Following on from her first book Coveted: Art and Innovation in High Jewelry, Melanie Grant examines the evolution of jewellery as art with a new five-part series created during lockdown with some of jewellery’s modern masters.

Ryan Nelson is a jeweller in the old-fashioned sense of the word - painstakingly forging, forming, fitting and shaping raw precious metals into stunning pieces of wearable art. Fellow jeweller, Melanie Eddy speaks to Ryan about the quest to find perfection, the joy of teaching, and his experience as a young black goldsmith and diamond mounter in the 21st Century.

“I have learned to think more as a metalsmith - even when I’m only holding wax I have to think like a jeweller or a goldsmith.” - Dr Frances Parton talked with metalsmith Emefa Cole about the design and creation of her precious metal artworks, and the journey that has brought her from the centre of the ancient West African gold trade to the heart of the City of London.

The works that craftspeople are known for often represents just one element of a creative output that spans a multitude of techniques, practices and materials. For Goldsmiths’ Stories, Janice Hosegood, meets four of the makers who are creatively making the leap to see where they land.

When antique dealer Jeff lent his daughter Deborah several antique diamonds to remake into a collection, a family business was born. Sarah Royce-Greensill spoke with the duo to find out what makes their dynamic so special.

Everyone knows what a wedding ring should look like, right? Maybe not. As Sophia Tobin shows, there is a continual evolution happening that runs parallel to our own changing definitions of how to memorialise commitment.

In 2008 Jeweller Hélène Thomas spent time in China learning traditional craft skills from a local Master. But as she would later learn, some skills are just pathways for a deeper understanding of life.

“People used to say to me – why do you want to make jewellery? There were so few of us doing it back then, it just wasn’t something people did.” - For Goldsmiths’ Stories, jeweller Catherine Mannheim talks with Curtis McGlinchey about the origins and constants of her design and practice, from the 1960s to today.

When goldsmith Jacqueline Mina agreed to help investigate fragments of ancient gold thread found on a buried Roman skeleton, it was clear it would become one of London’s most significant archaeological finds. The remains of the woman would come to be known as the Princess of the City and would help define some of Mina’s best examples of contemporary jewellery.

For Ndidi Ekubia, silversmithing has become a means to channel emotions and harness the power of elemental forces. Curtis McGlinchey spoke to her about the origins and development of her elemental creativity.

Finding a sense of authenticity in our work can be challenging. The enforced solitude of the 2020 lockdowns gave designer-maker Shivani Patel – who works under the name Shivani Chorwadia – the opportunity to search for answers.

Following on from her first book Coveted: Art and Innovation in High Jewelry, Melanie Grant examines the evolution of jewellery as art with a new five-part series created during lockdown with some of jewellery’s modern masters.