Goldsmiths jewellery fair

Fashion jewellery fans won't want to miss the Goldsmiths’ Fair, the ultimate showcase of independent jewels in the UK. Over the past 28 years the Fair has grown in stature and is now considered the most prestigious event of its kind in Europe.

This annual selling event, which is open to the public, positively buzzes with talent, passion, creativity, innovative design and superlative craftsmanship. The fair celebrates the bespoke, and each piece is hand-made by dedicated artists in small workshops around the country and collectively the Fair represents months of intense skill and artistry.

The ancient, traditional skills of the jeweller and silversmiths are much in evidence, in some cases excitingly fused with cutting-edge technologies. Jewellers Tina Engell and Roslyn Millar for example use the cuttlebone from cuttlefish to cast their jewellery, a technique widely used by Renaissance jewellers which results in an attractive grainy texture which looks both antique and yet very modern.

At the other end of the spectrum advanced laser welding is enabling jewellers and silversmiths to scale new heights previously thought unreachable. Tom Rucker’s breathtaking jewellery for example is made by painstakingly laser welding fine platinum wire together to produce an intricate molecular lace like effect. Equally, silversmith Kevin Grey, exhibiting at the Fair for the first time, uses laser and TIG welding techniques to join individual hand-raised formed pieces of silver to produce his beautiful seemingly seamless vessels, remarkable for their simplicity of form, line and volume.

Fashion no longer dictates that metals should never be mixed hence jewellers positively relish the freedom and experimentation that this allows.

The Goldsmith Fair runs from 27 September to 10 October in East London. For further information go to thegoldsmiths.co.uk.

Image: Oxidised amethyst ring