Wristwear

I am continuing with my range review and in this post I will be looking at wristwear - bangles and bracelets.

I'm going to start by looking at my acrylic bracelets. These were discussed quickly in my necklaces post.

 

They are made by saw-piercing and heat-forming acrylic and adding cold enamel domes, silver discs or filling half-drilled 'holes' with cold enamel then joining the elements with hand-dyed nylon or silver fittings.

I really enjoy these pieces, both making and wearing them. They are very striking and have been popular with customers. I have made bracelets with the cold enamel domes in a blue and green colour way as well and I think the results are really beautiful.

I will continue to make these bracelets but with a few tweaks. The design is evolving, which is healthy.

Staying with bracelets, I have a number of 'charm' bracelets made from enamelled discs, semi-precious beads and silver.

These pieces are always popular and they are very enjoyable to make. I like using different chains and a variety of materials to create fun pieces that are easy to wear and are fashionable. My charm bracelets have so many incarnations and they are constantly evolving so I expect I'll be making them for many years to come.



So onto bangles...

One of my favourite and most popular designs is my cluster bangle. They are chunky silver bangles with clusters of cold enamel filled silver domes attached in various positions around the shank. They are fun and quirky and make an excellent jangling sound when the wearer moves their wrist! These will be a Ruth Gordon staple for many years to come.

The design inspiration behind these bangles is quite interesting. As I have mentioned in the past, I was inspired by the Smarties atop my 'top hat' cakes (see above picture) but the idea to attach these coloured, filled domes to a bangle came from a piece of jewellery my Grandad gave me years and years ago.

 My Grandad used to go to the local market in Dens Road, Dundee (pictured above) and buy big bags of jewellery and bits and pieces from house clearances so I could fiddle about with the oddments and make jewellery of my own. In one of the bags was a bangle with little bells attached at three different points. I thought it was great and the design must have stuck in my head all these years. The picture below shows one example of a Ruth Gordon cluster bangle inspired by Grandad Lindsay's discovery (and cupcakes).

I also make several bangles with nylon charms, including the ones pictured below. I make bangles with both round and square frame charms. The square charms have knotted nylon rather than the loops shown in the round frame.

I also make bangles with silver rings and loops of nylon as charms. These also make a lovely jangling noise when worn but are less statement pieces and more for those wanting a slightly subtler adornment.

I have also introduced a few bangles incorporating semi-precious bead charms. These are intended to complement my new semi-precious bead necklaces.  

All of my bangles will continue to feature in my ranges, evolve and inspire me to make new work.

The next and final range review will be on rings.

Wedding Jewellery

Wedding jewellery means different things to different people. The meaning or purpose behind each piece of jewellery might be different to the Bride, to the Groom, to the Bridesmaids, to the shop assistant, to the designer and so on.

I started to write this blog post when I was getting ready to get married last year. The writing of it fell by the wayside as the wedding drew nearer and I have only just picked up writing it again. I am quite glad of this however because I can now tell you all about my wedding jewellery experience and what I have learnt from it - the differences between what the designer thinks and what the bride thinks.

Brides. For some wedding jewellery is the chance to add a bit of/bit more bling to their outfit, for others it's an opportunity to add a splash of colour, some brides prefer to have some meaning to their baubles and maybe for some it's a chance to do all three! But that isn't where their options/meaning/opportunities etc. end. Wedding jewellery means something different to each and every bride.

Jewellery designers. This is a designer's chance to design something really special, something that the bride/groom/bridesmaids/best man/ushers etc. will cherish, admire and keep forever.

In my research I have found that most brides want plain wedding bands and simple, elegant bridal jewellery. Most brides don't want the jewellery to be the star of the show because, of course, it is the bride who is the star of the show. Wedding jewellery for men tends to be anything they would normally wear such as a chain, a watch and perhaps cufflinks (shirt allowing) and of course the wedding band.

I have been to about 10 weddings and I can honestly say (no offence intended to those in the bridal parties) that I cannot remember anything about the jewellery the bride/groom/bridesmaids/best man/ushers wore. That's not to say that the jewellery they were wearing wasn't beautiful or even that I didn't comment on it because I probably did! Maybe it's because I am a jeweller that I focus on other things at weddings like the cake, I love a beautiful cake! Maybe it's because these brides and grooms have all chosen their jewellery so well that it became part of their overall outfit/look instead of being a separate item.

Dundee based jeweller Genna Delaney makes beautifully elegant wedding jewellery with pearls. Genna's main range of jewellery is very different from her wedding jewellery, a lot of it includes chunky stones, coloured acrylic and textured metal. Genna has captured the wedding jewellery market perfectly with these floaty, classic pieces.

Genna Delaney. 3 Strand Pearl Necklace.

Genna Delaney. Single Chain Pearl Drop Earrings.

For my own wedding I travelled up to Scotland with nothing made and horrified everyone by making a necklace at aisle minus 2 hours. I was fortunate enough to have an antique charm bracelet that my grandad bought me that I knew I was going to wear so I only had a necklace and earrings to make. The earrings problem was solved by my bridesmaid Zoe and her fiance, Chris, giving me a belated birthday present of some beautiful red glass earrings. I then designed and made a simple pearl and crystal necklace incorporating parts taken out of a bracelet (that was too big) that my gran had given me for my 21st Birthday.

My wedding jewellery.

My antique charm bracelet.

I made my maid of honour and my two bridesmaids little personalised charm bracelets with different coloured semi precious stones and silver charms with their names letter stamped on.

I had wanted to wear a signature Ruth Gordon Jewellery bright red coral necklace to match my petticoat, sash and shoes. I decided against this thinking that less was probably more in this case. 

Bright red coral - perfect for weddings?

I realised after my wedding that every piece of jewellery I wore had meaning and sentimental value to it. The necklace and bracelet had reminders of my grandparents, my earrings were given to me by my dear friends and my ring was made by my husband.

My new husband had on the ring I made him and my mum was even sporting some Ruth Gordon Jewellery earrings. We were all wearing jewellery that we enjoyed wearing, that meant something to us and that looked good.

I won't get into the theory suggesting that many jewellers prefer only to wear jewellery for sentimental value at the moment as that is another blog post in the pipeline!


I should probably mention the most important and special part of the wedding jewellery - the rings. Doug and I decided to make our own rings. I would make his and I would guide him through making mine. It was great fun and I would recommend doing this to other engaged couples. It made the ring giving and receiving that little bit more special. I also found out that Doug has a natural talent with metal. We made the rings in palladium to match my engagement ring, a material which I hadn't used before and therefore I had a bit of a struggle to get to terms with how the solder reacts to heat. I really enjoyed working with the palladium once I got the hang of it, it is quite a forgiving metal and it has the benefit of being cheaper the plantinum and gold. I hope to work with it again and would encourage other couples to investigate it as a great alternative to the traditional metals.

Doug putting flux onto my palladium wedding band

Ruth Gordon Jewellery soldering Doug's palladium wedding band

Several jewellers are now offering a 'Make your own wedding ring' service and I would really encourage this as a lovely way to do something together that makes the wedding day even more special. In Edinburgh Donna Barry and Hannah Louise Lamb have set up a company called Make Your Own Wedding Rings where they invite couples to come into their workshop and are taken through the making process, step-by-step. During the day the jewellers will also take photos and the couple get a CD of images. Not only do you get your handmade wedding bands you get a lovely keepsake of the documented making process.

In Leicestershire, Kate Bajic is offering a Make Your Own Wedding Rings workshop. Along with the personal tuition of a professional jeweller, couples receive photographs as a memento of the day.

Both workshops are priced at under £300 for the tuition and use of all tools plus the expertise and advice of the jewellers. The cost of raw materials and hallmarking is additional. I think these are brilliantly priced for such a wonderful experience. After all you are exchanging rings as a symbol of your love and you will wear them forever! 


Men's jewellery is always hard especially as I don't currently make male jewellery and my husband doesn't wear any jewellery apart from his wedding band. I had previously made some cufflinks as a wedding commission (see the blog post here and photo below) and would like to make more. They are a lovely thank you present for the best man and ushers and, of course, for the groom. 

Barker/Kirby cufflink commission

As a jewellery designer I can appreciate beautiful jewellery not only for its aesthetic appeal but also because I know what has gone into making it. I feel with the rise of craft and design in Britain today more and more people are understanding this, which is great. More people want something really special when they buy a piece of jewellery, whether it be for their wedding or an everyday occasion.

I am currently very drawn towards the work of Hannah Louise Lamb. I love her Coast- and Skyline ranges and I think they fit into this post about wedding jewellery perfectly. Last year I saw in one of Hannah's Facebook posts that she had made a pair of wedding bands for a couple who were from two very different cities and wanted this incorporated into their rings. The groom had the skyline of his wife's home city of Prague on his band and the bride had the skyline of her husband's home city of Edinburgh on hers. I think this is a beautiful idea.

Hannah Louise Lamb. Skyline Wedding Bands

Hannah also makes Coastline jewellery which is utterly gorgeous and a perfect way to incorporate that special place into a piece of jewellery. Again going back to my personal experience, coastlines are quite special to me. I got engaged on a beach in Wales, married on the banks on a Scottish loch and spent every summer of my childhood on the beach on the Mainland of the Orkney Isles. I could think of many stretches of coast that I'd love to have on a ring or a brooch or have put on some cufflinks for Doug.

Hannah Louise Lamb. Coastline Rings.

I think Hannah's work lends itself beautifully to wedding jewellery and her Coast- and Skyline rings make unique wedding bands that are meaningful and stylish.

The happy couple. Not a red necklace in sight.

Peter Potter Gallery

Ruth Gordon Jewellery is in the midst of some much needed time off but I felt a much needed update was in order!

Nylon Frame Earrings

The fabulous Peter Potter Gallery in Haddington is now fully re-stocked with some lovely pieces of Ruth Gordon Jewellery which they have been showing off on their Facebook Page.

Framed Nylon Necklace

The Peter Potter Gallery is a wonderful space featuring a gallery, craft shop and cafe all based in an old fire station building.

The gallery has been called the 'jewel in the crown' of East Lothian.

'The abundant craft shop includes a fantastic range of cards, prints, ceramics, glass, wood, textiles and jewellery - all with a focus on bespoke Scottish design. An idyllic coffee shop with fabulous river views serving home baking and great lunches makes this little venue East Lothian's best kept secret. Art gallery with a continuous series of exhibitions of paintings, prints, pottery, ceramics, jewellery and wood craft. Encourages local and promising new artists as well as established ones.' - Words from the Visit Scotland Website

Ruth Gordon Jewellery is currently the featured maker of the gallery with a large range of pieces from all three collections priced £30 - £130.

Cold Enamel and Silver Ring

Silver Cluster Ring

Silver Cluster Bangle

Cold Enamel and Silver Earrings

Acrylic Earrings

Nylon Bangle

Carnelian Cluster Ring

Silver, Coral, Smokey Quartz, Pearl and Nylon Necklace

Nylon and Silver Bangle

Nylon and Silver Frame Earrings

Nylon and Silver Ring

Tourmalated Quartz and Carnelian Bracelet

It's very exciting to have pieces at Peter Potter - a lovely gallery.

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