Trade Talk July 2006
G.F.WILLIAMS
Passionate about Gems
RUBY is red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet,
And so are you!
Ok with a little modification this classic nursery rhyme sets a tone for one of the most popular gems. For a July birthstone and a 40 th wedding anniversary, this stone is a must. One of the ‘big four' for good reason, its classic appeal keeps demand high and good examples are always sought after.
Being the sister stone of Sapphire within the gem family Corundum, it shares the same hardness [9] and therefore durability as Sapphire as well as its high lustre. Ruby rough crystals differ to sapphire, the lamellar growth producing flatter pieces which in larger stones above 3 carats often polish into stones with a ‘spready' appearance.
With the UK's often overcast climate; the very high price - super strong colour stones are not worth their premium whereas a more subtle red with more transparency is often preferred. Be wary of some pitfalls, glass filled surface marks are common place [visible by lustre difference], and the beautiful gem ruby you saw in someone else's light may well change to a dark sleepy stone back home.
The gem cutters realisation of the markets strong demand for calibrated production has made it far easier in recent years to obtain 1 carat, 1.5 carat, and 2 carat ovals. And also larger rounds up to 7mm which were in the past impossible to source.
This follows in finer goods and we are now able to supply a very fine range of up to 1 carat matching stones across a range of shapes and sizes for making ring, earring, pendant sets in matching grades achievable for the small producer. This was unheard of 10 years ago. We also have a new range of princess cut Ruby up to 3.50mm which are very popular for channel sets and the bright even princess cut makes matching far easier.
Jason
Royal College of Art Degree Show
Highlights May 2006
Nick Turvey - Glassmaker
My work aims to provide an abstracted essence of nature's structures and patterns. A background in architecture and film helped prepare me for the cross-disciplinary opportunities offered by a two year MA course at the Royal College of Art, and my work there has included inflatable sculpture and concrete paving. However, my primary focus has been designing and working with glass, inspired by experiences of diving on coral reefs. The floating colours of these pieces are reminiscent of the jewel-like soft bodies of tiny tunicates. Paradoxically, they are created through cutting very thick, heavy, blown forms.
www.nickturvey.com Tel:07952 483907
Lynne Murray
‘Exploring new technologies whilst retaining my established aesthetic goals, the work is a digital investigation of thoughts and sketches that operates at a fractured junction where the directness of the hand drawn and the dominance of computerised design collide. My work celebrates this by intricately mapping impulsive drawn designs through a digitizer pen into a 3-d design package. This refined digital jewellery is then printed by 3-d printing technologies. By exploiting the glitches between these opposing processes, the work starts to function and the journey can begin. . .
The RCA offers a tailor made agenda for each student enabling
individuals to explore many avenues of design practice, an experience during which I did not stop learning. I have been a Design Consultant for Links of London and elected to complete a teaching project at Farnham. Working closely with the Rapidform department has been an excellent resource, one that I hope to continue using upon becoming alumni.'
Photography by www.victorialing.com
lynne.murray@rca.ac.uk
Yoriko Mitsuhashi
I interpret subtly through jewellery in pearls and gold, bringing these traditional materials into contemporary jewellery. Using a simple form as a container, and setting pearls discretely inside of the ring, the pearls come into contact with the skin directly. I consider how much of the pearls to reveal form the ring, also how to contain and hold them. During my studies at the Royal College of Art, I have achieved delicate and elegant qualities in my work. I would like to expand my career as a jewellery designer as well as studio jeweller.
yoriko.mitsuhashi@rca.ac.uk
Polly Wales
This body of work has developed from an interest in the metaphor of
layers. I have developed a technique whereby I build composite objects from precious stones, electroforming and resins. Each object is slowly built layer by layer and finally sliced through. The process requires me to remember every step of the objects growth and contents, so I know when to finally start cutting. Each slice is unique and one of, these are then mounted as a brooch or a ring.
When I came to the RCA the work I was making referred to jewellery but was not always wearable, the RCA gave me the time, space and facilities to translate my concepts into jewellery and to refine my working practice.
Jacqueline Scholes
My time at the Royal College of Art has given me two years of experience and the freedom to experiment spontaneously with various media. Being at the RCA has challenged the way I work and has given me a great foundation for future work. The greatest benefit of my time here has been working among dedicated students with very diverse backgrounds and also the support of enthusiastic and knowledgeable tutors. I have been exploring a series of vessels, experimenting with forms, focussing on details of sections, layers and cavities. These details are expressed by cutting through the forms and manipulating the material. I want the pieces to initiate an element of user interaction: the response of the user is very important to me. I want people to think about the pieces when seeing and using them and create an element of surprise in function and use. My pieces for the show express 3 different scenarios of eating, offering 3 different experiences of the bowl.
E-mail:jscholes@hotmail.com Photography: Andra Nelki
100 Years of Schofer
100 Years of Herbstrith
Our high-quality chains and jewellery are about to profit from over two centuries of experience
Eugen Schofer's jewellery chain factory is taking over Herbstrith, the traditional gold and jewellery manufacturer.
Pforzheim-based company Eugen Schofer GmbH & Co. KG will take over gold and jewellery manufacturer, Theodor Wilh. Herbstrith GmbH, also from Pforzheim, Germany, as of 1st June
2006.
“Schofer – The Chain Company” counts among the leading international jewellery chain manufacturers. “Herbstrith – The Art Of Gold” made a name for itself with its exquisite, hand-worked jewellery products. Both founded in 1904, these traditional companies can look back over a long, successful history.
The sale is taking place for age-related reasons, and is, as the current sole partner and
managing director of Herbstrith, Jürgen Bender, explains, a far-sighted and forward-looking decision: “I am very happy to be able to entrust the continued existence and further development of the traditional brand Herbstrith to young, dedicated hands.”
For Schofer, the Herbstrith brand's premium segment, which comprises luxury chains and jewellery, is an enhancement. Monika Kohlhammer, an executive board member whose responsibilities include design, accepts the challenge with enthusiasm: “Herbstrith has a distinctive design with a characteristic range and a definite brand recognition factor. We will take great pleasure in maintaining the collection's high quality level and developing it consistently in the same vein.”
Schofer's excellent customer relations worldwide will expose the Herbstrith brand to new markets and distribution channels. Up until now, the company has focused on Central Europe, where it has been a well-known presence and enjoys an excellent customer base.
Axe Kohlhammer, Schofer's senior director, explains: “It is our explicit objective to continue the successful Herbstrith collection, marketing it as an international brand in the luxury segment from now on. We can now apply our international customer relations, developed over decades, to Herbstrith production as well. We will engineer Herbstrith's launch onto the brand-conscious markets outside Europe like Asia, the USA, Russia and Middle East with the aid of an active trade fair presence and increased travel-related activities. We are convinced that the growth rate will be both excellent and secure.”
Initial international trade fair appearances and presentations will be held this year in Las Vegas, New York, Dubai, Moscow, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
The Herbstrith brand will continue to be managed as an independent company. A young, highly motivated team led by Mathias Kohlhammer will be supported by current Herbstrith managing director Jürgen Bender and authorised representative Brigitte Härdt until the end of this year.
Both sides are anticipating a close, amicable working relationship.
An additional sales and marketing manager will help to devise the planned expansion from 1st August 2006 onwards.
www.schofer.com, www.herbstrith.com
The Johnny Rocket Silver & Swarovski Crystal Fender Stratocaster Celebrates
60 Years
Johnny Rocket explains: “The guitar has been stripped to its basic components and all the original metal pieces were remade in solid sterling silver.
The headsets tuning nuts, and the pick -up selector switch were remade in tiny skull and crossbones.
The tone and volume control knobs again remade insSterling silver.
We then set about remaking the guitar pick-up covers, the scratch plate, rear neck plate, and the metal jack point for the amp lead all in sterling silver. The sterling silver was supplied by Cooksons, all the handmade components were made by us in our studio and any cast components were cast by Eurocast Birmingham utilising our bespoke mould patterns.
The silver components add 4.5 kilos in weight to the instrument, and the silver pick-up covers combined with the added resonance of the 3mm thick solid silver scratch plate have enhanced the sound quality of the Stratocaster immensely, it is one LOUD guitar.
The fret board has been set with 60 x .03 carat diamonds on each fingering point and the headstock pattern pick out in the same way. The crystals are supplied by Swarovski, who are launching a new line of pre-set precious stones to compliment their existing Signity precious and semi- precious stones. The settings are in 18 carat white gold.
The rest of the body of the guitar has been covered in Jet and AB Crystal Swarovski 1mm flat back crystals using a revolutionary photographic process.
This has enabled Johnny Rocket to apply 49,750 of these crystals to the guitar body and generate a photographic collage in crystal of 60 years of Rock n Roll history. Artists represented on the guitar body are (front) Leadbelly , Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin, Joe Strummer / The Clash, John Squire / Stone Roses, Jack White/ White Stripes ;
(Back)
Johnny Cash, Steve Jones / Sex Pistols, Lou Reed / Velvet Underground, John Lee Hooker, Tony Iommi / Black Sabbath, Eddie Van Halen / Van Halen , Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kurt Cobain / Nirvana. These are some of Rock's most significant or influential guitarists, and not necessarily the best in each case.
The Flight Case is covered in 196,624 crystals using the same Swarovski process. We applied images from AC/DC through The Pixies to The Zutons. Then we distressed the case to give an aged look and applied 60 of those cloth patches that every Rock fan has sewn to their jackets over the decades. The case is a work of art in it's own right.
Total 246,374 crystals for the project.
We tried to capture the spirit of the genre, utilising our skills as
cutting edge jewellery makers, working with new technology but with traditional skills. This reflects the ethos of Fender, and music. We had great partners in the project, with Cooksons, and Swarovski, particularly seizing the idea and pulling their resources together rapidly to keep pace with the momentum required to deliver the project on time.
Each aspect of the guitar is amazing, but as a whole it is stunning. It will be auctioned at the end of the year by Christies to raise funds for Maggie's House (women's cancer hospice), and Fender's children's AIDS projects.
Johnny Rocket
Creative Director Johnny Rocket Ltd
10 College Approach
Greenwich
London
SE10 9HY
