Today we're thrilled to introduce you to one of our very talented customers and jewellery designer, Lauren Griffiths from Little Joy Jewellery! We invited Lauren to take part in a project using our beautiful opals - read below to find out what she created with these gemstones.
Opals are a popular gemstone and there are so many varieties to choose from! At Kernowcraft we offer opal cabochons, faceted stones, crystals and beads for jewellery making.
Lauren Griffiths is an artisan
Naturally seeking harmony and quality through her craftsmanship, Lauren applies traditional methods manipulating raw materials to produce modern, contemporary jewellery design. In her aspiration toward the creation of sensitive, subtle, and minimal pieces, Lauren crafts a delicate and unique aesthetic that is evident throughout her whole range of jewellery and bespoke designs.
As well as offering a comprehensive range of unique Little Joy Jewellery pieces, Lauren offers a bespoke commission service and carefully creates beautiful, modern jewellery design suitable for any occasion. Lauren is a Fairtrade-Certified Jeweller
"The beginning of a studio day begins with lists! I make
"After having two babies my making time became quite limited and to save working all throughout the night to finish orders, I started timing myself on how long it took me to make certain
"On receiving these beautiful opals I estimated they would take a full day in the studio so here you can see what I got up
"The stones are accurately measured. I wanted to make two alternative pieces with these stones, so I decided upon a ring and a pendant to add to my layered pendant collection.
"Both pieces look beautiful against a golden glow so I am going to show you how I use fairtrade gold to make the pieces.
"First I spend a long time sketching and relating this idea to the body, thinking about the longevity of the designs and how they would be made and how they can be worn.
"After measurements are taken and a design reached, I commit to this idea to stop my self procrastinating which is a habit I fight with on a daily basis. I think it's more to do with confidence and the courage to commit to an idea.
"If it doesn't challenge me there no point making it - I love to learn and develop with each piece."
"Using gold sheet I produced the collets and refer to the stone at all stages to make sure it's a good
"I don't want to over complicate the pendant as I want to show the tiny stone off to its full
"For the ring
"I want the pieces to sit well next to each other so I decided to make it the same style collet
"The ring shank is very fine 1.2mm and once attached to the collet I added a nice gentle planished finish to it with my lovely hammer 'Beatrice' - yes I name my
"Then for my favourite bit... a spin in the
Once the stones are set I burnish all the edges for quite some time to perfect and strengthen the pieces
"Once they are complete I will try pieces on and make sure they are
"All the tools used above can be found at Kernowcraft apart from 'Beatrice' the hammer.
At Kernowcraft we are pretty addicted to opals! You will find a huge variety available on our website, with stock changing all the time. We often have Australian boulder opals, Ethiopian opals, Peruvian opal, Mexican opals and wood pipe opals. Including opals in both free form and calibrated sizes which can be used with our jewellery settings.
If you're using a calibrated sized cabochon and faceted stone, then you can often use these with our range of jewellery settings with the help of stone setting tools.
Read more information on stone setting over on our advice pages.