ARTISAN MANUFACTURING JEWELLERS GREERTON

Trained in Auckland under the guidance of two ex-Hatton Garden Jewellers, Andrew Linn is an award-winning jewellery manufacturer who has been in the trade for 35 years. It’s an industry in which the combination of experience and skill can be seen in the workmanship, one glance in the display cabinet gives a clear reflection of his talents. Andrew and wife Kay run a manufacturing and retail store, where they hold to high standards. “We see a lot of low-grade stuff from overseas but we tend to go down the higher end because if something’s low-grade and full of inclusions, if it gets knocked it can fracture.”

Andrew sees a lot of people who come in to remodel a piece of jewellery. “Lots of remakes, all the old broken jewellery. We’ll do 3D images for them, we’ll sit down and spend time going through books. Most people will want to use Grandma’s gold or Grandma’s diamond.” Bespoke pieces are also created from scratch, and the jewellery in the cabinet provides inspiration – “We don’t have a huge range, just basic to give people ideas. If you don’t have stock people struggle to see what you can do. That goes for your handmade chains, anything.”