JEWELLERY JOURNAL
LISA LITTLEWOOD
Lisa Donoghue is a wonderful jewellery artisan who calls the wonderful rural city of Wagga Wagga home. She presents a more classic outlook on her jewellery pieces and is a force to be reckoned with in the fine jewellery scene in Australia. Her use of coloured gemstones is immaculate and the variety of ways in which she does primarily revolves around the needs of her clients and the bespoke process. The splendid allure that her pieces create by focusing on the colour of gemstones is intricate! The skill of a jeweller is in their ability to create a versatile portfolio of pieces.
So sit back and enjoy the stunning pieces that Lisa creates, especially with our gemstones in them. In the meantime, you’ll learn more about the gemstones and the order that was requested or the bespoke process of each of these pieces of jewellery.
We have included Lisa’s contact details if you want to commission your piece with her!
Lisa Donoghue
Lisa Littlewood Jewellery
+61 422 688 994
MILLIMETRE ROUNDS, SAPPHIRES
Here at The Gem Monarchy, it’s not that well known that we do gemstones in all sizes. From the smallest 1.5mm to the larger cocktail pieces, our lapidary team are talented and multi-faceted! But those that do know, regularly utilise our stones in stuning jewellery pieces. And of course Lisa was one of those people who really went in-depth into the utilisation of our millimetre-sapphire range. This stunning band contains yellow and pastel pink sapphires, from us. It also contains other colours from existing gemstones which she had purchased elsewhere. The amalgamation of multiple colours in this band is what makes this a unique piece.
Every-time a setter has to set an individual gemstone in a piece of jewellery it takes an extra few minutes, depending on how experienced that they are. For this piece you can imagine the sheer amount of manpower and which went into setting the stones into the piece. In comparison to some pieces which contain a single gemstone, the prowess and awe of this piece would be in the making of the piece itself.
I’ve included a video of the gemstone plate selection we selected before we sent it to Lisa. Safe to say, the stones did the piece justice and the piece did the stones justice. A true collaboration to create a timeless piece containing the colour and sparkle of sapphires!
PASTEL PEACH PEAR SHAPED, SAPPHIRE & PASTEL BLUE EMERALD CUT, SAPPHIRE
This piece has a bit of a story. It starts off with the pear shaped sapphire. We had posted on our trade instagram for our jewellers to have a look at. Loving the stone, Lisa had purchased it right off the bat. Something we wholly encourage as jewellers should have some of their own gemstone collection to impress and display to clients at appointments. Safe to say that she had grown attached to the piece itself adn wanted to make a piece for herself. About a week later one of her clients had walked into an appointment and they saw this stone. Severely drawing the client’s attention there was no choice for her, except to let it go.
The second part of the story revolves around the fact that the client’s intended design was a “Toi et Moi.” This means that she needed another gemstone, which not only fits into similar dimensions, but also complemented the colour.
We found the blue sapphire in our collection would be the perfect match for the existing pear. The emerald cut sapphire was 1.79 carats and was also a stunning pastel colour. Lisa’s client immediately went for the sapphire, to our joy! Although Lisa was initially in love of her purchase for herself, after the final piece was created, she was extremely satisfied of both sapphires and making her client’s dream come true!
PEACH OVAL CUT, SAPPHIRE
Their are colours in the world of gemstones which just captivate the general public. The classic “teal” is one such colour. But the colour which we find captivates more is the beauty of peach. In this stunning piece, which Lisa has created with a sapphire curated from us, the colour of peach is the centre of the universe! The colour of the stone harmoniously plays with the rose gold colour of the ring itself.
With simple solitaire rings, sometimes it doesn’t take a lot to elevate a dainty piece to a forever and stunning piece. And Lisa, as a jeweller with more than a decade of experience knew how to elevate the piece by adding a diamond halo to accompany the center-stone. I’ve included a photograph that we took in the studio of the stone before it was posted out to Lisa. I think everyone can agree that visually in a finished product the piece has done justice to the quality of the gemstone.
With the newest Pantone colour of the year being “Peach Fuzz” we see that the popularity of jewellery pieces which utilise the colour will increase further and further. We would have included a video of the final piece, but unfortunately it sold out before anyone could get their hands on a rotating video!
Let the peach soothe you!
PRINCESS CUT, SAPPHIRE
The request for this stone was pretty simple. A sapphire which is a particular size (3.5mm) and a princess cut. Both myself and the team at The Gem Monarchy, pride ourselves in being able to provide gemstones which are unique and out of the ordinary. Additionally, this sapphire was one that we had picked out of some of parcels to make a small display box out of. The colour of the stone is hard to describe. But we would call it a purple sapphire with an overtone of silver. The stone itself featured colour shifting, from the purple in the sunlight to the grey indoors, making it an absolute marvel.
The ring which the gemstone was set into, Lisa has shown her true skill and artistry. Additionally, with a yellow gold band, and a bezel and halo with prominent detailing features really elevate the ring from a piece of jewellery to a piece of jewellery made by Lisa Donoghue.
Overall this stunning ring is an absolute eye-catcher, whether it may be indoors or outdoors.
PEAR SHAPED, PEACH SAPPHIRES
The colour peach is an idyllic colour in the Australian gemstone market. The classical and traditional term “padparadscha” is applicable to gemstones which are half pink and half orange, similar to the colour of the sunset. In realism though, the colour peach is the closest which one can get without blowing the budget. For a band no less, where the gemstone profile is intended to be more subtle this piece remains true to its intended purpose.
In addition to the two peach sapphires which we supplied, the client wanted an accompanying diamond, which works immensely well in providing a sparkle contrast in the piece. The beauty of having a matte finish on jewellery is that you never run into the danger of despair if you accidentally scratch your ring. Speaking from experience the fear is real! However, from a design perspective it is genius. The sparkle of the gemstones further catch the eye of the viewer as it sparkles more than the metal itself. The rose gold used in the piece also creates a harmonious amalgamation between the gemstones and the overall profile.
PEAR SHAPED, PEACH SAPPHIRE
The gemstone piece is classically similar to the many other pieces which Lisa creates. She has a true liking for the use of multiple gemstones in a cluster. This not only brings together multiple sparkles, but also multiple dimensions into a forever piece. Each gemstone in this ring held purpose to the client! The big pear shaped sapphire in this piece is from The Gem Monarchy. It has a weight of 1.32 carats and has a large span over the piece itself. In addition, the accompanying diamonds of the ring bring about a true light and allure into the piece. The smaller accent gemstone in the piece is a sapphire, from Madagascar. The white diamonds in the piece also also a feature, creating a gradient between the metal and the rest of the gemstones.
Secondly, the multiple coloured diamonds in the piece hail from Australia’s own Argyle mines, which are getting increasingly rarer as the mines themselves have closed, limiting the supply which hails from the locality. The yellow gold of the piece is also by purpose and design, to utilise the beauty of colour with the non-traditional layout of the ring.
A secret of our here at The Gem Monarchy, is that we absolutely adore cluster rings. To do it takes exceptional understanding of colour, placement and geometry. To do it as often and with expertise that Lisa does, cannot be replicated by anyone.
