Who is Harriet Kelsall?

The story behind Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design and her team of jewelers is inspirational, but not surprising given the distinguished talent of founder Harriet Kelsall who began as a home-based business in Weston, North Hertfordshire, over 12 years ago.

After receiving awards for design, outstanding service and distinguished business practices, it was natural for Harriet Kelsall to expand, adding other talented jewellery craftspeople to her team and opening a workshop as well as an appointment room for meeting with clients. Over the years, Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design has incorporated talent such as Antoinette Corbishley, Rebecca Howarth and Alice Rochester amongst others.

The success of the team, who create outstanding pieces of gold and gemstone jewellery, including yellow and white gold ruby rings for their clientele, made it possible to open a second outlet in Cambridge. The Weston, Hertfordshire shop and the Cambridge branch (since 2005), continue to receive accolades and recognition for outstanding design and business ethics.

Bespoke and Ready to Wear Ruby Jewellery

Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design offers bespoke jewellery creation and ready to wear collections through their website, which allows clients to view custom pieces that can serve as inspiration for gemstone rings and other jewellery items, as well as allowing visitors to browse designer collections, order online and read stories that go with each unique piece.

Tanzanian Ruby Ring

One of the outstanding items that’s featured, designed by Harriet Kelsall herself, is a white gold ruby ring crafted with an ethically sourced Tanzanian ruby and diamonds. What makes this piece extra appealing is that the price, considering it contains a natural ruby gemstone and genuine diamonds, is only about £2,000. The precious metals include a mix of palladium and delicate rose gold and the ruby is a specimen from Tanzania that weighs over a carat. The diamonds were taken from a pair of antique earrings, which is one this ruby diamond ring is so affordably priced.

Ruby Engagement Ring Collections by Kerrie-Ann McNaughton

The ethical ruby engagement ring collections are extensive and include many fairly traded 18ct white gold ruby ring designs by each of the talented designers who work with Harriet. The collection of ruby engagement rings features pieces like the ones by Kerrie-Ann McNaughton, such as the contemporary 9ct white gold ruby ring with a single blood red ruby and two brilliant-cut diamonds as accents on a sleek polished band.

Ruby Jewellery by Rebecca Howarth

Rebecca Howarth, another designer with Harriet Kelsall, has created a one-of-a-kind white gold ruby ring that can’t be duplicated, although it can be used as inspiration for other commission orders. The design incorporates a red-red ruby heart and as series of pink sapphires in a wide band measuring 8mm across.

Amongst other of the Rebecca Howarth ruby wedding rings are designs that incorporate amethysts, colored diamonds and a wide variety of gemstone rings.

HK Jewellery Online

To see more of the ruby jewellery creations offered by this talented team of professionals, go to hk.jewellery.co.uk where you can get information, inspiration, place orders and even choose ready to wear pieces.

It’s possible to commission not only ruby wedding rings and bespoke ruby eternity ring designs, but also to have custom ruby pendant necklaces made and even bracelets and earrings to match if you desire complete sets. Choose a ruby stone, the metal you desire and get inspiration from previous bespoke styles, then have your very own pieces crafted to your specifications.

If you’re concerned about ethical issues surrounding ruby gems, gemstone rings and diamond ruby jewellery, please read what Alice Rochester (a designer who specializes in crafting ethical jewellery) has to say on environmental/ethical gem sourcing and conflict diamonds.

Please note that Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design use diamonds that are conflict free due to Kimberley Process Certification. If you’d like to know what the Kimberly process is about, this Harriet Kelsall article explains it very well.

Although it’s easy to buy a cheap ruby eternity ring online, perhaps one that matches a ruby engagement ring (with alternating rubies and diamonds), many pieces (which are manufactured or mass-produced for commercial distribution) utilize ruby gems that have come from Burma (Myanmar). Although ruby jewellery descriptions may state that the stones used in crafting these rings come from Thailand, it has become evident that they are often smuggled from Burma and sold through Thai dealers, ending up on the market as Thai stones when in fact they’re Burmese rubies. Why is this a problem? Aren’t Burmese rubies the best in the world?

Ethics and Ruby Gems

While Burmese rubies have long been considered the top gemstones in the sapphire family, with the pigeon blood ruby being one of the best in terms of color and quality, it is inadvisable to purchase ruby gemstones that originate in Burma (Myanmar) because mining and trade is strictly controlled by a dictatorial regime, and the profits of gemstones, especially rubies, serve to support a corrupt military administration, not to aid the Burmese people.

It has also been discovered that, while the Burmese gems previously set the world ruby standard, the current corrupt regime permits the sale of inferior gems (often filled, heat treated or otherwise enhanced) as genuine “natural” rubies.

The two reasons why avoiding Burmese rubies is important are:

1. they are not ethically sourced which means that when you buy ruby gemstone rings with stones from Burma you contribute to maintaining a dictator in power.
2. you may not receive the quality gemstones you’re actually paying for.

Many conscientious jewelry buyers are opting to purchase their wedding bands and engagement rings through jewelers who only work with ethically sourced gems, diamonds and gold. Many of these ruby jewellery creators are small designers and independent artisans who offer their creations exclusively online. Some of the most innovative artisans are using Canadian diamonds, recycled gold, and RubyFair rubies (for more information on this unique ethical mining company based in Tanzania see the Ruby Gems post.)

In the UK, there are several designers who create custom and ready to wear ruby jewelry lines, including unique ruby rings that stand out, not only for their ethically sourced gems and metals, but for being distinctive in terms of design.

Fifi Bijoux Ethical Sapphire and Ruby Rings

Fifi Bijoux is one company that crafts diamond, sapphire and ruby eternity ring creations, as well as other ethically sourced gemstone jewelry pieces, using only ethical silver, 9ct and 18ct gold. Since most ruby eternity ring styles are made to be wedding bands or anniversary rings, the two most popular designs are set in ethical 18k gold mountings.

The sapphires, diamonds or ruby gems can be chosen separately to create custom pieces. For example a half eternity band with 5 or 7 stones or a full band with 40 or more small gems. The prices of the ruby eternity ring bands vary according to the number of gems and the metal chosen.

Ingle & Rode Diamond Ruby Eternity Rings

Ingle & Rode is another ethical jeweler that creates unusual ethically sourced ruby eternity ring designs.

The basic samples of ring styles are shown in the diamond versions, however, almost any gemstone can be chosen including the ethical rubies mined by RubyFair.

Although many of the designs are custom made (or what is known as bespoke in the UK), clients can order copies or variations of the bespoke commissioned eternity bands such as the classically designed court bands that utilize fair trade 18k gold and conflict free diamonds or Ruby Fair rubies / sapphires.

Prices start around £1,000 but can be less if smaller or fewer gems are required. Platinum mountings are also available and the price will be set according to the market value of the metal.

All jewellery crafted by Ingle & Rode is produced in a “socially and environmentally responsible way”.

Gemstone / Blood Free Diamond Eternity Wedding Bands by April Doubleday

April Doubleday is another UK designer who offers unique ruby eternity ring creations using only ethical gemstones. The basic styles are all shown using ethical Canadian diamonds (blood/conflict free), however a mix of gems, including ethical rubies, can be selected as the gems in the designs.

The prices of the eternity wedding bands start around £950 – £1,000 based on Canadian diamonds as the gemstones, but the exact cost of a band will be determined according to the stones you select. Orders can be processed online through April Doubleday’s delightful website.

Buying ruby jewellery, be it a necklace, pendant, ruby diamond ring or an eternity band to match a wedding set, need not harm the environment or add to human misery when you shop through small independent jewelers who make ethical stone and metal choices on your behalf.

For more information on where to shop for matching ethical ruby bracelet designs, loose ruby gems, ruby necklace creations and even pendants and ruby stud earrings, please browse related posts that offer more suggestions on where to shop in good conscious.

Choose from a variety of textures, polished smoothness or patterned and sculpted effects that together form a coherent stacking set of one of a kind rings. Rubies with gold and diamond bridges, blends of gemstones including sapphires, rubies, opals and almost any variation of stones imaginable. Custom designs or ready to wear collections are available through Alan Vallis at OXO, located in the Oxo Tower Wharf on Barge House Street in London.

If you’re looking for ethically sourced gemstone jewellery and can’t find a designer unique enough for your eccentric taste, Alan Vallis may be the designer for you –

from ruby diamond ring creations that defy what seems possible, to masterful wedding bands and stackable bridal sets that include multiple gems, geometric patterns and blends of smooth and textured areas. The collections called “Multi-Stone Stacking Rings” and the “Stacking Rings with Motifs” as well as the diamond and ruby engagement rings / wedding bands, are is unmatched.

Ordering online is possible, however for specific requests it may be good to meet with Alan Vallis in person at the Gallery Workshop which is located on the second floor of the tower.

There are styles that can be bought without special ordering, like the engagement ring sets with diamonds using a variety of gems and textured / smooth bands. It’s possible to buy art deco creations or mauve sapphire / ruby diamond ring styles that use unusual gemstone shapes and cuts like Asscher and trilliane.

Perhaps the most unusual ruby diamond ring designs are those that don’t have a focal gem but two three or more small, off-center stones, staggered throughout the stacking bands.

Many of these are found in the “Diamond Bridge Stacking Rings” collection. In this series, the two outer, or end rings, are usually smooth and act like book-ends to frame the group of bands together. Nevertheless, the gemstones are not centralized or grouped like in traditional settings, rather a ruby diamond ring may be beside an emerald amethyst or aquamarine, and the two sides may be divided by a diamond bridge or another gemstone “overpass”. The bridge joins the segments / stacking bands, however due to the rectangular shape, vertically positioned on the finger, even the bridges that have 5 or 6 smaller diamonds do not overshadow the other gems.

The ruby diamond ring and gemstone collections also include textured bands with single gems, however, the shapes, settings, mountings and mixtures of wide and narrow bands, textured and smooth surfaces and framed stones on more than one band, continues to permeate the designs even in what may appear to be the more classic wedding sets.

For other ideas on where to shop for ethically sourced ruby jewellery and loose ruby gems, please view related posts. If you’re looking for a ruby bracelet, eternity ring, pendant or a specific white gold ruby ring, we invite you to browse the articles that offer specific suggestions on designer creations that are unique and affordable – not mass-produced.

Before choosing your wedding bands or ruby jewelry, please consider where the gemstone rings have been made, where the stones have come from, where the precious metals are mined and who has been helped or harmed in the process.

For more information on why not to buy Burmese rubies, please see the article regarding who profits from ruby trade in that region.

It is exactly those flaws that make rubies valuable. Some of the most impressive rubies have a visible reflection of light that bounces off the imperfection or ‘silk’ and forms what is called a star with 3 or 6 points. But what makes a ruby is that it must be some form of red hue. If it is not a variant of red it is then a sapphire…which explains why we often hear “rubies and sapphires” in the same breath as if they were the same. They are, except for color.

Most of the gems in ruby rings today will have been treated with heat to enhance the color because the richest reds in natural rubies are extremely rare and so costly you’d have to be royalty to afford them. However, amongst the admissible red hues of a ruby are such variants of reddish-orange, reddish-purple-violet and light reds that appear almost pink. This possibility of a pink ruby leads to a little confusion amongst non jewelers because there is also a Sri Lankan pink sapphire which may be confused with this gemstone.

And then there’s a stone called spinel, which is often found with, or near, rubies, and although not a true ruby, is close both in appearance and value – in fact the world famous Timur Ruby mentioned above, long thought to be a ruby and so was named, is in fact a spinel.

Gold Ruby Ring

The best metal to accent a ruby is gold. This is true because gold is yellow and if the ruby has some blue, creating a purple hue, then by setting it into yellow, (which neutralized blue) the ruby ring will appear to be a richer, truer red. That is why a gold ruby ring is the most popular choice around the world.

Antique Ruby Ring

Antique ruby rings are also sought after, firstly because they exist (since these rings have been made since pre medieval times) and therefore can be VERY antique, and second, there is something special about a gem with history, especially if it will be used as a ruby engagement ring to which you can add your own bit of history.

Mens Ruby Rings for Power, Virility and Love

Rubies from Vietnam are slightly purple, those from Thailand are reddish-brown and those from Myanmar (Burma) and Ceylon are blood red. And if you think about it, the color of power is red – red for blood spilled in wars, red for fierce temperaments, red for strength and domination, red for virility. And this masculine quest for vitality and sexuality has existed since man himself, and red, being the color associated with the heart, has also been the most used color for romantic love between a man and a woman.

Ruby red is therefore a symbol of two of the most potent elements man seeks – power and love. Since it is also an extremely hard stone, ruby rings have often represented unbreakable strength, from the maharajas of India and the emperors of China to medieval knights and byzantine tyrants. No, the ruby is not a girly ring. It is one of the most ancient mens ring gemstones on record.

Ruby Rings for Men of Distinction

From statesmen to military men, rubies have been the preferred gemstone for mens rings and therefore the masculine styles available are vast: gold, white gold and sterling silver ruby rings, ruby birthstone ring, and ruby diamond ring settings. There is also a trend for a vintage ruby wedding ring, be it an antique ring or a ruby set into polished silver, platinum or titanium.

Yes they are bold. They are reminiscent of what roman statesmen wore and what decorated the hands of emperors and warriors of the east. They make a statement. They are not subtle. They are symbols about your strength, your masculinity, your virility and your individuality.

If you are a man in the public eye you may invest wisely in a mans ruby ring.

Here are some options and styles to consider:

• Emerald-cut – one of the most popular masculine gemstone cuts
• Antique ruby ring – in roman or medieval settings
• Gold ruby ring – in deep Asian yellow gold
• White gold ruby ring – with accented diamonds
• Eternity ring – with thin flat rubies around a simple gold, silver, titanium or platinum band
• Wedding ring – a traditional gold band with a ruby chip or an eternity ring with thin ruby inlays
• Titanium ring – a strong aerospace grade titanium alloy ring with any size ruby as accent

Ruby rings for Grown-up Girls

For the little girl inside the grown woman there are exotic and sexy styles of ruby heart rings from a large eccentric antique ruby ring to a delicate gold ruby ring with a few diamond accents. For the lady who prefers a touch of red instead of diamonds, there are ruby engagement rings or a ruby wedding ring to suite your unique style.

Ruby Heart-Cutting for Sparkle

Although they appear to be simple and delicate, they are in fact the most difficult to cut with the most brilliant end result. This sparkle is one of the reasons that a ruby heart ring is the choice for young ladies who want something very sparkly but with a touch of color. Since jewelers and designers create these ruby rings especially for young jewelry wearers or first time ring owners, the prices are often very affordable. However, there are some things that you should watch for when wanting to buy ruby rings so as to get the most for your money.

Ruby with a Flaw

Rubies are naturally flawed and that is one of the things that give them the bright star effect that often can be seen with several points when light is shone directly onto the stone. If however you find a ruby ring that is perfect and flawless it probably means it’s a fake. The two most important factors in determining if your heart ruby ring is of good quality is to look at the color and try to find the flaws, which are called ‘silk’. The shape of the cut and the setting is less important when it comes to value for your money.

A ruby is a good choice for a starter ring for a little girl because the ruby itself is hard, almost as hard as a diamond and therefore will be less likely to crack or chip or break even if it’s subjected to some abuse.

Price and Other Ruby Rings Tips

Good quality ruby rings start at about $100 (small rubies) and go up to thousands depending on the quality and size of the gemstone, but there is a style of ruby heart ring that is less expensive. These are made from rubies that are small and of less quality but have been heat treated to bring out the color. If the ring is for a child this may be a good way to start them off appreciating gemstones without fear of them losing a priceless gem.

Although there are many styles and cuts for ruby rings, the ruby heart ring is of special significance because it denotes friendship and love due to the color and the shape is the traditional heart that makes the love you wish to show obvious to a young lady or child who already recognizes this symbol.