November has nearly finished now, and as we see the golden brown leaves covering everywhere but the trees from which they fell – I always wonder if that is why the similarly coloured gemstones Topaz & Cirtine are the month’s birthstone. For those lucky enough to have these beautiful stones representing their birth, the bright […]
It’s difficult to predict which jewellery designs and styles will be the biggest Christmas bestsellers, and this year is set to be even tougher than normal after the year we’ve all had. However, having seen a continuing pattern emerge in our own customers’ wishes over the last few years – we can certainly have a […]
Opal is the birthstone for the month of October, along with pink tourmaline. It is also the stone given to celebrate the 14th year of marriage. History The name ‘opal’ is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit ‘Upala’, meaning ‘precious stone’ and later the Greek derivative ‘Opallios’ meaning ‘to see a change of color’. […]
Whilst we continue to wash our hands frequently and use hand sanitiser at every shop entrance, we mustn’t forget to keep our jewellery clean too. An ideal time to start writing this blog, with ‘Wash your hands’ ringing in our ears, there is a lot more soap, hand cream and bread dough going into your […]
It’s nearly the end of September already, and we can’t go through this month without addressing its birthstone’s biggest myth: Sapphires are blue, right? …Wrong! Sapphires are perhaps the only natural gemstone that is available in almost every colour of the rainbow. Though blue is the most popular stone colour, and most often thought of […]
As Guilford’s oldest running independent jewellers we have, over the years, purchased many thousands of pounds of old gold, platinum and silver. This serves both us, our customers and the environment, in equal measure. At our Cry for the Moon workshop, we recycle gold and platinum, passing on the savings to our customers. This keeps […]
It’s finally May, and the trees are now almost full of leaves; bright and vibrant greens of many shades. Perhaps this is why Emerald is the birthstone for May; it radiates new life with its vivid, bright colour. On a personal note, Emerald is my favourite of all the coloured gems. Both my wife and […]
