With
a Royal Warrant as silversmith to Her Majesty, The Queen, a storied
history begun as a family owned business in 1866, purchased by The
Asprey Group in 1992, and brought back under Scottish management by a
management led buy-out in August of 1998, Scotland's
Hamilton & Inches
is recognised as one of the UK's leading purveyors of jewelry, watches,
silver and luxury goods. As well as this, hidden above the pillared
Edwardian grandeur of the Edinburgh flagship store on George Street is
the award winning silver workshops founded there in 1896. The original
workman's tools and benches are very much in evidence, this is the home
to some of the finest silver craftsmen in the world. A workshop that
thrives on special commissions, where producing individual pieces of
enduring beauty is a collaborative process at each stage of production.
Just imagine trying to tell Scotland's story without her captivating
agates, yet, astoundingly enough the skill set required for this work
had become virtually impossible to source, even for Hamilton & Inches.
Exterior of the Shop
Part of the Interior of the Shop
Enter Thistle & Broom.
Offering fresh and exciting designs using Scotland's ubiquitous agates
was without question but if Hamilton & Inches didn't have a lapidary
then where would one find such a person? One night in early January of
2005 after weeks of frustration using online search engines, that big
online auction house turned out to be the critical reference site for
finding this elusive person. Typing in Scottish Agate an offering of
"Scottish agates by the pound" was found, an email dialogue developed
and a few months later they'd found a self-taught lapidary with thirteen
years of experience. Renato Forno scours the Scottish countryside for
these beautiful stones; white stones from Montrose, Carnelians in Cupar,
pinks found at Balindean, deep brown agates from the Black quarry and
the amazing moss green agates of Scurr hill near Tayport. Working as
time immemorial with diamond tipped saws, grinding and polishing
machines and the oldest manner a stick with a piece of molten (and
hardened wax) holding the roughly shaped stone, what he produces is
magic.
With the two critical
components in place for production, Thistle & Broom could return to the
desire to offer fresh, innovative designs based upon Scotland's agates
and silver and the skilled artisans necessary to bring out the beauty of
both.
On Orkney's Mainland, in
downtown Kirkwall there stands a massive testament to God in the form of
St. Magnus Cathedral, wrought of the local sandstone it has glowed
softly red in afternoon light since 1137. To commemorate the 850th
anniversary of the founding of the cathedral a baptismal font was
commissioned. A large piece of pure white Carrara Marble was offered and
a suggestion was made that the children of Orkney make a pilgrimage from
Egilsay to Kirkwall (the breadth of the parish) was embraced. Intended
to reflect the procession that was made when the holy relics of St
Magnus bones were moved from Birsay to Kirkwall, along the way the
children sought out a suitable stone from each parish on the island. The
collected stones were sent to Italy to be cut, polished and then set
into the magnificent baptismal font. Thistle & Broom's managing
director first saw the font and the cathedral in November of 2004 and
immediately thought that a bracelet patterned after the banding and
stones would be perfect.
The
baptismal font
After nearly 9 months of
specifications, drawings, determining finishes and selecting stones,
Thistle & Broom took possession of the first of the magnificent St.
Magnus bracelets (each unique given the stones and handcraftsmanship) a
mere two weeks ago. The press release hasn't even been issued yet and we
bring you this story. The bracelet is available by special order only
as each one will be custom made for the individual wearer. Accommodation
can be made to use stones from the geographic region of Scotland of your
ancestors or clan; please enquire in advance of ordering for
availability and special pricing.
The St Magnus bracelet
is powerful, it's sensuous, and as we understand from a woman who has
had the opportunity to wear it, almost heart wrenching to take it
off. The bracelet is at once both timeless and modern, a piece of
jewelry for the ages and a unique tribute to various aspects of
Scotland's heritage.
You can purchase this item by clicking on the following link
http://www.thistleandbroom.com/shopping/jewellery/bracelets/st-magnus-bracelet.htm
