Item: Matching brooch, earrings & pendant for ‘S’
Occasion: ‘Mother of the Groom’ wedding jewellery
Materials: 9ct gold, London blue topaz, peridot
Brief: To create a unique brooch to complement a bespoke wedding outfit, with earrings and a pendant necklace to match
I was approached by an upcoming ‘mother of the groom’ (S) to design and create a one-of-a-kind jewellery set to compliment her self-drafted and self-made wedding outfit.
As a starting point, her heart was set on a brooch designed to stand out against the steel blue satin of her waistcoat. She wanted it to incorporate features from the fabric for her trousers, which had peacock feather detailing.
S was able to provide me with a swatch of the trouser fabric and I created some initial designs to share with her. After meeting to discuss ideas, we settled on a larger off-centre stone, with 9ct gold ribbons featuring much smaller stones. Rather than contrasting, we wanted the jewellery to work in harmony with the fabric colours, and chose to use a beautiful London blue topaz with green peridots. Peridot also happens to be her son’s birthstone, so this was a lovely added touch to mark the occasion.
As S wanted the brooch to be the stand out piece, she asked for simple drop earrings with a matching pendant necklace, both incorporating the London blue topaz, to complete the set. To ensure she was happy with the overall look, we compared stone shapes and sizes then carefully selected the perfect options for each item. S also tried different chain lengths for the necklace and decided on a 16” curb chain
For each piece, the topaz stones were set using a prong setting to highlight their beauty and depth of colour. For the brooch, the larger topaz was accompanied by 52 peridots within a thread and grain setting. The brooch pin was also a bespoke feature and designed to keep the piece securely in place.
For the big day, S also wore an engraved hinged bracelet which had belonged to her grandmother, and was thrilled at how well the combination of new and old blended. “As my outfit was unique, it was really special to wear bespoke jewellery for my son and daughter-in-law’s big day. I had a rough idea for a brooch, and Gray created the most beautiful jewellery set which went far beyond. It was perfect and I know I’ll wear it again and again!”