Venetia Major 8/2/17 Venetia Major 8/2/17

Easy to Support Local

It's now even easier to support local industry. As the city grows so to does the number of qualified professional tradespeople situated in Canberra. The money you chose to spend with me not only supports one local Charnwood family but also three others in the local area.

Over the last two years the jewellery industry in Canberra has exploded!

I'm talking specifically about the support services that the manufacturing jeweller relies on to run a professional jewellery manufacturing business.

Fields like stone cutters, diamond setters and registered valuers are all vital parts of the industry and all of these trades require years of training and expense to become proficient tradespeople.

When I started in the industry, over ten years ago, we sent all of the peripheral jobs interstate, often never having met the tradie face to face, simply working on reputation, phone conversations and trade recommendations.

Today, it makes me really proud to say that I now have a team of tradespeople - a setter, a cutter and a valuer - all within 7 minutes drive of my studio!

When you have a piece of jewellery repaired or manufactured by me, you're not just supporting one young Charnwood family, your dollar flows through the whole local community and specifically, supporting three other young families as well.

We still don't have any tool or gemstones suppliers or engravers but these will come as we grow as a city.

A cabochon sapphire being valued by the local valuer.

A heliodore cut by the local cutter, setting manufactured by Venetia and set by local setter.

A handmade ring ready to be sent to the engraver and then the setter.

Venetia Major 23/1/16 Venetia Major 23/1/16

Claudia's Heirloom

Claudia's heirloom pieces were worn out and out of fashion, she came to me to have the rings remodeled. See the challenges and triumphs in remaking Claudia's rings.

Background & Brief

The rings Claudia had been given by her grandmothers.

Claudia had been given these rings from both of her grandmothers. She wanted to have the rings melted down and remodeled into a new design, something modern that she could wear every day but also something that maintained the sentimental value of the rings.

Claudia wanted to use all the gemstones and also use the gold from the original rings.

Challenges

Beginning the melting process by heating up the ingot mold.

The main challenge was the risk involved in using the original white gold. There was a potential for the metal to crack when I started re working it after it had been melted down. The really tricky thing is that you can't tell whether the metal will crack before you do it so there was going to be a financial risk involved if it didn't work and, of course, the sentimental risk of possibly losing the metal.

The other issue was with the very scratched rubies. These were very old rings and had seen a lot of wear. I suggested having them re-polished to bring them back to life. Claudia was going to lose some carat weight but I couldn't see any point in making a beautiful new ring with shabby old stones that looked worn out.

Process

First step is to cut out the gemstones. This can take a surprising long time.

The melted down white gold forming an ingot bar.

Rolled out to form the beginnings of a ring. Black oxide build up from annealing process. (heated to soften).

Outcome

The metal did indeed crack and I had to melt it twice but we were able to work around the issues. You can see a tiny crack mark in the 'Polished ring' photograph above but we were able to set one of the gemstones there so it was effectively removed. There was also a lateral crack but it was shallow and I was able to put it on the inside of the band and Claudia was happy with that.

The rubies polished up beautifully and so did the ring. Claudia now had a ring that protected her gemstones (as much as is possible), that she could wear every day, made from the original metal her grandmothers had bequeathed her.