The cost of a piece of jewellery can be determined by many things ie. gemstones used, labour, precious metal etc. For pieces of jewellery that are primarily made of a precious metal then weight is the main factor that determines it`s price.

Because precious metals are expensive much of the jewellery sold today is hollow or thinned out in an effort to use as little as possible. Modern machine made jewellery can be made extremely light but this reduces the value of the piece, its strength and ability to be repaired.

When I hand make a piece of jewellery one of my main objectives is to make it so that it will last as long as possible. It is because of this that most pieces of jewellery I make are heavier in weight than similar designs you will find in the jewellery chains.

Last year I was fortunate enough to be asked to make the engagement ring pictured to the right. During that design process, as I always do, I asked my customer what they had in mind for their wedding ring.

Even if the wedding is some time away it pays to allow for the wedding ring during the designing of the engagement ring. This is very much the case if a straight wedding ring is desired.

Just before Easter Maureen asked me to quote on a pendant design. She intended to give the pendant as a present over the Easter long weekend. I knew we would be cutting it fine and it ended up being 8pm on the Thursday before Good Friday that the piece was ready.

Fortunately the design was very clear in Maureen`s head. The piece was to be a rectangular plate with a Celtic infinity knot symbol on the front and the family members names engraved on the back. So now all I really needed to do was confirm the size of the piece, the engraving and the chain style.

Some years ago I remade a Bushido Cross ring for a customer and featured the ring remake on this website. The Bushido Cross is worn by high ranking members of the Zendokai and Bushikai karate styles, as either a pendant or ring. The right to wear this symbol is awarded to instructors in recognition of their loyalty, strength and dedication. You cannot just decide you want to wear one. If you do so the meaning is lost.

The Japanese word Bushido means "the way of the warrior" and I have been asked by many people not yet able to rightfully wear the Bushido Cross to come up with a design that reflects their commitment to Bushido. Zen Buddhism has had a great influence on both Japanese martial arts and calligraphy so I based the design around a flowing style of Japanese writing.