Several years ago, my mum gave me a piece of acrylic in the shape of a heart. It belonged to my Granny originally. She worked on Spitfire planes during WW2, the heart was a piece of a window and was given to Granny by one of her friends.
It has sat in my gemstone drawer since then, I didn’t know what to do with it and was also a little bit scared because it was so precious, even if it just looks like a piece of plastic to most!
Fast forward a few years, I’ve learnt a few tricks now! It was also my mums 60th in May so she needed something special. She loves a good brooch and as the heart was a bit big for a pendant, I thought that would be perfect. I knew I didn’t want much of the heart covering so I created a frame and used claws to hold it in place.
Sometimes I need to play around with a design before committing to it in metal, I started out with bits of Post-It notes to get a feel for the positioning and size of the claws. The tube added some extra support as well as a place for a stone setting.
The piece was hallmarked at the London Assay office and also has the commemorative Platinum Jubilee mark and you can see this through the heart. A little Emerald, the May birthstone, was set in the tube which was an added fear factor, they can easily break during the setting process.
A totally one off piece and full of history!
