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.

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.

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