Designing Tallulah – The love of Rough cut gemstones. My very first collection was Tallulah, this collection was conceived nearly ten years ago. At the time I knew I wanted to work with stones and try my hand at designing, but really didn’t want to just follow the trends. It was while trawling the stone…
The healing properties of gemstones and their history, their use in healing rituals and as protective talismans is a long and varied one. Whatever your beliefs about the properties of gemstones and their uses today it’s fascinating to delve into their healing past. Almost every significant human culture across every continent has used semi-precious stones…
Ethics of Producing Coloured Gemstone Jewellery The millennial world we live in is more concerned than ever about the traceability of its products. A trend that has its roots in food supply, has moved on to cosmetics, clothes and even jewellery. As a responsible society understanding the background of the items we buy, from the…
Coloured Gemstones in Literature Precious stones have held a special place in literature since the beginning of writing and a special place in the human psyche for much longer than that. Gemstones are so shaped by the meanings and values we have placed on them through the centuries that the stones are no longer just…
Coloured Gemstones and Superstitions Precious and semi-precious stones have been entwined with human culture from its earliest beginnings so it comes as no surprise that there is a wealth of lore and superstition surrounding their use. To our ancestors these beautiful, glowing stones from the ground must have seemed like otherworldly objects filled with magic…
Beautiful affordable aquamarine jewellery. The quality and colour of aquamarine can vary enormously. Beautiful aquamarine stones do not have to be expensive, I personally handpick all the gemstones for my jewellery. I spend hours sifting through hundreds of stones, picking out the pieces I think are good enough for my jewellery. I look for colour,…
Aquamarine Stone of the Sea The modern name for Aquamarine is derived from the Latin ‘aqua marina’ or water of the sea. It is easy to see why this semi-precious stone is so associated with the ocean, its blue-green depths and beautiful refraction of light are very like the movement of water. An old sailors…
The birthstone for September is Sapphire, this gemstone is known by similar names in different languages: In the Arabic world, ‘Safir’; the Latin variant ‘Sapphirus – meaning blue – and in ancient Greece, it was called ‘Sappheiros’ after the island, Sappherine.
Chandelier Earrings featuring coloured Gemstones. The words chandelier and coloured gemstones are a perfect pairing. Chandelier earrings can be dramatic, a statement piece, perfect to add a touch of glamour and of course are perfect for a ‘boho’ look. Here are some of our favourite pieces.
Moonstone Capturing Shades of Lunar. There is something about the luminous depths of Moonstone that is utterly compelling. A popular gem in semi-precious jewellery Moonstone has been captivating human beings for millennia. The Ancient Greeks and Romans believed Moonstone to be the captured light of the moon, a romantic notion that still resonates today. With…
Moonstone is the birthstone for June. Moonstone is one of the birthstones for June. The iridescent quality of Moonstone, makes it a wonderful stone to wear. Moonstone is traditionally a white stone with blue ‘fire’.
Beautiful and affordable Tanzanite Jewellery. Two words that don’t often go together! Tanzanite is one of the more expensive gemstones. It’s rarity, only found in a small are of Tanzania, has meant that it is considered to be a luxury and expensive gemstone.
Looking after silver and gold vermeil jewellery. Gold vermeil is the term to describe hard or micron plating on silver. For all our jewellery the base metal is either silver or gold. We micron-plate more than half of our silver jewellery. Gold vermeil should not be confused with flash plating or gold plating. Gold…
Wedding Rings With A Difference. What do you look for in the perfect wedding ring? Hopefully your wedding ring, will be a ring that you will wear for years and decades to come. Traditionally, wedding rings have been bands of either gold or platinum and plain to complement your engagement ring. But why shouldn’t your…
Tourmaline Nature’s Rainbow Coloured Gem. Tourmaline may not be the most well known of the semi-precious gemstones but it is certainly one of the most fascinating. Naturally produced in a fantastical array of rainbow colours from deep black to subtle pinks and azure blue this is an endlessly versatile and beautiful stone. Sought out by…
Sharing my passion for tourmaline jewellery. My love for Tourmaline as a stone, began from a very early age. My mother has a wonderful pink tourmaline set in a simple gold band. It has always been my favourite piece of jewellery in her collection. As a child, it was probably because I liked all things…
You can now shop by Birthstone. We have introduced a new tab to the website. More and more people are shopping by birthstone and we thought we would make it easier for our customers. There has been a trend for more personalised jewellery, be it engraving or picking a piece of jewellery that has meaning.
What’s new at Sushilla Jewellery. That’s a big question.. Since my last jewellery blog, I’ve been very busy, but I would like to concentrate on just two pieces here. The first is something I had made for me while I was in India earlier this year. It’s a simple yet pretty 18ct gold disc necklace…
A weekend in Prague with Sushilla. Well first off, it was a little more than a weekend, a long weekend in fact. We stayed four nights – I’m not sure you could do Prague justice in less than 3 days. A beautiful city, on a par with Paris for stunning architecture. What first struck us was…
Travels in Sri Lanka with Sushilla-Tangalle. Tangalle was our last stop in Sri Lanka. We picked Tangalle over Bentota for the simple reason we wanted to be by the sea, but not surrounded by people. The coast of Tangalle is deserted for the simple reason it’s too dangerous to swim.
Travels in Sri Lanka with Sushilla – Udawalawe. This is the second post featuring Sri Lanka, we left Galle for Udawalawe by car, the journey was a 2 hour drive across country. Having done my research, I decided that Udawalawe would be the best place in the south of the Island to see elephants in…
Travels in Sri Lanka with Sushilla – Galle. It seemed daft to travel as far as India every year and not make the effort to visit Sri Lanka. So this year, I decided to take some time out from my work in India to visit this amazing country. And oh boy, am I happy I…
Travels in Rajasthan with Sushilla-Udaipur. My weekend to Udaipur, very nearly didn’t happen. I had a weekend booked in my mind, but work wasn’t panning out the way I had planned. Nothing new there, this is India, after all. So the trip to Udaipur was all booked very last minute. This resulted in the trains…
Travels in Rajasthan with Sushilla-Pushkar I am nearing the end of a long trip in Rajasthan. My base as always is Jaipur, this is where my workshops are located and where my work takes place. This year I decided to give myself some time out and visit a couple of other cities in this wonderful…
Travelling as a Woman in India Solo female travellers in India have hit the news in recent years after a number of disturbing attacks on foreign visitors. Travelling alone in countries which have distinct cultural differences and attitudes to women has always been a bit of a social hot potato. Should you cave into cultural…
Jaipur and Gemstones Jaipur is the gem cutting centre of the Indian jewellery trade. A place of heritage, colour and bustling Indian markets it is where we at Sushilla source and cut our semi-precious stones. We also work closely with skilled craftspeople in Jaipur to produce our distinctive jewellery. As one of the creative hubs…
Wedding Guest Fashion – 2016 It’s that time of year and we can already hear the church bells chiming as we move further into summer and officially into wedding season. A time for fun, for love and for picking a drop dead gorgeous outfit to take you from chapel to party without, of course, upstaging…
Embracing Rough Cut Jewellery. Rough Cut stones are not something that you find widely available in shops and online but there is something about their natural and raw beauty that is utterly captivating.
Tanzanite connecting Head and Heart. One of our favourite stones, Tanzanite is much more than just a beautiful jewel. It’s appearance changes depending on the angle of the viewer and similarly its meanings and uses are varied. We have examined the background and properties of Tanzanite to help you understand more about this semi-precious stone.
Spring 2016 Trends – The New Bohemian The Spring catwalks were alive with colour and texture this season as a new trend emerged encompassing the best of bohemian. Forgot the tiered peasant skirts and oversized belts of the noughties boho scene, the new bohemian trend is a riot of patterns, clashing colours and global influences.…