A ring that was customised as a wedding anniversary gift with 3 coloured diamonds to signify the couple’s 3 children.
A style that is unique, yet understated and wearable daily with somewhat of a cool factor and definitely not something off-the-shelf. The lady wanted a design that symbolised the pure, natural love for her family, husband and children, hence the organic-styled design of this ring. As with any family dynamics, there is always undulating up and downs symbolised by the uneven texture of this ring. But at the end of the day, everything comes full circle, symbolised by the circle of this ring.
What is special about this ring is that no 2 sides or faces about this ring is remotely the same.
A stellar pair of Tahitian pearls and diamond cluster ear-drops. At 13mm diameter, this pair of Tahitian pearls are of AAA, fine quality with no blemish and very good reflective lustre. Specially sourced on a commissioned basis, this pair of perfectly round Tahitian pearls are of superb quality.
Factors that affect price of pearls:
Roundness: Pearls are classified according to perfectly round, semi-round, oval, button, baroque, cercled (yes, you read that right. There is no spelling error – it is not circled).
Shine/Lustre: Excellent mirror-like lustre, very good lustre, good lustre, average lustre and weak lustre.
Surface: No imperfection/blemish, minimal imperfections, imperfections and important imperfections
Size also plays a big role in price point. Assuming all other assessing factors of quality being the same, the larger the pearl, the more expensive. For example, a 15mm pearl that is perfect round with very good lustre and no blemish would command a much higher price than a 15mm pearl that is semi-round, average lustre and has imperfections.
The pair of Tahitian pearl ear drops were commissioned to complement our client’s existing Tahitian baroque pearl necklace and we must say it is stunning.
The design of the pearl earrings were conceptualised from the natural environment of the ocean where oysters and corals are a part of the natural landscape.
At first glance, it seems the diamonds have been randomly clustered into a somewhat irregular shape. However, on closer look, one would realise there is actually symmetry to be found in the design and the placement of the diamonds. It makes for a very natural piece of art one would wear on herself.
Garnets have good hardness and durability and come in various colours. The gemstone & jewellery industry dedicates a special mention to the Mandarin Spessatite, which ranges from a orange to yellow-orange to deep reddish-orange or a deep orange-red colour. And within this special class of garnets called the Mandarin Spessatites, there is a special locale that produces that signature Tangerine Orange colour. These are the ones from Namibia. In a class of its own.
Namibia produces Spessartites that come in a bright, fiery orange colour. Pure tangerine orange. Not too much yellow, not too much red. Just pure orange, like Tangerines.
It is the Manganese compound that gives the gemstone that bright orange colour. It is best to view Mandarin Spessartites in daylight, as viewing them in yellow light or store light might result in the Spessartite looking more warm in tone than it actually is, making it seem more “orange-y” than it really is.
Below is a stunning, customised set of Mandarin Spessartite jewellery.
What Mandarin Spessatites are famous for is their high lustre, brilliance and best of all, they are normally unheated and untreated. While Mandarin Spessatites do come with some natural inclusions visible to the eye, it is possible to source those that are relatively eye-clean.
This is not your typical wedding bands. Showcasing “his-and-hers” steel-blue spinel and baby pink spinel rings. We call them the LifeBands. This pair of modern bespoke wedding band set is not to be found in stores.
Born out of the idea of creating a simple, unique yet 100% wearable design on a daily basis, brainstorming with the couple, the wedding bands designs were eventually translated from paper to life.
An apparently simple design is much harder to craft than one might imagine.
The ladies’ ring, features an exquisite baby pink spinel that is seemingly suspended in mid-air and the gents’ ring has a bezel-set gorgeous steel-blue spinel.
With minimal use of diamonds, but the main focus on the construction and curvature of gold work, we were able to create a stunning, unique yet very wearable style for the couple.
Oftentimes, our clients’ feedback during the design-stage discussion is that they see something beautiful in-store, a unique design, but it is not something that they can see themselves wearing regularly or daily. Because it is so unique, it seems wearable only for that few occasions – thereafter, it becomes somewhat dated / boring.
And that was our mission for this pair of bands. For “life-wear”, it had to be unique yet wearable for the rest of their lives, something classy yet different. A modern bespoke wedding band set to accompany this wedded couple for life.
Pastel pinks make for pretty and romantic engagement rings. Seen here is a round, unheat pastel pink sapphire, flanked by 4 pieces round diamonds set in a wave design with a heart-shape detailing on the cross-section. In 18K white gold.
Petite and dainty yet fuss-free, this design is evergreen which allows most of the attention to be focussed on the unheat pink sapphire.
Pink Tourmalines make for great jewellery. Ranking 7-7.5 on the MOHs hardness scale, tourmalines can be set into rings, earrings, pendants and even bracelets.
Let us not get confused with the MOHs hardness scale. For example, diamonds that rank a sturdy “10” on the hardness scale, does not mean that the diamond is invincible. It merely means that it is scratch-proof. Diamonds are however, not chip-proof or break-proof. The MOHs hardness scale merely shows the ability of a certain material/mineral to scratch another softer material/mineral. This means that if one were to bring a hammer down on a diamond or say knock a diamond on a fairly hard material or at a sharp angle (perhaps a metal/stainless steel joining commonly found around the house), that diamond can be chipped or crack lines can occur.
Below is a pair of oval shaped Pink Tourmalines set into a modern, yet stunning piece of art great for regular wear. And no, we do not require a halo of diamonds surrounding the centre gem for every piece of jewellery we create.
With Princess cut diamonds totalling close to 1 ct in total weight, this pair of earrings is also created as part of bridal jewellery set. No, your bridal jewellery does not necessarily have to be white nor colourless! Add that pop of colour to your white gown and definitely stand our from the crowd, in a unique yet beautiful way.
A special pair of pyrope-almandine garnet ear drops. Set in 18K white gold with a nice mix of pear shapes, marquise and round diamonds, we create a very pretty pair of earrings in a romantic style.
This pair of earrings was created as a part of a bride’s wedding fine jewellery set, to be worn with the bridal gown. Set in a design that is special enough to be worn with her bridal gown on the actual day, yet not overly complicated that it cannot be worn more frequently thereafter, brainstorming such a design requires the art of intricate balance.
If you like a red gemstone, no need to yearn for a ruby (heat or unheat). The price of a unheated ruby is out-of-reach for most. So, will one settle for a heated ruby? Why would you? The price of a heated ruby is still far more pricey than most or all other types of red gemstones which are unheat, untreated and 100% natural. So why pay the high price for a gemstone that is heated, ruby or otherwise?
Below is a list of red gemstones that are usually available as an unheated, untreated and 100% natural gemstone:
Red Garnet
Rhodolite Garnets (exist often in shades of purple or magenta, similar to the colour of wine, but they do come in red hues as well)
Red Beryl
Red Spinel
With the use of fancy shape diamonds, one is assured that it is an entirely customised piece of art. Hardly seen in your typical off-the-shelf fine jewellery, fancy shape diamonds help to create a piece of wearable art that is uniquely yours.
A unique colour-change sapphire. A blue sapphire with hint of sea green in daylight which shifts to purplish red in incandescent light. Though heated, this is definitely a sight to behold.
Set in a duo-tone 18K yellow gold and white gold setting, with diamonds aligned in a lotus-flower setting, this engagement ring is a feminine, remarkable beauty.
Below is how the sapphire looks like in incandescent lighting:
This is the feedback from our client, who had never actually seen the stone in person during the decision making process. But with the help of a very dedicated fiancé and sister, we were able to create her dream engagement ring.
With fine jewellery, one would expect that it is them who will be in search of that nice piece of rock, or that beautiful gemstone. But when the stars are aligned, without even realising it, the right gemstone will pick you.
And this is exactly what happened with this blue sapphire and our client. But this was no ordinary blue sapphire. It was a fine piece of blue sapphire (albeit heated) with a tint of sea green. Unfortunately, this hint of sea green is not picked up very well by the camera nor iPhone.
In documenting this hint of sea-green colour in the blue sapphire, we might be shooting ourselves in the foot as we might, very soon, get a a barrage of enquiries about whether we can source a similar blue sapphire with hint of sea-green. And in response to this, the answer is: this color is unique, rare and not commonly seen.
Our client was quite specific in his design requirements. He had wanted to create a ring that had a slight vintage appeal, somewhat reminiscent of something from the victorian era, yet nothing too complicated nor dated. After some rounds of design tweaking, he was happy with the look and feel of the proposed design.
Some views of the work-in-progress photos below. Clearly before fine jewellery becomes sparkly as most people would recognise it as, the initial stages are very raw and organic. Which is not surprising really, as every material and component is God’s gift and the miracle of Mother Nature. Gemstones, gold and diamonds are all mined from rocks, earth and mineral components.
Bestowing a gift of handcrafted fine jewellery to your beloved is truly precious because every component is 100% natural, earth-mined and organic. Every piece of fine jewellery has its own story. And every component; from the precious stone, to the diamond and the gold, has journeyed a long way from its origin – deep within the depths of earth, to find its way onto your person. A priceless treasure, a true keeper.
Here at Heritage Gems, we craft and build each and every piece of jewellery from scratch, by hand. Preserving the tradition of goldsmithery, our craftsmen wield gold strips and plates though the filing, sawing, forging, soldering process entirely by hand, to create the beauty our clients wear.
