ON CRAFTSMANSHIP
We make our costume jewellery as it was in the 19th century. It is laborious and profoundly artisanal. Silver welded at 700 degrees Celsius, in the best quality brass from traditional manufacturers. It is built to last. It has the uniqueness given by the human touch, every single process done manually with nothing but the aid of basic machinery.
Raw brass
Used extensively throughout history, from the eponymous wind instruments to gracing the banisters of grand buildings, it is raw, honest, and beautiful to manipulate. Its qualities allow for the finest filigrees and detailing – achieving a degree of refinement simply unachievable with most metals.
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But more important is how brass patinates. Using our own process – perfected over several decades of workshop experience, we achieve the old golden shade of an heirloom piece, dark in the crevasses, yet polished elsewhere. It looks like it's been worn for decades.
We also never plate it. Since starting our business in 1986 - we have seen many a plating chip off, fade and go. This conflicts with our aspirations of making a forever piece.
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Most of our brass findings come from small, century old manufacturers in the United States, France and Germany. Others are antiques themselves. The tooling used in manufacturing them is very often antique too. When we don't find what we want - we also cast our own.
To "give style" to one’s character-a great and rare art! It is practiced by those who survey all the strengths and weaknesses of their nature and then fit them into an artistic plan until every one of them appears as art and reason and even weaknesses delight the eye.
Friedrich Nietzsche
On Glass...
...and stones
Our brass pieces are ornamented with crystals, made in the region of Bohemia since the 1500s – the centre of European crystal making. There are also pearls, amethyst, and various agates.
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These are applied inidividually by hand before the piece is polished one last time.
Creating - inspiration and design
We don't make facsimilies. All our pieces are our own. Yet they are deeply rooted in the visual and cultural language of the eras we have imagined them to belong in.
Reds and purples with an abundance of pearls for medieval and renaissance inspired pieces. Simplicity in structure with richness in volume.
Straight lines and sharp angles for Art Deco. Clean-cut filigrees, baguette crystals, all around a strongly vertical axis.
Organic shapes seamlessly flowing from figurative natural elements into the abstract ornament of Art Nouveau. Shades of amethyst and blues, the amber and olive of autumn leaves blending into curves and stylysed shapes - it all comes from an extensive art history and jewelry library that reflects a lifelong passion for the craft.
And for it to last a lifetime....
Our commitment to a lifelong piece comes with lifelong support.
Every piece you purchase comes with both maintenance instructions and a link to our maintenance page - from where we take care it will accompany you in the forming of many happy memories.
