GOLD RUSH

Our love affair with gold is as enduring as the metal itself. Prepare to be spellbound by these captivating creations from the south-west’s brilliantly creative jewellers

words Hannah May

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It’s steeped in history and is the stuff of songs, stories and legend. Armies have waged wars to win it. Our bodies even contain traces of it. You can eat it, wear it and swim in it, as it’s suspended in seawater.

Gold.

The dazzling metal’s origins are from outer space, while here on Earth it continues to reign supreme as one of our most precious materials – especially when it comes to wedding jewellery.

“Gold is amongst the most popular metal types for engagement and wedding rings,” explains Nicola Price at Drakes (drakesjewellers.co.uk). “It’s combined with other metals, or alloys, to make it stronger and hard-wearing – perfect for a ring you are planning to wear every day – and it’s also known for being one of the easiest metals for jewellers to manipulate. This makes it a good choice for engagement and wedding rings as it gives flexibility for resizing at a later date.”

Hardy, versatile and timelessly on-trend, gold is one of the hottest metals of the moment, whether you’re searching for a statement piece, reworked heirloom ring or pared-back vision of auric beauty.

“Gold is your most traditional choice for a wedding ring, and rightly so. It is a beautiful metal available in more colours than you might imagine. Every carat of gold has its own tone, so you can choose the perfect one for you,” says Jamila Hirtenstein at Justin Duance (justind.co.uk) of the myriad qualities of gold. When it comes to choosing the colour of your gold, it’s important to be aware of the carat weight, and what that actually means. “Pure gold – 24ct – is a gorgeous warm colour but is incredibly soft, which is not so good for everyday-wear jewellery, so it is alloyed (mixed) with other metals to give it a hardness,” explains Janie Wolverson at Erin Cox Jewellery (erincox.co.uk).

“So 18ct gold is 75% gold and 25% other metals, and 9ct gold is 37.5% gold and 62.5% other metals. The other metals the gold is mixed with gives you the different metal colours, such as white gold, red and rose gold, and the higher amount of the ‘other metals’ gives a deeper colour.”

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gold, for example, is much pinker than 18ct because of the amount of copper in the alloy.

As an independent jeweller, Erin chooses the alloy she works with, preferring a high palladium 18ct white gold. Palladium (a precious metal in its own right) is a member of the platinum family and when alloyed with pure gold produces a warm but durable gunmetal grey that doesn’t require rhodium plating.

“We don’t rhodium plate our white golds,” explains Jamila, referring to the hard metal that gives a white gold ring its bright white finish. “Instead, we celebrate them in their natural tones, from creamy pale 9ct to the deep warm grey of 18ct white gold. As such, there is no upkeep or worry of your plating wearing off, which sometimes puts people off choosing white gold.” The other consideration when it comes to colour is whether the design includes any stones. “Diamond wedding or engagement rings tend to have a white gold setting, even if the band is rose or yellow gold,” explains Nicola. “This is because the yellow or rose gold would tinge the colour of the diamond, making it look more yellow or pink instead of its sparkly self.”

Of course, it’s not just diamonds that people choose for engagement rings – gemstone rings are popular too and sit beautifully with plain or diamond wedding bands. “All of them look gorgeous but personally, at Drakes, we feel that emeralds sit beautifully with yellow gold,” she adds.

And when it comes to ethical gold, you’re spoilt for choice in the south-west. “We are really thrilled people are beginning to question the ethics around their gold jewellery,” says Janie. “Erin is proud to be registered as a Fair Trade jeweller crafting unique items in ethical and traceable gold. She is also able to offer single mine origin gold and works in eco recycled gold as standard.”

Specialising in contemporary custom-made jewellery, Justin Duance’s creations uniquely merge metal, meaning and design, also repurposing jewellery to lower the eco-impact of gold and to add an element of poignancy. “All of the gold we use in our jewellery is 100% recycled and we can also repurpose your own heirloom gold into a sandcast ring,” says Jamila. “This a lovely way of adding immeasurable sentimental value to your wedding or engagement ring.”

1. Drakes drakesjewellers.co.uk 2. Erin Cox erincox.co.uk 3. Justin Duance justind.co.uk