From an old pebble to this!

Friday 07 August 2015

Jewellery designers at Catherine Best were recently given an interesting challenge when they were asked to create a piece of jewellery from a family heirloom that on first sight looked nothing more than a pebble.

The ‘pebble’ belonged to Mrs Le Cornu from St Clements in Jersey, having been passed through two generations of the family, and is believed to have originated in India and brought into the UK around 1908.

Mrs Le Cornu was interested in creating something that she could pass on to her own family rather than in any potential value of the item. However, it became clear during the cutting and polishing process that the pebble was in fact a precious gem.

Following various tests and, much to the delight of the Le Cornu family, it was confirmed that the stone was a beautiful light blue topaz.

Hundreds of enquiries for bespoke commissions are received every year at Catherine Best but the jewellers say that this one was really quite special.  The team in Jersey had no idea what the stone was but everyone was delighted to have been able to share the surprise with the Le Cornu family and create something that showcases this beautiful topaz.

Mrs Le Cornu is delighted with the finished piece: "We are thrilled with the result and have added another chapter to the history of our ‘pebble’. It has been a really exciting process watching the piece emerge from such an unassuming start. We now have a beautiful piece of jewellery to be passed onto future generations of our family."

The topaz was set in 18 carat yellow gold in one of Catherine Best’s pendant designs.