First Flight: My Goldsmiths' Apprenticeship Masterpiece
Yesterday marked the end of my Indenture Goldsmiths Apprenticeship in Diamond Mounting. After the five years, we are expected to create a Masterpiece to present at Goldsmiths' Hall—a piece that encompasses everything we've learned and challenges us even further.
After lots of designing, endless prototyping, and manufacturing I proudly presented 'First Flight': a silver iris flower and dragonfly brooch-to-pendant. The piece depicts a dragonfly's first flight after emerging from the water, which felt like the perfect representation for my own emergence as a more confident, skilled goldsmith after these five years of apprenticeship.

​The petals naturally wanted to bend and curl as I worked, which meant finding creative ways to position them in pitch—sometimes mounting them on wood pieces held in a vice—so I could reach different areas without disturbing the shapes I'd already created. It became a rhythm: chase, turn over, work from the reverse to emphasize contours, remove from pitch, burn off residue, anneal and quench the silver, repeat.

​The Dragonfly Takes Shape
While working on the petals, I also crafted the dragonfly body from round wire, using reference photos to get the proportions and segmentation right. The wings required three layers each, all pierced from silver sheet and carefully aligned. I glued and drilled through all three layers together, then soldered silver tube the front layer so the wing layers could be pinned together. This design allows the enamel and stone-set layers to be completed separately and riveted on later.
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Engineering the Stone Settings
To prepare for diamond setting, I needed to thicken the petal edges. Given their complex, undulating forms, I used wax moulding: pressing softened pink wax against the undersides to create impressions, then casting these to create backing plates of uniform thickness. After casting, I carefully pierced and filed them to the right width, leaving an outer ledge for solder.
Because my line engraving created channels where solder could run, I used erasure liquid to create barriers and control exactly where the solder would flow.
For stone placement, I laid diamonds table-down on each petal to plan a gradual size progression. Working one stone at a time, I drilled each hole, then positioned the next stone with girdles nearly touching, measuring carefully with dividers to mark the centre point before drilling. After opening all holes with ball and cone fraises, I created square back-holes with a piercing saw that followed the petal edges.

​Assembly and Finishing
I positioned the petals together in plasticine to test the fit, filed areas for stronger joints, then laser welded and soldered them into a unified structure.
The findings were equally important: I handmade a lever clasp from silver chenier and milled wire to secure the removable petal to the brooch. This involved filing a rectangular slot in the tube wall for the clasp mechanism, creating a pivot point, and making a tiny coil spring from guitar string steel to provide tension. All other findings—the brooch pin, hinge, and pin clasp—were also made by hand.
I created a cover leaf from sheet silver, initially curled in a swage block, then shaped with line engraving and rolled edges. An aluminium template helped me design and position the backplate before laser welding everything together. I even added a protective bayonet-locking leaf to cover the pendant attachment point.
After all components were assembled and the findings laser welded in place, I gave the iris brooch, petal pendant, and dragonfly a gentle pumice finish.

This Masterpiece represents not just five years of technical learning, but a transformation in confidence and artistic vision. Thank you for following along on this journey—we can't wait to share more beautiful work with you in the years to come.

​It wasn't just me who loved the look of this pendant in our hut, as it walked out after being on display for a week.  Since their purchase, this wonderful pair have been back and asked me to make a18ct White Gold Single Stone Ring for them, which was another first for me!

​The ring wax carving experience came just at the right time, because soon after I was asked to create a brooch resembling a South African Cape Penguin for our Whitstable Harbour Masters Silver Wedding Anniversary gift. 

​Within the same few weeks we were visited by some wonderful customers who we absolutely clicked with and soon felt incredibly privileged when they asked us to make them one-of-a-kind engagement rings and a wedding band to mark their most memorable days.

​After their big day we received the most beautiful message from them both.
“Megan made our tying the knot extra special with an amazing set of rings. After getting the new engagement ring Chris proposed a second time down on the beach at whitstable. Absolutely beautiful having our memories built in our favourite place and having that extra special ring that seals the deal made by such a lovely father and daughter. Thank you both so much.”

​We are also so thrilled for the newly engaged Jake and Grace! Jake approached us wishing to propose to his now-fiancé with a ring that truly symbolised them both. Their fond memories of the southwest coast entwined with the traditional use of diamonds was channelled into making a perfect ring for his proposal in their favourite place. 

​In our busy weeks we have been approached to make a few fun items of silverware, for example a personalised Silver Guitar Pick for a 21st birthday gift, in addition to a few rings and earrings. Stand by for pictures of our bespoke rings coming your way over the next month after our lovely clients have received them for special occasions.

​Thinking of pieces that are enjoyable to create; at the end of last year we had the pleasure of making another one of our Miniature Silver Watering Cans for a customer, with a flush set diamond in the watering rose.

A mix of round cut and cabochon indigo amethysts, lime peridots, cranberry red garnets, deep London Blue Topazes, golden Citrines, and dark violet Iolites, are encased by a polo of silver. A set of these rings will flexibly enable you to mix and match the positioning of each ring to create a different aesthetic each day. Pair them delicately together or go crazy and stack them high!
These will be integrated into our shop over the next few weeks when we are due to open. ​

​I am fine though,  my clothes were the only ones injured!

​Originally the four-claw gallery setting for a ring was intended it for a 5mm Round Swiss Blue Topaz, however I made a mistake with my measurements, having not made one before, and it is now ready for a 7mm round stone instead.

Making a ring shank that wasn’t simply made from round, square or D-shaped wire was also unfamiliar to me. So I wanted to make a tapered shank that would suit a taller setting and lend itself to focusing into the stone. It is still simple and mastered by many although it took me three attempts to make one I was happy with!
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Starting with a 2 x 3mm D-shaped skank, soldered and rounded up, I hammered a taper into the ring with the solder seem at the shanks thinnest point and therefore the top of the ring. I wouldn’t normally position the seem anywhere else other than directly at the bottom of the ring, however on this occasion I will be piercing through the seem for my setting. Annoyingly this D-shaped wire didn’t achieve the height I needed for the setting, so the solution to achieving a higher taper was to use square wire instead, which has more volume of silver in the same length. Finally with a more successful ring shape I can continue to finish the ring next week.

​In the few moments of down time in the workshop I have been whipping up some sea glass charms and a pair of sea glass studs. I was particularly interested in a green piece of sea glass with clear swirls contained within and a pure apple green marble we picked up from our morning walks along the shore.