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All about me and Lavender hill.

My Lavender hill blog site.

My name is Dave and I live in Cardiff in S.Wales in the UK.

I have been making wire wrapped/sculpted jewellery for several years now since I became  ill and had to leave my work as a community care worker and I enjoy it very much.       I aim to bring you this jewellery using only the best quality materials I can find from here in the UK, the USA and quality CZ stones from Thailand.              I try to keep my prices as reasonable as possible whilst not reducing the quality of the pieces I make.       I want them to last you a lifetime and even longer so quality is important to me and I hope this is reflected in the pieces themselves.

I hope you enjoy my jewellery and please remember that if you see something you like it can be made for you in your size.

All jewellery items will be sent to you in a presentation box. All items are well packaged and should reach you in perfect condition.I make every effort to post out the item the day the payment clears.All items are sent royal mail recorded delivery including international items.If an items gets lost I will make a claim to the Royal Mail. When I am re-imbursed by them I will pass on

If you receive something that is damaged or faulty then please advise me by email in the first instance. Please also return the item to me within 7 days of receipt & I will send you a refund or replacement. Please note that the item must not have been used & must be returned in its original packaging. I do not offer a refund on bespoke items or on earrings due to hygiene reasons.

I am an artisan jewellery designer and maker.

I have been making this wire sculpted jewellery for 3 years now and it is extremely popular in the USA but not yet very well known here in the United Kingdom. That however is now changing and it is set to become much more popular as it is seen more and the influence of the internet brings this type of wire sculpted jewellery into the homes of the UK public.   

Techniques used:    

The technique does not involve solder or glues of any kind.     The 14ct gold filled wire/sterling silver wire is manipulated using twisting, bending, folding and wrapping to lock the wire into itself and hold its form and shape. Different types of wire can also be mixed together to give a unique look along with patterned wire for an even more unusual extra dimension to the piece of jewellery. 

Materials used:  

14ct gold filled wire:

14ct gold filled wire is somewhat similar to what used to be called "Rolled gold" here in the UK.  Rolled gold is no longer manufactured in the UK and 14ct gold filled is now imported by me from the USA, the only country that manufactures this kind of gold material.

Sterling silver wire:

Sterling silver wire is made in the UK and the USA it is made at a mill where the silver is pulled through a draw plate to turn it into wire. It is 95% silver and is the standard UK sterling silver. Fine silver is 99% pure and is a little too soft to use in jewellery.

14ct gold filled patterned wire:

14ct gold filled patterned wire is made the same way as normal gold filled wire except that it is stamped with a pattern and comes in various widths.

Niobium wire:

Niobium is part of the same family of reactive metals that includes titanium and tungsten. Of those metals, only titanium and niobium are sufficiently workable to be practical for jewelry applications. Niobium is ideal for those who react to metals as it is hypo-allergenic and can be inserted into the body as in: earring wires or body piercings etc.

  Semi precious stones:     

Jasper, agate, malachite, ocean jasper, tiger eye, onyx, spectrolite, noreena, seraphinite, rain forest jasper, owyhee jasper, ocean wave agate, ghost plume agate,aventurine, bloodstone,jade, goldstone.lapis,turquoise....etc

Swarovski crystal

Cubic zirconia.  

What is gold filled wire and why is it the next best thing to solid gold?

Pure gold is 24ct and is so soft that it is impossible to utilise it in wire sculpted/wrapped jewellery.  Gold filled wire is created by taking a sheet of 12ct or 14ct gold and bonding it through extreme heat and pressure to a core of semi precious metal and then drawing it through a rolling mill or a wire draw plate to form sheet and wire products.       This is a sophisticated process and only a few mills in the world do it.

You should not mistake this process for GOLD PLATING.

There is a HUGE difference. The end result is a 14ct tube that is strong, durable and resitant to tarnishing because of its thick 14ct gold covering.   There are collections of gold filled wire pieces with dates on them from victorian times that are still in excellent shape. In the 30's & 40's it was used a lot to make watch bands, cameo settings and well just about everything jewellery related. Today it is not used so much because manufacturers would rather keep costs down by using inferior gold plating. 

What are some of the advantages of gold filled?

Gold filled has been reffered to as the "Gold of the future" because it offers all the same physical characteristics as solid gold such as, beauty, durability, and strength but at a fraction of the cost. Since the gold is on the outer surface area it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between solid gold and gold filled, except when it comes to the cost.

How long will gold filled jewellery last?

The point to remember is that gold along with its other unique qualities is virtually indestructable. Since you are guaranteed a substantial layer of gold on your gold filled jewellery by law, with reasonable care, it will last a lifetime and longer.

Designer cabachons:

I obtain designer cut semi precious cabachons from both the UK and the USA to use in my jewellery designs/projects.   These are cut by lapidary artists who specialise in finding and cutting then polishing them, thereby turning them into beautiful items of great beauty and value.  Each semi precious cabachon is studied and the design is worked up around the cabachon using techniques that hold the cabachon firmly within the wire frame of that particular piece of jewellery.

Delivery Times.

Please allow up to 14 days delivery.

I make very effort to despatch all orders as quickly as possible.

Please remember that if you are ordering a bespoke item you have to allow time for me to make it.

I make many different items including rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, collars and others too. Jewellery for every occasion.

IF YOU SEE AN ITEM AND WANT IT MADE IN YOUR SIZE PLEASE MESSAGE ME.

I AM ABLE TO MAKE ALL RINGS AND BRACELETS IN ANY SIZES YOU REQUIRE.