I started the year with intentions to be a diligent blogger but work does tend to get in the way with a business like this, so I will stop making promises and blog when I can.

Today I have a story to share. It is the story of an intensely planned engagement ring that embodies what we try to do here.

I will not use the customer’s names (or publicly discuss prices) as I do respect their privacy, however the story is so great I have to share it.

In this instance the fiance to be had a very clear idea of what he wanted to say to and about his partner. He went through an intense process to ensure that he ended up with a ring that conveyed to his partner how well he ‘saw’ her and how perfect she is to him.

He drew  pictures while listening to her favourite music (hence the name ‘Graceland’ for the ring), took lots of photos of her current jewellery, sent photos of her  that showed the joy in her face. He described her so perfectly and painstakingly attended to every detail. Drawings and images went back and forth over a four or five month period.

I think the attention to detail and the care shows in the finished piece. What also shines through is how much all of us involved absolutely love this ring. We all called it by name and fretted over the details. The first time around, the engraving wasn’t quite right, so we did it again – and no one thought that was a problem; ‘Graceland’ had to be perfect.

The only limitation is that it also had to be technically possible, fortunately it only needed a little  tweaking. That is one thing that has to be taken into consideration – the ring has to be able to be made and to be made in a way that the gems are well protected. In this case they are very safe, however, some other designs have required more modification to ensure their robustness. So our rings are very much a team effort.

For those who like the technical side of things, here are a few images of the ring during the manufacturing process. As much as I would like to share earlier design images, I do respect the privacy of my customers.

final concept drawing

Beginning stages of base ring, then rose gold is added

ring prior to engraving

The finished piece with a finger shot (can you blame me – I just HAD to try her on) for scale

As I wrote this story, I reflected on how far we have come. From a small jewellery range in 2005 (originally branded ‘Love-Links’) featuring rings, pendants, earrings and bracelets to a custom made engagement, wedding and commitment ring only range – no stock, nothing on shelves (technically no shelves as we are largely an online business) Just romantic rings made to be whatever the customer wants. I like that and I find that the people who are drawn to us are very much about the process. It is different every time, but always enjoyable.

If you want to create your own road to…feel free to contact me and I will help you get there.

Cheers,

Melinda

www.ethicaljewels.com.au

We make a lot of rings that have common elements, so whilst the finished piece may be different, there is usually something familiar, some sort of hook, that makes the design and manufacturing process (relatively) easy.

What people may not realise is that is by coincidence rather than design. Obviously a customer is drawn to a style and will go with a company that offers that style.

For us though, there is an additional element.

Most of our customers are drawn to an ethos. It is the ethical sourcing and recycled metal or just (which is a big J just) that our pieces are handmade in Brisbane. Every piece is loved and cared about and that comes through. So whilst there are common design elements in many rings, there are also ones that stand alone.

This is one of them (cue Law and Order voice over/music).

It is for rings like this that I wish I had a fancy photo studio (and some actual photography skills) as the elements in the ring really need different lighting conditions to bring out their glory. So instead, I went out on the back deck in the afternoon and snapped a few shots, figured I could sort it out with Photoshop – and then I remembered that I have zero Photoshop skills – que sera sera!

Uh Oh, Melinda’s got her rambling boots on…

Anyway, quite a few months ago I met a lovely couple. She wanted a Ruby ring and he wanted it to be fancy/$$$. We managed to do all of one and half of the other (we try to be a bit thrifty so didn’t use up the whole budget – but we did use quite a bit).

The first stage was going through pages and pages of Rubies on offer from Ruby Fair until ‘the one’ was found. From there the design evolved. It wasn’t a quick process, it just couldn’t be. Each element announced itself slowly.

There were to be round Pink Diamonds, but in the batch that was sent up for consideration were some pears and they made more sense. Of course it had to be Platinum – it was a noble piece, a statement, something substantial. It needed some little white Diamonds to contrast the pink and then engraving…

After scribbling and scribbling we then moved to a CAD render. Not because the ring was to be cast, just to get a 3D sense of it all. That proved to be another starting point, not the end. Ferdinand then created a shop drawing and met with the customers to go over the details again.

Then he had to think, and think, and think. How was this going to come together? Slowly, one part followed another,but it was heavy and somehow needed to skip Gothic and move to Deco. Another visit followed and some more fine tuning. At last the butterfly emerged. Ultimately it didn’t need engraving – it spoke for itself.

This is the process in pictures:

I have to commend not only Ferdinand for his exceptionally fine work, but also the customers, not only for the trust they placed in us to do it, but the extraordinary patience they exhibited whilst waiting for it to be done.

We are at a stage where demand is exceeding supply, so the process is slow. An obvious solution would be to throw more jewellers at it, but I have learned from much (sometimes costly) experience that the whole package has to work. It isn’t enough to have a competent jeweller, they have to have that extra something and an overriding desire to create the perfect thing. The customer has to matter to them.

The heart of this business beats so strongly because of the passion of the people who work in it. It will take some time to grow a larger team, but I do believe it will be worth the wait.

Thanks for reading.

Melinda Nugent

 www.ethicaljewels.com.au

I could have said – here are the deadlines for the holidays, but how boring is that!

Anyway the reality is, the workshop is full for the year we can’t take any more orders – no matter how much you bribe us.

So we need to get organised for 2013 (yikes).

This means that if you are considering a Valentine’s Day proposal, well now is the time to get it sorted. We already have the first couple of weeks back – manufacturing wise – covered.

However, all is not lost, you can still buy ‘Promised Ring’ packs and premade rings to put in the Xmas stocking.

DATES OF NOTE

XMAS ORDERS
Promised Rings – last orders for 2012 – 17th December
Pre made Rings – last orders for 2012 – December 4th (some rings may be available until the 11th)

HOLIDAY CLOSING
Workshop is closed from 24th December to 8th January
Design consults the same – although emails will probably be answered from the first week of January – unless I really start to enjoy this whole holiday thing.

Face to Face consults resume on January 8th.

Many of our other suppliers will be closed until January 15th.

That’s about it, I will try to post a few more times before the end of the year.

Cheers

Melinda Nugent

www.ethicaljewels.com.au

We are working on that, but finding the right jeweller for the job is much more difficult than you could imagine, so for now, we remain in awe of
Ferdinand and his skills on the bench and appreciative of the patience shown by our customers as they wait for their treasures.

I have put a note on the ‘having a ring made’ section, but thought it worth sharing on the blog as well. I would love to stay and chat, but have to copy and paste instead

Please note, we are pretty much at capacity for hand made engagement rings for the year. As much as we would love to say, ‘of course we can have your ring ready for xmas’ – that is not a promise we can make at this time.

We can still offer you Diamonds and gems for Promised Ring packs, or as individual items and we can still order pre-made pieces from the Harmony range from Hoover and Strong – the cut-off for these will most likely be the last week of November, possibly first week of December – but that would be pushing it. Diamonds can still be ordered up to a week before the holidays – again, the earlier the better to ensure delivery.

The workshop will be closed for two weeks from the close of business on December 24th. This means that it is also time to be thinking about Valentine’s Day if that is your tentative proposal date. I am taking a long awaited holiday for a week, so will most likely not answer emails between late 24th December and the 1st of January (but I might – depends how well I cope with this ‘holiday’ concept). This period of the year is the traditional go slow period for the industry. 

In the meantime, feel free to contact me with any question that you may have.

Kind regards,

Melinda Nugent FGAA

“What exactly makes the difference between a diamond that one purchases in a chain store in big shopping centres and the like, and those sold by exclusive jewellers?

There seems to be such a huge range in price and availability. Is it all down to grading?

 It’s always bewildered me how many sparkling things are in the shop windows of shopping centres of supposedly one of the most precious gems of all time and how they suddenly seem to be everywhere and accessible to everyone.

Hope you can help me solve this mystery.”

The way I read it, there are two parts to the above question.

To simplify things, what I believe my customer is asking is:

a)     Why do chain store diamonds seem to be so much cheaper than those from boutique jewellers (when they both look pretty much the same): and

b)     If diamonds are so readily available in such great numbers, how come they cost as much as they do?

Also, it’s probably best if we approach this by considering diamond rings, rather than just diamonds. Unless you are specifically shopping for diamonds alone, you can’t really ignore the precious metal, make and design components of the whole ring ‘package’.

So, why are diamond rings from upmarket jewellers seemingly more expensive than those from chain stores? After all, that tray of rings in the window of the store in the shopping centre looks just as bright and shiny as the tray of rings in the wood-panelled boutique on the high street.

And that’s the problem … Very seldom do you get the opportunity to compare the two side by side. If you could, you’d most likely be able to pick the differences. (That’s the challenge with our ‘visual memory’; it tends to be more generous than it should be.)

What’s important to appreciate is that chain store jewellery shops and boutiques serve two different markets, and their quality and prices reflect that. In this context, the jewellery industry is no different to the car industry, clothing industry or any other that offers products and services ranging from budget to luxury.

However, whilst it’s easy for the untrained eye to tell the difference between a 3-star hotel and a 5-star one (even without the star rating system), it’s not easy for the untrained eye to tell the difference between a “3-star” and “5-star” diamond ring.

That’s where the grading system (for diamonds) comes into play. Once you know a bit about the system, it’s relatively easy for the lay person to determine which is the better quality diamond even when they’re not side by side.

Broadly speaking, boutique jewellery shops tend to offer higher quality diamonds than their chain store counterparts, so that contributes to their higher prices.

There are other differences too. Bearing in mind that the chain store-style retailer is aiming to serve a market with less money to spend, they naturally need to deliver products that cost less. Usually, but not always, the precious metal part of the rings are cast rather than hand made. (Mass production methods help keep costs down.)

Likewise their rings may not be as carefully hand-finished, nor may they be as ‘robust’ as a similar handmade ring.

The good thing about buying diamonds (and diamond jewellery) is that a lot of the value is linked to measureable things – the quality of the diamond/s and other stones and the weight and type of precious metal/s used. Both these are regulated in terms of quality and standard so, with some background knowledge, you can start to compare apples with apples.

Of course, there are some less ‘tangible’ factors that affect price … design and popularity are just two. Some designs are exclusive, so that makes them more expensive.  Similarly, half-carat diamonds are more popular than even slightly smaller ones and are disproportionately more expensive despite the fact that the naked human eye couldn’t see the difference in size between a 50-point diamond and a 49-point one.

Also, provenance is becoming more important – particularly from the “not causing harm” perspective. Diamonds that have a verifiable chain of custody carry a higher value than those without.

Now, to the second half of the question: why are diamonds so expensive when they’re seemingly so ‘common’?

There are two primary reasons why diamonds cost as much as they do.

One is the amount of value that is added to a rough diamond to get it into that store window, and the other is (relative) scarcity.

When it comes to value-adding, a single diamond passes through a great many hands before it winds up in yours. Just turning a piece of rough into a cut diamond requires seven discrete and very labour intensive steps by highly skilled operators in very capital-intensive factories.

Unlike so many other mined products – gold, coal, iron ore etc. – human hands must process every single jewellery-grade diamond – so that on its own adds significantly to the cost.

With that comes the cost of mining, grading, distribution, wholesaling and retailing, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that diamonds cost what they do.

The other consideration is rarity.

The diamonds you do see in jewellery shop windows actually represent a fairly small percentage of diamonds extracted from the ground. (For example, less than 25% of all diamonds mined in Australia are gem quality, and Australia has some of the highest yielding mines in the world!)

I hope the above helps to answer the questions posed by my customer.

Of course, if you’d like to comment or ask your own question, please, go right ahead!

Until next time

Melinda

www.ethicaljewels.com.au

It is always slightly magic to see a lump of metal and some sparkly gems turn into something fabulous, something that thrills the wearer to show off on their finger.

We have started photographing the process (as much as possible) and I will endeavour to create a new post whenever I have a ring ‘birth story’.

Here is the first, I hope you enjoy learning a little more about the process.

This particular ring started as a 17.6 gram piece of recycled Platinum ‘stockgage’ (jeweller’s metal) and six 3mm (10 point or 1/10th of a carat) EVS Argyle round diamonds.
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A workshop drawing was then created (by the lovely Ferdinand who also made the ring)

The platinum is shaped into a flat profile band and annealed 

Precise measurements are taken to allow for marking

The ring is marked and setting holes are drilled 

And so begins the sawing

A closer look

Ready for filing

Polish, polish and more polish

Shiny and ready for setting…..

The finished piece is given a final polish, is checked to ensure the Diamonds are secure and then enjoys a ‘bath’ in the ultrasonic cleaner, to not only clean, but double (or is it triple) check that everything is securely in place.

Just gorgeous! 

I really hope this has been an interesting read and look forward to bringing more of these in the future.

Kind regards,

Melinda Nugent

www.ethicaljewels.com.au 

One of my customers recently offered to write a testimonial. This is not uncommon, however, I was unprepared for what was to come.

I am posting it as a blog article (with permission) as it is a wonderful piece about modern relationships, conscious living and the process of having rings hand made.

I will now let Cat and Julie speak in their own words:

“When my partner Julie and I decided to get married we knew we wanted it to be a celebration of our commitment to each other and a reflection of our lives together. As in our daily lives, we made decisions to minimalise our impact on the environment, choosing video invites and a web page to pull our international gang of friends and family together. As we were getting married abroad and the fact that we’ve lived together for years before we wanted to highlight a charity donation for presents instead of accumulating more stuff in the house. One of the most important items we decided on was to get ethically and sustainably sourced rings. These rings would stay with us forever and not only did we want them to make an “green” statement we also wanted them to look perfect! To our surprise we only found only two options in Australia for just such a ring. We were delighted though when through our correspondence with Melinda of Ethical Jewellery Australia we found the perfect fit.

Melinda worked with Julie and I on our rings from start to finish; gathering detail and passing back photos of similar looking rings. Melinda educated us on the different types of metals, how they’re sourced, how they hold up over time, their degree of “shiny-ness” Melinda and I emailed back and forth on style, she having to interpret my view point of the ring, my idea of rough and hewn, my idea of hammered but not hammered…she did really well!

There was never an issue with our same-sex marriage, Melinda simply celebrated our union and was excited at the chance to help create a unique ring for us. Not only was Melinda’s professional expertise on jewellery and metals invaluable but her steady determination to make this ring perfect for us was admirable. To take a mere concept to reality with only emails was quite a feat!

We then added a last minute engraving on the rings in Thai (our wedding was in Thailand) and it came out perfectly! I was also able to surprise my wife on our wedding day with ethically sourced diamond earrings cleverly packaged in a gift box made by Thai women, with proceeds going directly back to their community….again, Melinda was brilliant with this process as well (educating me on the diamonds, sourcing them from an ethical supplier, and adding that special touch of the gift box!).

Melinda’s dedication to her customers and ability to relate to their needs resulted in these incredibly unique rings that Julie and I will both cherish forever. I can’t recommend her highly enough. I’m looking forward to working with her on our fiftieth anniversary present!

-Catherine and Julie-”

It is a lovely testimonial and a great story.

Until next time

Melinda Nugent

When you have spent a lot of time, thought, effort (and money)  creating a dream ring, playing the waiting game is no fun at all, but there is no way around it; making things from scratch takes time.

I am currently experiencing this first hand as I am patiently waiting in the never ending queue for my own sparkler to be made (a cognac diamond trio – super yum). Every time I think  ”maybe this week” someone else comes along and my business brain wins the day. Trying to get it done for our anniversary in June (fingers crossed).

Obviously the solution is to throw more bodies at the job, however, that is far easier said than done, as it has to be exactly the right person for the job.

However, that isn’t really the point of this post. I really wanted to give a small insight into what a person who has ordered a handmade ring is actually waiting for.

Unfortunately we haven’t photographed too many works in progress, but it is something we plan to do more of as I would like to make this a regular (ish) feature – plus it is pretty cool to see.

The first is a ring from last year. One that co incidentally ready around the time of the royal wedding but was designed way before anyone had seen the Princess’ ring.

The process is interesting and extensive.

We start with emails describing what is wanted, this then leads to an exchange of drawings or photos until all the details are worked out and then, in the case of a coloured stone, the selection of the ideal hue and tone is made. For a diamond the selection is based on what is wanted from the stone and of course budget.

Once all of that is worked out, the metal is ordered, the job description is created, a job packet made and off it goes to the workshop (in Brisbane). Whilst there is an element of ‘first come first served’ we also create a jobs queue based on like  with like (materials/styles)  and of course crucial things like wedding dates and preferred engagement dates. During busier seasons this can be quite a challenge and very frustrating.

Having said that, there hasn’t really been a ‘quiet time’ with this business in the last 12 months, so that rule more applies to the early days of growing the business before the hunt for an additional jeweller began. I’m not really going to complain though, it is pretty awesome to dream up a business idea and actually watch it flourish and to have a job that never gets boring and to be always talking with people who are madly in love (my favourite bit I think).

Oops, I digress.

Back to the Sapphire and Diamond ring (in platinum).

Here are a few photos of the ring in progress. The setting was hand made, however not photographed alas. Look out for more detailed versions of this post in future.

Ferdinand took a couple of photos of our latest ring just to show the customer, not as many steps here to see, but it is such a gorgeous piece, I would like to feature it here anyway

Not as thorough as I would have liked, but a glimpse all the same.

Until next time

Melinda

www.ethicaljewels.com.au

The New Year has brought so much work, it has been hard to find the time to share some of the wonderful things that have been coming my way, but it is time to take a moment and do so.

I would like to talk about jewellery styles and diamond and gemstone choices.

Last year saw a real move from the traditional six claw solitaire. A real Deco and Nouveau revival. This trend continued through to wedding bands as well. Many of the bands we made were engraved or diamond set. It is a beautiful way to enhance a simple engagement ring (or an elaborate one) or a great idea if you want to only wear one ring.

So many of the pieces we created featured beautiful detail such as milgrain edging or intricate engraving.

It was also a year where some people were interested in moving away from the classic white diamond. We made rings featuring Sapphires, Rubies, Emeralds and Amethysts and it was also the beginning of a great interest in coloured Argyle Diamonds.

This year we are finally getting the chance to work with pink diamonds. We have used a few small ones now and then, but one of our major projects for February features a significant pink heart and it is a wonderful experience to work with this beautiful stone and create something to show it off. I will do a feature on it once it is completed. Pink diamonds of a size are a whole other critter. It is a diamond whose value only goes one way and over the six or so years I have been pricing them, I have seen an amazing increase in their price (and value). Not that that is the main issue but a question that does arise from time to time.

My personal favourite is the Cognac diamond. The colours vary from a faint peach to a deep whisky and it never fails to delight me to see something of these colours ‘sparkle like a diamond’ – which of course they are. There are yellows of course, from straw to quite vivid, however, I have to say I haven’t held any, so I can only describe them from photographs.

Now that we work closely with the wonderful team at “Origin Australia’ – the only company committed to bringing Australian Diamonds back to Australia, I hope that a rainbow of diamonds will pass through my workroom over the coming years.

I could waffle on, but I will finish with a few images of beauty instead.

Until next time

 

Melinda Nugent

www.ethicaljewels.com.au

 

 

Just a quick post to showcase all the new rings that have been uploaded to the website. It is getting a bit cluttered there, so I thought the new additions were worthy of their own post.

In no particular order we have…..

A yummy Argyle Cognac Diamond engagement ring bezel set with milgrain detail in recycled Palladium.

A pear shaped Canadian diamond with Argyle side diamonds set in recycled Palladium

A five Diamond bezel set recycled 18 carat gold dress ring

A milgrain edged bead set Diamond set wedding band in recycled 18 carat white gold

A fusion of vintage and new. A resized vintage band attached to a new plain band all in 18 carat white gold.

 Ruby Fair unheated Ruby and Argyle Diamonds set in a recycled palladium band that has been milgrained and hand engraved

 A matte finish flat wedder in recycled palladium

A Promised Ring Pack….Canadian Marquise Diamond, Argyle small Diamonds, fair trade Pink Tourmaline and recycled Palladium

The above Promised Ring pack turned into a yummy engagement ring

Hand engraved hand made recycled platinum wedding rings

Fair Trade Blue Sapphire from Malawi, hand made textured recycled palladium wedding and engagement rings

Promised Ring Pack – Assher cut Kalahari Diamond, Argyle Diamonds and recycled 18 carat white gold

Australian Blue Sapphire and recycled palladium engagement ring hand made and hand engraved

A pair of flat edged wedding bands one matte finish and one polished in recycled palladium – hand made

A delicately engraved hand made recycled 18 carat white gold wedding ring

An Art Deco style hand made ring in recycled palladium featuring a Kalahari Asscher cut diamond and fair trade Amethysts with milgrain edging and hand engraving

Hand cut Australian Emerald set in a hand made hand engraved ring. Recycled 18 carat yellow gold bezel and recycled platinum

Handmade recycled palladium wedding rings, heavily textured to create an earthy unstructured look.

As you can see, if I were asked what is in fashion for engagement and wedding rings at the moment, my answer would have to be ‘everything’.

Happy designing.

Until next time

Melinda Nugent

www.ethicaljewels.com.au