I will try and give you an understanding of my fascination and the inspiration I get from the uniqueness  of each pearl. After 25 years working with pearls I find that each pearl offers even more inspiration than when I first had the opportunity to design and make pearl jewellery. Here is a brief outline of pearls and how I work with them to create unique beautiful pieces of Pearl Jewellery.

Pearls have a unique place in precious gems as they are created by a living creature. And it is by a pure accident of nature that a pearl is created.A pearl oyster basically gets a piece of sand or shell inside its self and it irritates the oyster to produces a liquid (nacre)to coat the irritation. The  pearl oyster  keeps adding the nacre and this becomes the pearl. There are different types of pearls created by different types of pearl oysters in different parts of the worlds oceans. The ones that can be commercially harvested are from the genus Pintada and vary in size and colour depending on the different species of the Pintada oyster. The Japanese Akoya pearl is the Pintada Fucata Martensii and produces white pearls up to 10mm round. White South Sea Pearls come from the Pintada Maxima and the black South Sea Pearls come from the Pintada Margaritifera. Because of the vast range of colour, size and shape of pearls the design options are endless.I have been designing and making pearl jewellery for over 25 years and I am amazed at the individuality of each pearl and what it evokes in the design. Shape plays a very important part in the design of the piece of jewellery.A pearl can be spherical, drop shaped , oval or baroque (irregular) , but in each case I have to design around all the faces of the pearl not just one face as in a standard gemstone. This is where surface or the skin of the pearl becomes important, I am looking for the most interesting face. This may  be the smoothest or the most perfect face, but in many cases the imperfection maybe the highlight and give a play of light or colour that is special.

This will mean different pearls are suited to different pieces of jewellery e.g: pendants, rings, brooches,  necklaces and earrings. You might think you can put a pearl showing any face , but I always spend a lot of time finding the best way to view the pearl.This can make or break a piece of pearl jewellery. Pearls are thought of as classical jewellery but by far the majority of pearls I designed and made into pieces of jewellery have a contemporary theme, I feel that pearls can be for young or more mature , male or female. It  just comes down to the design and the right pearl to suit the piece of jewellery.

I hope my passion for pearls can inspire you to consider a piece of custom made pearl jewellery at some time in your life.

18ct yellow gold, diamond and black Tahitian Pearl pendant.

Garnet Peridot Amethyst drop pearl Earrings

18ct White and yellow gold diamond white South Sea pearl ring.

The wave design initially came to me as a way to have two interlocking rings. Over time the design has shown me more and more variations.

Interlocking Wave Ring

What is intrinsic about the design is the fluidity of the line. It represents different things to different people, but underlying I believe there is a peacefulness to the line that makes the design timeless.

As you can see by the different combinations of the two bands you have multiple designs.

The design can be two separate rings worn individually.

It can be worn as one ring with the wave on the inside facing each other tight together, slightly apart or even with both high points of the wave touching.

Then you can turn the wave to the outside changing the rings into a totally different feel.

This is an example of how my jewellery design just keeps evolving, even when I feel that I have evolved a design to its maximum, I know that there can always more done with design with fresh eyes.

This design has been amusing and entertaining me now for about 20 years and I hope I am still playing with it in another 20 years.

Mirror Wave Ring

Reverse Wave Ring

Separated Wave Ring

Split Wave Ring

A pleasant Sunday picnic has led to my latest inspiration. The children were playing on the beach, the water was smooth, the Sun was shining but there was still a chill of winter in the air. It was nature at its best.

My daughter Molly was sitting on the sand and noticed most of the small shells had these small holes near the point of the shells. This has been caused from water and sand spinning around in this part of the shell and wearing a hole.

This led her to show me as a thought for jewellery. The number of shells that she found led me to work on designs that would showcase these shells.

The shells made me think in a less structured way, as I wanted the design to create the same feeling as when we found the shells.

From here I will look at other shapes and forms I can incorporate with the shells and other natural objects and gemstones I can incorporate with these designs.

I hope you enjoy these new designs as much as I am in creating them.

Diamonds are the Fire, the Excitement, the Pizzaz of the jewellery world. This is why
diamonds are the most common gem that is used in jewellery. Diamonds are the
whitest, the most reflective and hardest gemstone. This gives us the Sparkle,
Brilliance or Bling as we like to call it. We are all attracted to this in one way or
another, like Bower Birds.

There are many things to understand about Diamonds; there are all the aspects
regarding quality and then there are the different ways to use diamonds in a
jewellery design.

The first aspect is how you use the diamonds to best effect in the design.
Different cuts of diamonds can show
differently in different types of settings.
This where sitting down with a jeweller who designs and hand makes the piece will
be able to guide you in the ways to get most impact and the correct effect you are
looking for in you piece of jewellery.

Wedding rings aren’t just matching plain bands any more.

Ladies wedding rings have been changing for quite a long time due to wanting the
ring to be incorporated into the design to accentuate the engagement ring design.
There have been two other main changes; the first is a lot men wanting to their
wedding ring to make a statement, and the second is when the couple choose only
to have wedding rings.

This means that the ideas and symbols that couples wish to bring into the design
can take us into some of the most interesting and unusual areas of design and
handcrafting.

Over 20 years ago, I was approached by a couple to design wedding rings that
represent two interlocking rings. They described to me the idea of “SHAZAM”
rings. The final design had their own unique feel in the wedding rings.
These sorts of ideas can easily vary enough to have a feminine or masculine feel
for the wearer.

A lot of men worry that if they incorporate design into the ring it will not be
masculine enough, so I developed a range with an industrial feel. I have used
harder edged designs, satin finishes and polished grooves to accentuate.
Some people want to incorporate gemstones in their designs, whereas some
people want a combination of metals. There really aren’t any boundaries to what
the wedding ring should be.

Your wedding ring is yours for life. I know that when I look at my wedding ring I
see that it symbolises the time of my life when my wife and I met and we made the
commitment to marry.
If you make the commitment to be involved in the design of your wedding ring then
it will strengthen those memories.

Lucas Blacker’s most recent work of art has won first prize in the Handcrafted Silverware section at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

The sterling silver ‘cracked egg’ is detailed with an 18 carat yellow gold trim and has resulted from 150 hours of handcrafting and hand engraving. The external surface motif is inspired by Celtic rope patterns and has been adapted into a geometric design, with no beginning or no end. Inside the egg, is a hand carved piece of lapis lazuli to act as a seat for the ring. The ring mirrors, simply the innovative contemporary design of the ‘cracked egg’. Sculpted to the contours of the finger, the ring gives an immediate sense of connection between it and the wearer. The unique item of the ‘cracked egg’ and its housed ring provide a harmonious compilation, bridging Lucas’ ability to create jewellery and art.

Undoubtedly, Lucas is extremely pleased with his efforts and wishes everyone a Happy Easter and safe holidays.

By Molly Blacker