Posts by Lou Pike Pyman

Ruby is the official birthstone for July. It belongs to a family of stones called Corundum, which also includes Sapphire. Rubies are also used to celebrate 40th wedding anniversaries. Rubies have not been the most requested stones from our customers at PIKE, however we have had had the opportunity to make some beautiful rings for…

  One of the most recognised strands of pearls is the one worn by Audrey Hepburn in the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. Interestingly, they were costume pearls.   Elizabeth Taylor was given the large pearl featured as the drop of this elaborate necklace by Richard Burton. The natural pearl, known as ‘La Peregrina’ is said…

  Our latest pearl commission offered a unique challenge – designing a pearl pendant that also included some very precious jade. Nicholas drew the following options: and the customer chose the top one. The manufacturing process was a very intensive one for Matthew and the finished piece is bringing a lot of joy to its…

We have a lot of people come and see us at PIKE to ask if the pearls they have been given by their grandmother, aunty or family friend are real or not. Sometimes we can tell just by looking – the size, shape, the evenness of the colour. It is getting harder to tell, with…

So, what is the difference between natural, South Sea, Freshwater and Akoya pearls? Natural Pearls: A natural pearl is one that is formed in nature without any human intervention. A natural pearl forms when a foreign substance (for example, sand) makes its way into the shell of the oyster. As a ‘defence mechanism’ the oyster…

There is much conversation in the jewellery world about ethically-mined diamonds, with the 2006 movie Blood Diamond providing a powerful catalyst for a more public debate. Some consumers of diamonds now feel compelled to ensure that the diamonds they buy can be guaranteed to be non-conflict. At PIKE, we choose to buy our diamonds from…

At PIKE, we often design rings using emeralds in two-tone metal, and use diamonds to really highlight the beautiful green colour of the emeralds. Below are some of our favourite emerald rings…                  

  Elizabeth Taylor. This stunning Bulgari necklace was gifted to Elizabeth Taylor by her lover Richard Burton as part of a suite of emerald and diamond jewellery in the 1960s. thejewelleryeditor.com   aboutemeraldjewellery.com   thejewelleryeditor.com   And Elizabeth is not the only woman who loves emerald jewellery. Victoria Beckham, Angelina Jolie, Julianne Moore and famously…

We had an enquiry recently about jewellery saw blades, in particular 4/0 grade. We use saw blades nearly every day at PIKE – the invention and use of a saw blade and a frame has allowed jewellers to expand their design opportunities as well as increase their speed and a resolve a variety of detailed…