World’s First 22ct Scottish Gold Collection
Designed by Maeve Gillies
for Hamilton & Inches
‘Scotland’s newest treasure trove’
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World’s First 22ct Scottish Gold collection
Maeve was asked to design the inaugural 22ct Scottish Gold collection for legendary Edinburgh jewellers Hamilton & Inches, a piece of which has been acquired by the National Museum of Scotland for their Permanent Collection.
Scottish Gold has been used historically in jewellery across the centuries, most notably in the Scottish Crown Jewels in Edinburgh Castle, but this is the first commercially-mined collection ever created for Scottish gold. Inspired by visiting the beautiful Tyndrum goldmine location at the foot of Ben Lui on the edge of the Caledonian Forest, Maeve created a 30-piece ‘modern classic’ collection fit for Hamilton & Inches’ regal Victorian-era heritage and craft legacy, including a convertible suite set with white quartzite ‘host rock’ from the goldmine itself, just as Victorian jewellery utilised local ‘pebble’ rocks in place of precious stones, to create the ultimate souvenirs of Scotland.
‘To be asked to design this nationally significant collection in Scottish Gold at the very start of its commercially-mined story, for such a legendary House as Hamilton & Inches, was an extraordinary honour. Every piece had to be meticulously handcrafted in partnership with the talented workshop team. It was important to me to reference Victorian pebble jewellery that elevates found materials to the precious. Setting the host rock in the very metal it produces, tells the full story of where this beautiful single-mine-origin gold comes from.’
Photography Credit - Hamilton & Inches / The Scotsman