4 minute read
Commissioning the new ‘The Countess of Wessex Brooch’
G. Collins & Sons Commissioning the new ‘The Countess of Wessex Brooch’
Scribe: Captain Rayner Shelmerdine-Hare and Miss Lucy Ritson.
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Following the announcement that Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex GCVO was to become the new Colonel-inChief to the Corps of REME, it was agreed that The Countess should be presented with a brooch from the Corps; commissioned by The REME Institution.
To develop this bespoke piece, the Corps HQ was pointed in the direction of a trusted and reputable Crown Jewellers. In the remainder of this article, Miss Lucy Ritson, from G. Collins & Sons, Jewellers in Royal Tunbridge Wells, takes us through the journey of
Comparing the flash to the design drawing
Disassembled brooch, ready to fit the diamonds
the brooch being commissioned.
It all begins with a conversation. Using the brief from REME, Harry and Josh Collins and our Head Craftsman put their heads together and discussed ideas for the design of the brooch to commemorate the appointment of Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex as Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps of REME. The brooch needed to be instantly recognisable, to clearly represent REME, whilst also keeping it elegant and befitting The Countess. Using the regimental cap badge as our base, our Artist then took our Jewellers thoughts and put them to paper, drawing up two designs for the brooch which we then presented back to the Corps HQ. We then discussed their feedback and went back to the drawing board and did a third design. This final design earned the Fitting the diamonds to the flash and crown REME seal of approval and immediately thereafter the workshop got to work!
The basic design of the brooch was created using a dye, which sees the design stamped into a sheet of metal in order to create the outline of the brooch. The pieces were cut out by a rather sharp machine from the sheet and further filed and shaped by hand to create the definition of Assembling the brooch the design. The pieces were then assembled to make sure the design sat right before any of the setting and enamelling was done.
Next, the brooch went to our Head Setter to mark out and then set the yellow and white diamonds into the piece. The yellow diamonds have been pavé set into the flash of the brooch which is a style of setting that features lots of small round brilliant cut diamonds set
closely together with fine claws. The white diamonds are a mixture of claw and rubover settings in the crown of the brooch adding a touch more sparkle which never goes amiss! The final decorative detail was the coloured enamel to represent the gems in the band of the crown. In the colours of the REME tactical recognition flash, these were applied using the cold enamelling technique which uses a lower temperature to traditional enamelling to set and seal the colours. The brooch then went for hallmark at the London Assay Office, which indicates the precious metal content, year of manufacture and maker’s mark; as well as the special hallmark to
From left to right: Lt Col (Retd) Dave White, Colonel Jason Phillips ADC, Mr Harry Collins, Miss Lucy Ritson & Mrs Babs Harris MG REME presenting HRH The Countess of Wessex with the new Brooch
commemorate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.
Finally, we were ready to finish the piece and bring it all together. Our Head Craftsman individually hand polished each part of the brooch until the metal was shining and the diamonds gleaming. The brooch was then assembled, the pin attached, making sure all was secure and sitting well before one final sparkle!
Crafting a bespoke piece is always exciting; especially something that is a once in a lifetime project. It has been fantastic working on the REME brooch for Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex and creating something so symbolic for the soldiers of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
Photo taken just before the Transfer of Authority of the Australian Commander Headquarters Middle East (COMD HQME) on 20 Sep 22 from Col Colin Blyth to Capt Sean Andrews RAN. The picture was taken in Baird Lines, Minhad Airbase, UAE pictured are Col Blyth Late RAEME outgoing Commander Headquarters Middle East (and ex CO of the Australian Technical Trg College and ex Dept Head of the Corps of RAEME) and Lt Col Adrian Lovelock REME, Commanding Officer Joint Force Support Middle East.
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Transfer of Authority of the
