About
My Story
With over a decade spent at the bench, I felt it was time to take the plunge and start selling my own work. Designed and made in my Peterborough studio, Oakland Jewellery is the result of years of experience in both contemporary jewellery design and traditional hand made jewellery skills.
I find inspiration in all sorts of unexpected places, often surprised with an idea when i least expect it. It’s impossible to beat nature though and I feel some of my most successful pieces are little more than frameworks for some truly beautiful natural gemstones. I take real pleasure in the practical side of jewellery, happiest getting my hands dirty at the bench and seeing a piece come to life as I work.
I special in bespoke jewellery and commission work, and take great pleasure in being able to take your idea and turn it into a successful, wearable piece of jewellery that should can a lifetime. I’m also passionate about reviving well loved, worn out pieces and giving them a new lease of life, or repurposing those materials into a new bespoke jewellery design.
Workshop
In the heart of Glinton, just north of Peterborough, I’m very lucky to have an amazing workspace in my home – one of the good things about working with jewellery is that you only need little tools to make little objects, so i can house all the equipment i need within fingertip reach of my workbench.
I design and make all my pieces here, and have the facilities for cutting, shaping and soldering metal, setting stones, polishing jewellery, smelting up metal and even enamelling, all on site.
Diamonds And Stones
Diamond
The most of popular of all the precious stones, diamonds offer the greatest sparkle and caché, they’re hard wearing and work brilliantly either as a focal point or as a dusting of tiny stones to accent a larger coloured gem.
Sapphire
The hardest of all the coloured gemstones, sapphire is most commonly thought of as blue, but in fact can be any colour – except for red, as a red sapphire is a Ruby! Prized for their wearability and high refractive qualities – their sparkle – sapphires make a great choice for any jewellery, perfectly balancing beauty and wearability.
Ruby
The sister stone to sapphire, both formed from the mineral corundum, Ruby is perhaps the most prized of all the coloured gemstones. As it’s the same mineral, ruby shares sapphire’s durability and sparkle, but the depth of its deep red hue is unparalleled. The colour is caused by the presence of the metal chromium, without it, rubies would be completely colourless.
Tourmaline
Most commonly seen in a gorgeous deep bottle green or deep pink variety, tourmaline is a beautiful stone offering a great alternative to rubies and emeralds. Due to the nature of the crystal it also offers bicolour stones – ones that change colour depending on the angle – and a great pale minty turquoise variety called Pariaba that no other gemstone can match for its colour.
Emerald
With a famous luminous green blue hue, emeralds are a wonderful gem, formed from the same mineral – Beryl – as aquamarine. Though beautiful, they are more prone to breakage than many other coloured gems, so need careful setting and wear to keep them safe.
Pearl
Instantly recognisable – there’s nothing quite like them in the jewellery world – pearls come in all shapes and sizes and are virtually unique amongst gemstones in their organic origin. From creamy freshwater pearls to deep inky grey Tahitan pearls, the soft satiny lustre of pearls sits beautifully against the skin and works wonderfully well in all types of jewellery. They are formed either in muscles (freshwater pearls) or oysters (South Sea and Tahitian pearls)
Ethical Standards
Ethical standards are very important to me here at Oakland Jewellery. All stones I buy come from reputable dealers with whom i have had a working relationship for many years, and all diamonds used conform to the Kimberley Process – an international trading agreement developed to stem the trade in conflict diamonds (you can find out more here.
I endeavour to use only recycled gold in my pieces too – either direct from the you by smelting and reusing the gold and silver in pieces you bring to me, or by buying only recycled metal from reputable sources – both of the bullion dealers i use now supply only 100% recycled metal – in gold, silver and platinum. (you can find out more about one of my suppliers scheme for recycled metals here.
Any metal i cannot reuse myself, i will send for recycling to those who have the equipment to do so, so you can be sure as little as possible goes to waste.
There are so many beautiful gemstones that there’s not enough room to include them all here. If you’d like to know more about the stones described, or learn about other gemstones that could be a perfect fit for your jewellery project, please feel free to contact me to chat or book in an appointment to come and meet me at my Peterborough based workshop.