(Left) Ash Barty. (Right) Artisans Bespoke Jewellers Parti Sapphire Rings.
There is no “I” in Team, yet surprisingly there is in Parti Sapphires. Yes, you read that correctly “Parti Sapphires”. The Barty Party that was on Saturday Night Australian Time got me thinking about a combination of things that had me absolutely bursting with pride! Let’s talk about that Barty Parti!
First of all, even if you are not into tennis, I am sure we can all agree that Ash Barty is the epitome of someone who very much appreciates the team she has around her. At Artisans Bespoke Jewellers, we are also fortunate to have a Team of skilled Jewellers and Designers all working together. We take pride in collaborating with our clients to create bespoke pieces that celebrate life’s special moments.
Recently our team have designed and manufactured several pieces featuring Parti Sapphires. Our favourite Parti Sapphires are sourced from Queensland, where yep, you guessed it is also where Ash Barty is from! As a proud Brisbane business, we absolutely adore such a coincidence, coupled by the fact that Parti Sapphires have also been described as being from a family of gemstones that rarely fail to impress!
So, what are Parti Sapphires, other than being an Artisans fave? Parti Sapphires belong to the Corundum Family, this means they have physical properties that make them so incredibly strong and incredibly valuable. Sometimes referred to as ‘polychrome sapphires’, Parti Sapphires are made of a natural blend between two colours, typically green and yellow. These characteristic colours come from mineral impurities including iron and titanium. Iron is responsible for yellow to yellow/brown gems whilst a higher concentration of titanium and less iron impart to create exceptional blue stones. Green really is exceptionally creative, grabbing both titanium and high traces of iron to blow us away with phenomenally beautiful shades of green that easily kickstart ideas time after time at our Artisans Bespoke Jewellers Designers table!
Parti sapphires exhibit distinct bands of colour which is referred to as colour zoning. Simply put, Parti Sapphires display more than one colour in a single stone. The phenomenon is captivating, igniting our passion at Artisans Bespoke Jewellers within the Coloured Gemstone Family. Being from the Corundum group of Gemstones, you can rest assured when selecting your very own unique Parti Sapphire that its strength will ensure enjoyment and admiration for generations to come – sounds very much like a certain Wimbledon Champion to me!
As I read the incredible stories of the Ash Barty triumph, including the Sydney Morning Herald description of ‘Brilliant Barty’, I refer to the Oxford Dictionary definition: Brilliant – an adjective. 1. (of light or colour), Very bright. 2. Exceptionally clever or talented.
For me this adjective is perfect.
I sit in my studio, think of my Team, look at my Parti Sapphire Ring and Smile.
Congratulations Ash Barty on your record-breaking Wimbledon Win!
One of the most common questions we get is “Do I need to book in for an appointment to discuss a piece of jewellery getting made?”.
The simple answer is “Yes!”
It’s always best to book in a time so we can ensure we have a jewellery designers available to speak to you. Please scroll down to see what information we need from you to begin your jewellery design process.
Since COVID-19, we have changed our design consultation process to offering just express 30min design consultations.
Therefore, to make the most of your time with our jewellery designers, we kindly ask each of our clients to send through an ‘email brief’ with the following so we can steer your job in right direction;
Photos/descriptions of your ‘wish list’ jewellery that you would like us to draw inspiration from?
If you are shopping on a budget? Our jewellery remodelling process generally starts from $2,000+, but it depends on the complexity of your design, if you are supplying any materials along with your sizing requirements.
As well as photos of any existing pieces that you would like us to re-use in your design?
Once we have all this information from you, we can then book you in for an express design consultation.
Appointments are currently available with our team on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays between 10-2:30pm. Please note that we do not trade on Sundays and Mondays. If you need to reach us on these days, please email through and we will be in touch when we reopen on the Tuesday.
Our website has 90% of our ready-made pieces and is a great starting point for design inspiration. We also share a lot of our bespoke pieces for clients as well as before/after on our Instagram and Facebook channels linked below;
During your consultation, depending on your requested design style, we may organise to have some diamonds or coloured gemstone options as well as drawings ready to show you. Please note that we charge a non-refundable diamond/gemstone sourcing fee of $50 to cover courier fees. If you choose to go ahead with a design, this cost will be deducted off the total price of your make.
After your first consultation please allow 7-10 working days for our expert jewellery designers to come back to you with a formal quotation and/or designs for your bespoke piece.
Unless otherwise stated, our standard turnaround time in 6-8 working weeks.
Artisans Bespoke Jewellers has a COVID19 plan in place. We offer hand sanitising stations and encourage our customers to socially distance when they’re in store.
Any questions or ready to book? Please contact us to discuss further.
At Artisans Bespoke Jewellers we are so fortunate to be a part of our client’s special moments in life. Recently, we had the pleasure of remodelling a bespoke Aquamarine and Diamond Engagement ring for Jenny and Mick after it had been through a series of unfortunate events.
In this blog article, we deep dive into the perspectives from our team as well as Jenny and Mick’s.
Here is the incredible before and after comparison of the
ring. You can certainly see the difference, even from afar.
Jenny’s ring after it had been ‘fixed’ by her local jeweller
When we received the ring, our in-house Gemologist and Valuer assessed the ring in it’s entirety to give our clients a better understanding of what we were working with and some of his observations are noted below;
The rings construction is a computer designed and wax printed casting with stones then set in the piece. The casting is poorly cleaned up with a lot of print lines visible both inside the head and on the outside. The cluster surround has growth lines visible all around all stones. The shank has a preformed seat for the head to sit on but the head has not been fitted correctly and is soldered on crooked.
The centre stone is set on a lean and is loose.
One of the diamonds is broken. On loupe inspection it appears that the shoulders were originally channel set and then cut up and grains were attempted to be raised so as to give a grain set appearance. The cutting and setting of the shoulders is very poorly and and is of an extremely poor standard.
The bright cutting of the gold looks more like gouge lines and is of an inferior and extremely poor standard.
There are numerous slip and cut lines that have ended on the side of the cluster head and again detract from the finish.
Obviously, the ring had gone through a series of repairs and left in a state where Jenny said her engagement ring was ‘unwearable’, but after visiting us for a jewellery design consultation, we have been able to remodel her ring into a spectacular engagement ring that she is now proud to wear. The amount of love that has gone into each and every detail of this ring is absolutely unsurpassed.
Hazel was the lead designer behind Jenny’s engagement ring remodel design. Read her perspective on the design process below;
It was such a pleasure designing Mick and Jenny’s engagement ring!
Here at Artisans Bespoke Jewellers we love creating big and beautiful statement pieces so it is always exciting to be given a design brief like Jenny and Micks. To start, we looked at design styles and picked out a few examples from our range of ready made pieces that Jenny liked. From there, we expanded on these ideas tailoring them to suit Jenny’s beautiful Aquamarine gemstone and coming up with flairs and flourishes to make it truly bespoke and personalised to her. This design style is one of my favourites – geometric and Art Deco but with soft, feminine touches. Very old world glamour!
First 5 Ring Drawings Brian and Hazel designed for Jenny
Brian and I then drew up five design options, all based on the style that Jenny and Mick liked featuring their aquamarine and diamonds. Jenny and Mick then picked their favourite and after finalising the finer details and making sure everything was perfect, it was ready to go into the workshop!
The unique pattern underneath the aquamarine was hand made by our jewellers to compliment the geometric nature of the ring. I think they did a wonderful job! As well as re-designing the ring we also assessed the materials and found that the aquamarine had a few scratches and chips. We re-cut and polished the top of the gemstone which made it bright and sparkly again.
We had a lot of fun during the entire process. Thank you Jenny and Mick for giving us the opportunity to handmake your beautiful engagement ring ❤️
Jenny, the lucky owner of this remodelled Aquamarine Engagement Ring was kind enough to allow us to share their story below;
“Mick and I were engaged in 2003. How could I say anything but a big “Yes!” as he placed a beautiful 7.50ct aquamarine gemstone set in white gold surrounded with diamonds, on my engagement ring finger. We were married on February of 2005. On this day Mick placed a simple white gold and diamond band, on my wedding ring finger. Mick had planned ahead, knowing that down the track when our first child would be born, he once again would gift me a second white gold and diamond ring, commonly known as the eternity ring.
In 2008 our first son was born. Alas, I was now wearing
three rings all with special meaning.
As our lives became busier and careers changed, I spoke
with Mick about combining all three rings into one.
We took the three rings into a local Jeweller. The ring
was redesigned between the three of us. The white gold was melted down and
rebuilt with the existing stones.
The newly rebuilt ring was pretty at first to the naked
eye, but over time we had a few reoccurring issues. A couple of claws snapped
off, after one resize I couldn’t wear the ring. After the second ring resize, a
diamond from the band fell out and another had been chipped during the resize
process. Upon taking my ring back to the same Jeweller, this last repair
attempt had ended in disaster! The result was a ring that was now of less
monetary value, let alone the emotional roller coaster of the item that holds
the most sentimental value was now officially unwearable. I asked two other
local jewellers if they could help me, but they had openly and honestly told me
that they were not able to or did not have the correct tools to complete such a
job. They too were sorry about how my ring had ended up in this state.
I had written my ring off, thinking it was too big of a job for any Jeweller and that it would cost way too much to fix.
Soon after, I was speaking with my Sister-in-law who
lives in Brisbane. I have always admired her stunning hand made engagement
ring.
Sara said again and again, “You have got
to take it to Tammy at Artisans. They do such amazing work”.
Since my ring was in the drawer, I decided to take her advice.
I phoned Artisans Bespoke Jewellers in Brisbane and gave
them the full story. After speaking to Tammy, not only did I feel a lot more positive,
but rather refreshed about the entire Jewellery Industry and my ring.
Shortly after, I was heading down to Brisbane so I booked
an appointment to meet with Brian, one of the Jewellers (and also a
Gemmologist) to discus if anything could be done.
Final Drawing of Jenny’s Aquamarine and Diamond and Engagement Ring
Over the coming weeks, Mick and I had met with Brian,
Tammy, Olivia and Hazel. We noticed that the entire team at Artisans work very
closely and their communication is impeccable. One of the best things about
Artisans is that it doesn’t matter where you live in the world, they can design
over email, phone and video link you to show and discuss every single detail
about your piece of jewellery. I had absolute faith in the team and was looking
forward to the very last and final rebuild of my ring.
When the ring was finished, it was posted securely to
Mick and I in Darwin.
Mick proposed again with an updated, modern version of
the aquamarine engagement ring and we were both gobsmacked at the ring. We both
paused for a few seconds as we opened the little white box together, dazzled by
this handmade sparkling piece of artwork. Absolutely stunning!
As Mick placed the statement piece on my wedding ring
finger, I felt like this ring should have been in the Royal family’s jewel
cabinet, not on my finger!
We are both humbled and forever grateful for the detailed
work, communication, care and skill that the entire team at Artisan Bespoke
Jewellers brought to the table.
Mick and I absolutely adore this new ring and not only do I have pride again in wearing my engagement ring, but I am more than happy that this entire experience had a happy ending, thanks to Tammy and her incredible team.”
Do you have a piece of sentimental jewellery that needs remodelling?
Contact Artisans Bespoke Jewellers to book your jewellery design consultation today!
We cannot thank our Artisans community enough for all their love and support. We hope that you and your family are staying safe and well during these challenging times.
We are open to express 15-30 minute jewellery design appointments. Please call ahead to book and ring the doorbell upon arrival.
On the 5th May, we officially reopened our doors to express 15-30minute appointments. To make the most of your time with our team, prior to coming in for your express design appointment we kindly ask clients to;
Email, Call and/or Text through your jewellery design brief including a description and as many photos of your ‘jewellery wish list’ as possible so we can help guide you on your jewellery design journey. Depending on your design, we may curate a selection of hand-picked loose diamonds and gemstones to show you.
If you are supplying existing materials for remodelling, please provide photos of your pieces on a white piece of paper, alongside a ruler to help give us a better understanding of what we have to work from to bring your vision to life.
Please give us a budget of what you are shopping with to help us guide you on the ideal design direction. If you’re unsure, please let us know so we can give you a ballpark estimate, based on your design brief.
If you have no idea where to begin, please give us a call to discuss over the phone or contact us to book in for an express appointment to see/try on our ready-made jewellery collection that features a variety of jewellery design styles.
Our trading hours are below: Monday – Closed Tuesday to Friday – 10:00am – 5:00pm Saturday – 10:00am – Last Appointment (generally between 3:00 to 4:00pm) Sunday – Closed
Health and safety is our priority
We kindly ask that you please use hand sanitiser upon entry, observe social distancing and to also please be mindful of a 4 client limit in the store at one time.
Our workshop is still busy and open!
Our full range of services including jewellery repairs, bespoke handmade pieces, valuation certificates as well as hand engraving are available to our clients.
Make Your Own Wedding Band Workshops – On Hold until further notice
Since March, our Make Your Own Wedding Band Workshops have been put on hold until further notice. The nature of our MYO wedding band workshops are conducted in a way where we assign 1 teacher for each couple (2 couples in attendance). The tools and materials we work with are quite small and instructions are provided within very close proximity, which won’t be possible if we are to adhere to the social distancing 4sq m rule when indoors.
We will continue to follow the recommendations by the Australian Government and review day by day.
Let’s stay in touch!
If you prefer contactless methods, our team are still available for consultations via email, facetime/zoom and phone. If we require your materials to be dropped off, we will contact you to arrange a time.
After 15 years, we still absolutely love our business and are passionate about what we do. If we stand together and support each other, we will make it through and become even stronger together. We must keep sharing love and joy in any way we can. Social distancing may be challenging, but it is vital to keep our most vulnerable safe. I ask that all our wonderful clients and supporters to please stay safe, take care and be kind to one another.
Sincerely, Tammy Keers and the Artisans Bespoke Jewellers Team
Starting
a new job back in 2009, Simon was nervous. We all are on our first day, aren’t
we? But it all went well thanks in no small part to the person who was assigned
to show Simon the ropes from his first day on the job – Sally.
Fast
forward seven years and Simon and Sally are living together in an inner city
Brisbane suburb. Sally was soon to make the move back to Mudgee a country town
north west of Sydney. The two had pledged to make the long distance
relationship work and on a spur of the moment decision, Simon popped the
question, and Sally said yes!
Sally and Simon say ‘I do’.
With one day left before she had to move, the Sally looked around Paddington to see if she could find a ring to mark the engagement. Sally had envisaged a vintage/older style engagement ring and as luck would have it, they came across Artisans Bespoke Jewellers and that’s where Sally met Tammy! On that very day, Sally and Tammy designed the perfect ring for them.
Once Sally had moved down south, Tammy called Simon to discuss the quote and design. Simon admitted that the style wouldn’t have been his first pick, but also admitted that he and Sally have very different tastes. However, he was pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the ring and being a geologist, had a great appreciation for gemstones. He readily agreed to the choice of an apricot sapphire after Tammy took him through the strengths and advantages to this stone. Simon felt encouraged and well informed throughout the whole process with our team.
Sally and Simon reunited!
Sally’s beautiful engagement ring
Proving that distance is no issue, Tammy and the team were able to design the ring with input from Sally and Simon and once the ring was complete, Simon picked it up and met Sally halfway between QLD and NSW to deliver the precious cargo.
The message we received from them after that says it all:
Hi Tammy, I’ll pop in and say hi/thank you when I’m back in Brisbane but I wanted to email quickly to thank you for our ring. We’re in Armidale (half way between Brisbane and Mudgee) this weekend for the ‘exchange’ and we are so so so super stoked with the ring. It’s absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for all your help and for making it a reality!! I’ve attached a couple of <pretty dodgy but very happy> photos to show you. Many millions of thanks and hugs, Sally and Simon
The wedding ceremony settingSally and Simon’s Wedding Bands. Sally’s band slides into her split band engagement ring.
The wedding, which Simon and Sally saw as more of a big party with family and friends, was held on Sally’s farm in Mudgee on a picturesque day in April 2017. Over one hundred guests attended the vintage and homely style ceremony, which was truly an effort of family and friends: they all chipped in for the wedding; Sally’s sister made the cake; and various friends and family helped with the decorations. Sally’s “something borrowed and something blue” was care of Artisans Bespoke Jewellers – we loaned the beautiful aquamarine and diamond drop earrings to the couple for the day.
If you’re looking for that special engagement ring that will last the test of time, please contact us to book your jewellery design consultation with our team!
