Commissioning a piece of bespoke handmade jewellery is a fantastic way of owning a piece that’s imbued with meaning and totally unique to you. Whether you’re looking for a special ring, necklace or earrings for yourself or searching for a birthday or anniversary gift for a loved one then bespoke jewellery is the answer.
You can have as much or as little input as you like into the process. You might have some vague or very specific ideas about what you’re after, either way is fine. But, if you’re in need of a little inspiration for a bespoke handmade jewellery commission then why not read more about three recent pieces I have created recently and how they were made. Oh, and you might notice whilst reading this that I have a SERIOUS thing for triangles (!)
Above: Gold vermeil chunky open triangle cufflinks by Elin Horgan Jewellery
1) Open triangle cufflinks in gold vermeil
It's been a while since I made any cufflinks, but I really enjoyed making this bespoke pair as a gift from a bride to her groom. With the price of gold continuing to rise, gold vermeil can be a really good wallet friendly alternative to solid gold. Gold vermeil is a silver base with a thick layer of gold plating over the top that makes it more durable than standard gold plating. It has to be 2.5 microns thick or above to be classed as vermeil.
These one-off triangle cufflinks were created from beautifully chunky 3mm recycled silver wire. Again I used a piece with a square cross section to give those nice sharp angles. The fastening was created from four jump rings soldered into a short chain and then finished with another piece of square section wire to compliment the front of the cufflink.
Above: Circle triangle geometric earrings in 9ct gold with diamond accents by Elin Horgan Jewellery
2) Diamond and 9ct recycled gold triangle circle earrings
If you’re struggling for ideas when considering a bespoke piece then why not think about putting your own twist on an existing design? I have made these circle/triangle earrings (above) in recycled silver and gold plated silver for many years, but my client wanted them crafted in 9ct recycled gold with the addition of a little diamond in each corner.
I created these from 1mm 9ct gold square section wire to give them that lovely clean crisp look finish. The 3mm diamonds were set into a piece of gold tubing soldered into the top corner. I left the back of the tube open so that the light could shine through and give the diamonds a little extra sparkly. What a great spin on the original!
Above: Mismatched gold plated recycled silver statement earrings
3) Mismatched gold plated triangle statement earrings
Do you have a piece of jewellery that's lying unolved in a drawer? Maybe it was a gift and has sentimental value, but it's just not quite your style so you never get around to wearing it. That's what happened to my client who had a necklace with a rather fussy setting that she wanted transformed into a new piece of jewellery. The brief was to create some earrings with a bit of a geometric vibe.
I removed the stone and incorporated another one that she had into a new sleek bezel setting. You'll note that they are different sizes, but this only added to the uniqueness of the finished design. The bezels were then hung from a simple circle stud with a larger triangle added below that could move around freely when worn. The result? A pair of seriously statement earrings. Yes, they're both big and beautiful, but becuase they're made from wire they're also super light and comfortable to wear.
I hope that sharing these designs has show you that there are endless possibilities when it comes to creating your own unique piece of bespoke handmade jewellery. Don't worry if triangles aren't your thing though, I do use other shapes too sometimes!! If you'd like to read more about how the jewellery commission process works and see examples of my work then visit my bespoke page. You might also find it useful to check out a previous blog post 5 questions to ask when commissioning bespoke jewellery
Elin Horgan designs and creates handmade jewellery in her Bristol studio. Elin’s beautifully simple handmade jewellery is carefully crafted and designed to be worn every day. You can read more about Elin’s work and the ethos behind her understated jewellery brand on her About Elin Horgan Jewellery page.
If you’d like to enquire about a specific product or discuss a custom piece of jewellery, please have a look at the Bespoke Handmade Jewellery page or email info@elinhorgan.com