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My story simply wouldn’t have begun without the influence of the man in this picture.

This is my Grandpa (Oupa in Afrikaans), Willem Schneider, who was a real-life Indiana Jones and a huge influence in my life – nurturing my passion for gemstones.

Oupa Willem was an accomplished pilot, adventurer, and diamond miner (and who always seemed to have a boiled sweet in his shirt pocket for me!).

This is a photo of Oupa sorting rough diamonds at his mine. It’s how I’ll always remember him.

Behind every strong man is an even stronger woman.

Here, Oupa proudly stands with his wife, Lily, who remained the matriarch of my family until her passing in 2021.

An accomplished pilot, Oupa loved being behind the joystick of his plane – whether flying to his diamond mine or crop-dusting for the local farmers. Oupa welcomed any excuse to take to the air.

Following the death of my grandfather, my uncle and cousins continued diamond mining in South Africa and neighbouring Botswana, a family profession that continues to this day.

The proudest moment in my life came when my grandmother presented my grandfather’s diamond scale to me – entrusting this essential field tool to the next generation of gemstone hunters.

This is my favourite photograph of my beloved Oupa – his big, strong arms holding a young girl he used to call his “little rough diamond”.

Although I’ll never feel those strong arms around me again, I hope that somehow he can see the incredible journey he has inspired me to take – and with that familiar twinkle in his eye realise his “little rough diamond” is slowly becoming slightly more polished on life’s lapidary wheel.

Ek mis jou Oupa

 There’s no denying the elegance of a classic pearl rope, now enjoying a welcome renaissance thanks to the popularity of movies and television shows such as The Great Gatsby, Downton Abbey and Mr. Selfridge.

These incredibly versatile necklaces can be worn in so many ways and, as such, are often a “go to” piece in many of my clients’ jewellery wardrobes.

To make sure your pearl rope remains in tip top condition, it’s a good idea to thoroughly inspect your necklace every year to check for signs of wear to the thread that could spell disaster at a later date.

Here are two early warning signs that your pearl strand could use a little TLC by receiving a re-string.

• Fraying or stretching of the thread at the clasp.
If your pearl necklace features a clasp, this is usually the primary point of wear for the jewellers’ silk used to string your pearls. Stretching and fraying of the silk can occur around the clasp for many reasons. It’s the point which receives most tension when putting on and removing the necklace. Natural grease and oils from the fingers can also cause deterioration of the silk from handling the clasp.

• Stretched or frayed thread between each knot in your necklace.
Hopefully the thread used to string your pearl necklace is knotted between each pearl to prevent the total disaster of loosing every pearl should the jewellers’ silk break (if your necklace isn’t knotted, please get your necklace re-strung correctly as soon as possible!). However, over time, the silk can stretch leaving an unsightly long string between each knot, with each pearl rattling up and down on its stretched section of thread, risking fraying of the thread and damage to the pearls as they knock harshly against one another. Thread stretching is particularly common in necklaces of opera length 36″) or flapper/rope length (50″ to 70″) – especially if the pearls are heavy. This stretching of the thread is simply caused by gravity and stretched silk on a necklace should be replaced as soon as it becomes evident to prevent eventual breakage.

Whilst there are lots of different techniques to string pearls (including some amazing looking gizmos to help you knot each pearl) traditional hand stringing and knotting is an art that is seldom widely taught – usually being passed on from one artisan to their apprentice.

I was very fortunate to have learned how to correctly string pearls and have had the privilege to re-string some truly beautiful necklaces for many of my clients.

No detail of the re-string is overlooked during my work on your necklace – from choosing the correct grade of jewellers’ silk most appropriate to the size of pearl and total weight of the strand; through to secure finishing of the piece by working silk back through a number of the pearls (not simply tying the thread off at the end!).

Necklaces are strung only with the finest French silks and can be traditional off-white in colour or dyed to blend with the colour of your pearls to make the knotting entirely unobtrusive.

Re-stringing is a very inexpensive way to give your necklace an entirely new lease of life.

Whilst we don’t offer re-stringing to the general public, as a service exclusively available to our existing clients, if you have a pearl rope that has seen better days, please do get in touch to discuss professional re-stringing.

 

If you are seeking inspiration for your dream engagement ring, here’s a fascinating fashion flashback showing ring styles through the decades from Mode.com

Beginning in 1910 with a classic Solitaire Diamond Ring (featuring an old style round cut diamond set into a six prong gold mounting) through to a modern-day fancy yellow cushion cut diamond nestled in a brilliant cut white diamond halo surround – this short little video takes us on an ecletic journey through a remarkable collection of rings from Peter Jon Shemonsky Fine Antique & Estate Jewellery.

From vintage to modern, which ring did you fall in love with?

 

 

 

As you can see from the picture above, I’m very fortunate to work with some truly remarkable gemstones – but even though all of these gemstones are absolutely stunning, I wanted to share a picture of my most treasured stone with you.

I’ll admit, it’s nothing much to look at and isn’t very big, but this uncut sapphire was given to me as a little girl by my grandfather, who found it whilst inspecting the rough diamonds at his opencast mine.

At that age, I had no idea that my life’s journey would take me into a career as a jeweller – nor any idea of the very short time I would know my grandpa before the fatal stroke that would carry him away from our family.

I treasure this uncut sapphire not because it’s particularly valuable, but because of its link to a very special person in my life. Whenever I’m working with gemstones (especially diamonds!), I feel my grandpa near to me.

I’ve seen this intangible connection countless times with the bespoke pieces of jewellery I’ve had the honour to make for many of my own clients.

Whether as a gift between lovers; a present from a parent (or grandparent) to a child; or a special ring to say “I Love You” – the greatest gift is the hidden meaning within the jewellery, not simply the piece itself , no matter how beautiful it may be.

This fascinating video from CNBC is about father and son diamantaires Larry and Scott West, who run L.J. West Diamonds, a supplier of fine diamonds to the trade in New York City. 

The Wests invested in a stunning 5 carat Fancy Pink Diamond, bought at auction for a cool $3.2 million.

Drawing on their 41 years of experience in the diamond trade, Larry and Scott were convinced that, as beautiful as this remarkable gemstone was, its colour could be further enhanced by careful refacetting to subtly alter the facets and thus create more depth and intensity of colour in the stone.

As well as making this 5 carat Pink Diamond even more visually desirable, correct refacetting could also increase the value of the gem to more than $7 million.

The downside?

Just one wrong move during refacetting and the entire gem could literally shatter…

This fascinating video gives a remarkable insight into the secret world of the diamantaire – not least the steady-handed skill of the diamond cutters and polishers, often the unsung heroes of the diamond trade.

 

 

For me, there’s nothing more exciting than a Royal engagement.

The stunning pink padparadscha sapphire and diamond ring presented to Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie by fiancé Jack Brooksbank gives a breathtaking burst of colour to this Royal engagement ring and got me thinking about this wonderful gemstone.

Originating in Sri Lanka (and also found in Madagascar and Tanzania) padparadscha sapphires can range in colour from orange to pink and the name padparadscha is derived from the Sinhalese word for the aquatic lotus blossom that shares these beautiful hues.

Although I’ve created many gorgeous sapphire rings for clients, I’ve never had the opportunity to design a ring for the extraordinary padparadscha variety of this gemstone – until now!

I’m delighted to have added this beautiful Pink Padparadscha Sapphire and Diamond Platinum and 18K Gold ring to my collection at JuliaPharo.com and you can discover more about it here!

I’d love to know what you think about this gorgeous gemstone – so do get in touch if you’d like to see more padparadscha in my future collections.