If you own a piece of gold, silver, platinum or palladium jewellery purchased in the UK or even some silverware like an antique silver knife, fork or spoon, you may have noticed three or four small stamps discretely hammered into the surface of the metal. This is a hallmark. In May 2024 I attended a fantastic introduction to UK hallmarking delivered by Marie Brennan, Commercial Manager of Birmingham Assay Office. Birmingham Assay Office regularly runs introductory sessions both to UK Hallmarking and the services they offer at their offices and laboratories in Birmingham–which extend well beyond hallmarking. Check out their website to see education and training is on offer. How does an assay office work? Who uses them? What else do they do? What kind of skills do you need to work there?
Author: Tehmina Goskar
Those Zendaya earrings: heritage hijack or creative reuse?
This post aims to complicate the debate around the earrings Zendaya was wearing at The Odyssey film premiere. I probe the provenance as well as critique all ends of the discussion on what is right and what is wrong about the reuse of antiquities in jewellery.
A gemstone for beyond the firmament of the year
December birthstones and zodiac stones are somewhat of a mess: Turquoise, Blue topaz, Zircon, Tanzanite… Perhaps because it is also the month of Christmas, and also Hanukkah and other sacred moments such as the Capricorn (Midwinter (N)-Midsummer (S)) solstice of the year, that December babies can sometimes struggle to find themselves in the stones when… Continue reading A gemstone for beyond the firmament of the year
Royal treasures from Portugal and India
In November 2024 I was fortunate to join a contingent from the Jewellery Valuers Association to attend the inaugural Royal Treasures Colloquium hosted at the newly opened Royal Treasure Museum at the Ajuda National Palace in Lisbon, Portugal. The rich schedule of talks and cultural tours provided a unique insight into where Portugal and its… Continue reading Royal treasures from Portugal and India
Dashed topaz dreams
Topaz, one of the traditional birthstones for November and the zodiac signs Scorpio and/or Sagittarius, is a gemstone that you will normally encounter in its irradiated and heated form – the bright blue stones – or coated to create the iridescent effect of ‘mystic topaz’. Natural, untreated topazes come in an array of hues from… Continue reading Dashed topaz dreams
Behind the opal rainbows of October
Cover image: root replacement pipe crystal boulder opal from Australia. 11.8 × 6.0 x 3.8 mm and 1.62 carats (credit: Tom Goskar). My mind regularly imagines its way through the microscopic worlds of gems, minerals and rocks we can’t see. The jumping atoms causing interesting colours, the crystal lattices literally bending light in different directions,… Continue reading Behind the opal rainbows of October
Blue, green, teal and turquoise
Blue and green are probably the most subjectively variable colours on the visible light spectrum. Last week a friend shared this quiz with me called, Is my Blue Your Blue which compares your perception of blues and greens against others. In particular it will help you know if you see the enigmatic colour turquoise as… Continue reading Blue, green, teal and turquoise
Homage to August’s peridot
There is a tipping point around mid-August (in the Northern hemisphere north of the tropics) where the air starts releasing a dew-like moisture carrying the scent of the earth and beaches. The time of humid earth evokes the qualities of Virgo, a time to check the health of home, garden and self, to start organising… Continue reading Homage to August’s peridot
Laser ruby
As July draws to a close the glowing warmth of a ruby is somehow mirrored by stunning summer sunrises and sunsets. The dance that light does in and out of different gemstones changes according to the light source, and I feel that sunlight in rubies create an intensity and complexity of colour that few other… Continue reading Laser ruby
Should you rub pearls against your teeth?
It’s difficult to get through June without thinking of pearls. Pearls are one of June’s birthstones, together with moonstone and Alexandrite (a form of colour change chrysoberyl). This is an adaptation of a post I made during my Gem-A Gemmology Foundation course in 2022 on pearls. Last on, first off Things I remember being discussed… Continue reading Should you rub pearls against your teeth?