Anthony at Work
Anthony works out of his Castleton workshop, in the shadow of the slopes which hide the famous Treak Cliff Cavern…the last source of jewellery-grade Blue John. His stunning creations are much sought after and not just to visitors to The Peak District. His customers include jewellers in Covent Garden and much further afield like the US.
Like David he can create a reversible Blue John pendant with a bewildering host of exotic alternatives…..from Malachite and Lapis Lazuli to Bumble Bee Jasper and the incredible Fordite….formed from the build-up of layers of enamel paint found on the tracks where cars were spray painted and polished to reveal stunning layers of colour.
Like David he also inserts a slice of Mother of Pearl behind the Blue John, which has the wonderful effect of lighting up the stone and bringing out the incredible colours and striations.
David at Work
David from Sheffield has been hand-crafting Blue John jewellery for us longer than he cares to remember.
In his Sheffield workshop he creates a regular supply of stunning Blue John jewellery, of which his reversible pendants are our firm favourites …unique Blue John on one side and a stunning alternative on the reverse ….be it Blue Sandstone, Black or Snowy Opalique, the ever popular Whitby Jet perhaps, or even a 64 million year old Madagasgan Ammonite !
Blue John varies dramatically from piece to piece, so the only way to sell such a remarkable stone is to call us at the shop and we will send you out photos of what we have available in your price point and peferred shape etc.
Some people prefer a uniformly dark pendant, others almost completely white with purple striations…whereas others like the traditional 50/50 mix of purple and white. Occasionally when available, some pieces also contain yellowish gold rutilations, as is visible on the bottom left of the raw piece below….and which gave the stone its original name, Blue John from the French, Bleu Jaune (or Blue Yellow).
