery Care: Clean your Jewellery regularly
For years of wearability, jewellery should be cleaned frequently. It is not advisable to let a thick coating of black tarnish build up on your jewellery as it can eventually eat away at metals and create permanent damage to the piece.
There are a variety of methods for cleaning Jewellery. For light tarnish a polishing cloth is the least abrasive method. There are two types of polishing cloths, plain and with rouge embedded in them.
A plain cloth is perfect for weekly cleaning of your pieces. It must be a cloth designed for cleaning jewellery as the fibers in these cloths will not scratch the metal.
You would be surprised that some cloths can actually put scratches into silver and gold jewellery as they have hardness greater than the metals. Use a polishing cloth by rubbing it over the surface of your jewellery. Chains can be pulled through the cloth as you pinch them lightly between the cloth in your fingers.
For a slightly heavier cleaning use a cloth embedded with rouge. Rouge is a polishing compound used in the final stage of finishing jewellery. It can be used on all metals and on most gemstones (check with a jeweller first). After rubbing your jewellery with the rouge embedded side of the cloth rub the jewellery with the non-rouge side of the cloth to remove the compound. Wash your hands well after touching rouge as it is a strong chemical and can easily transfer to other items you subsequently touch.
If you find that the cloths are not removing the tarnish the next step is a metal cleaner that is rubbed on with a sponge under running water. Polishing compounds such as this remove a thin layer of the metal in the process of removing the tarnish. Be careful if you are cleaning plated jewellery as repeated polishing will remove plating over time.
’20 Tips on maintaining our Jewellery’, Gillian E. Batcher, 2013
As you may have noticed, Jewel Envy is celebrating its 20th year, and celebrating in style! All year long, there are special things happening, including our “golden ticket” to win a unique piece of jewellery from one of Jewel Envy’s member goldsmiths!
What’s that, you say? Well, every month there is a different promotion that will get you a lucky dip capsule, with a surprise inside. A lot of them are for fun Jewel Envy-themed merch, but some lucky people will find a golden ticket inside, and they’ll get to pick their choice from the more than 15 pieces of jewellery curated just for this! There are necklaces, and earrings as well as a ring, brooch and cufflinks!
Pics of a few of the pieces up for grabs, to intrigue you – visit us in studio to see the rest!
A few more of the pieces!
In April, any repair will give you a chance to find the golden ticket! Next month will be something different. Now that spring is starting to make itself known, why not venture out to see us and explore what is new in the studio? Looking forward to seeing you soon!
-Robin.
This year I was able to attend Munich Jewellery Week & Schmuck at the Internationale Handwerkmesse in Munich, Germany. This annual event represent one of the largest meeting places for international contemporary jewellery. Here are some of my favourite pieces I saw during the week, some more traditional and some more avant-garde.
Art Jewelry Forum Young Artist Award winner Benedict Haener’s glass necklace.
Silvie Altschuler – Earrings
Keith Lewis’ Descend (Icarus)
David Bielander’s ‘Cardboard’ Ring (made from gold!)
Brooch by Georg Dobler
