Gem Stones Beginning with "A"....

OK

Here we go....

Achroite, Adularia, Agate, Alabaster, Albite, Alexandrite, Almandine, Amazonite, Amber, Amblygonite, Ambroid, Amethyst, Ametrine, Andalusite, Andradite Garnet, Anglesite, Apatite, Aquamarine, Aragonite, Australite, Aventurine Quartz, Aventurine Feldspar, Axinite, Azurite, Abalone, Agate, Ammonite..............

There are many more I am sure, so let me know by email and I will add it to the list.

jo@payneandson.com

Summer

Are we to expect our Summers to be like this from now on? Global warming? Really?

Anyway, we do have some very lovely pieces of jewellery for the summer. In particular some very pretty porcelain jewellery by the German house of Nymphenburg.

Porcelain is made of three basic ingredients, kaolin, feldspar and quartz.

These three are ground very fine, mixed together and has water bubbled up through it.

This mixture must rest in a humidity controlled environment for up to two years before it is ready to use. When ready it is turned into a a workable and pourable mix which is filtered into moulds.

Moulds must be replenished after 300-400 uses to maintain definition.

Hand finished and dipped in a liquid slip (glaze), the pieces are fired several times with one very intense firing at 1260 degrees making the porcelain impervious to water. The porcelain can shrink up to 20% whilst being fired, taking away all remnants of water content.

The finished item!

Beautiful.

Now, what summer birthstones do we have? For the fiery and siummery month of July it is the hot and fiery Ruby. August boasts the ever lovely Peridot, a mossy/bottle/khaki green stone which is clean, clear and crisp. And with September round the corner, a whole array of colour from the Sapphire.

Rubies are very rare gems.

They exist in many shades of red from pinkish to purplish to brownish and reddish.The red colour is determined by the amount chromium, which further enhances the colour by causing a red fluorescence. A ruby's brownish colour indicates iron. From the Latin name "rebeus", the true ruby has sometimes been called "oriental ruby" to distinguish it from the red spinel.

                                      Peridot is the gem quality variety of the mineral "olivine".

A rock forming mineral, olivine occurs in silica-poor igneous rocks, such as basalts, gabbro, troctolite, and peridotite.

Peridots shades of green are caused by the presence of iron, and it often has a greasy lustre.

The mineral is named from the French word "peritot" which means "gold" because the mineral can vary towards that colour.

Sapphires come in a variety of shapes and sizes - and colours.

Every colour except red in fact as red sapphires are actually rubies.

Most sapphires are heat treated to eliminate impurities and to improve a gems colour and clarity. I prefer the term "enhanced" as treated makes it sound as if there's something wrong with a stone.

Cornflower blue sapphires are most desireable.



New Range of Jewellery

We have a rather unusual addition to our stock of jewellery........

Stunning pendants depicting Angel Wings and Coral.

And these are made from.....

Porcelain!

From the German house of Nymphenburg come this stunning collection of porcelain jewellery.

A mixture of quartz, feldspar and kaolin is finely ground and bubbled through water to create the rough porcelain. It must rest for up to two years in a humidity controlled environment before it can be worked with.

When it is ready, it is mixed with water to create liquid slip which is poured into a mould. Fired a few times over with one crucial firing at 1260 degrees which makes the porcelain water resistant and tough.

Each wing, and each piece of coral is dipped in liquid slip and fired for a final time.

With either silver or yellow metal bails, you can mount these on chains, silk cords, leather strings to create your own look and style.

With British Silver Week well and truely under way, we thought we would share with you some pictures of the open evening we had where Steve Wager, one of England's leading silversmiths, gave a demonstration on the making of a piece of flatware - in this case he transformed a single ounce of silver into a teaspoon.....

What an amazing sight it was to watch Steve Wager, one of England's leading silversmiths, create a beautiful spoon from a little block of silver.

Thank you to all those people who stayed on into the evening to watch the demonstration.

And don't forget you can win this spoon by entering our prize draw!!

Just pop in store and fill in one of the entry forms.

Thank you as well to all the silversmiths who have let us use their work for the exhibition.

The event runs until Saturday 25th June, so you still have plenty of time to come in and have a good look.

You will soon be able to see behind the scenes of 37 High Street, as we are very much supporting the Tunbridge Wells Project. This is run by two dedicated locals who are aiming to capture the old buildings of the town in a website which will showcase the parts you can't see!

Take a look at the link below to see how many buildins they've manged to view so far.

http://www.thetunbridgewellsproject.co.uk/

We have a a wide selection of goods in stock. We are not just a jewellers!!

We have many gift ideas so please feel free to come and browse the selection we currently have in stock. Here are a few ideas for you....

Pens

Silver Frames

Pewter Tankards

Porcelain

Clocks

Barometers

Watches

Silver Models

Boxes

Silverware

Decanters

Silver Jewellery

Chamilia Charms

Gold Jewellery

Cufflinks

Ceramics

We have a gold buying service, valuation service, repairs and servicing.

We also welcome browsers, so don't let the door put you off - press the buzzer and we will let you in so that you can browse at your leisure.



British Silver Week

Here are a few pieces you can expect to see at the exhibition starting next week - here at

37 High Street, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1XL.

Also visit us at

http://www.payneandson.com/

British Silver Week

With only weeks to go until our British Silver Week Exhibition, we are dotting the "I"'s and crossing the "T"'s in preparation of this prestigious event.

The exhibition launched in London on 9th May at the Pangolin Gallery, and there will be follow-up exhibitions around the country over the next few weeks.

We are calling it British Silver Week even though it will actually run for three weeks. This is so that you have plenty of opportunity to come and visit us.

We will be exhibiting works from 15 designer/maker silversmiths from Tuesday 7th June to Saturday 25th June.

On Thursday 9th, we shall be having a special day and evening of events in-store including a demonstration from leading British silversmith Steve Wager.

He will be crafting a piece of flatware from a single silver ingot. The finished piece will be the prize in a draw taking place owards the end of the exhibition.

To enter, all you have to do is leave you name, address and email details with a member of staff.

All items on display are also for sale, so if an item of silver or jewellery takes your fancy, our staff will be happy to help.

Put the dates in your diaries!!!!

Tuesday 7th June to Saturday 25th June