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As the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, it’s time to put aside your Summer looks and embrace your Winter wardrobes. This winter season is the perfect opportunity to showcase the medium and dark tones in your jewellery collection.

I love working with coloured gemstones and diamonds, to create the perfect complimentary combination of stone and metal. Rose Gold coloured pieces are always a good idea during Winter as it has a natural ability to compliment coloured gems, has a flattering effect on most skin tones and is becoming increasingly popular.

Mother’s Day is a special day where we recognise the role of all of our Mothers, and those who have been like mothers to us, and their ongoing support and love.

I’m delighted to announce that the boutique will once again be partnering with our neighbours, Element Hair salon this Mother’s Day.

To celebrate and share the love this Mother’s Day, Element Hair are running a special promotion for the first 50 people to visit the salon for an appointment between the 28th of April and 14th of May. You will be presented with a $150 Matthew Ely gift voucher to put towards your next fine jewellery purchase.

Recently three of our newest cocktail rings were featured in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), it’s fantastic to see our pieces gaining such widespread recognition.

More about our three newest additions:

Oval Aquamarine and Diamond Ring:

In recognition of Creativity & Innovation Week I wanted to spend this weeks blog post talking about the incorporation of creativity and innovation in the creation of my Jewellery.
As a designer of jewellery, one of my greatest joys is creating jewellery pieces that are unique and treasured by their owners. For this reason I always take great enjoyment in working with clients to design their own bespoke jewellery piece. To see their personal tastes and characteristics brought to life through creative design with the end result being a personal item that they cherish is something truly special.

Stacking jewellery pieces is a recent trend that has soared in popularity and one I see all the time with clients. Many clients choose to stack pieces as a way to combine existing pieces with something new or to add extra character to an ensemble. By stacking like this people are able to mix and match various colours, stones, shapes and styles to get a look that is unique. Whether contemplating a minimal stack or one to make a statement the range of options and combinations are endless.

A good piece of jewellery is always considered timeless and there are a range of designs that have grown increasingly popular in recent times. At the moment there are four trends in particular which I really resonate with and that I’ve incorporated into my own work.

Thanks for having us along for a fun day!

Like most trends in general, jewellery design moves in swings and roundabouts - something is popular for a while and then another new trend takes it's place, only for the first trend to come back around in time! Rose gold has proven time and time again that no matter your style, skin tone or current jewels it can be worked into a fine jewellery collection with ease and looks incredible set with most diamonds and gems.

This collection first came to life when my wife and I were waiting to welcome our daughter into the world. I wanted to create a personalised memento for not only my child, but for my clients to enjoy too. The response has been incredible and this has lead me to add to the collection with the Innocence Necklace. Designed to be worn by adults, this piece is available in 18ct white yellow and rose gold with a special initial hand carved on the front. Choose your intial, your loved one's or your childs and wear it close to you everyday.

Personalised pieces are not only on trend right now, they are the ultimate gift for your loved one (or yourself) and are the perfect addition to a fine jewellery collection. There's something truy special about a bespoke piece made especially for you, and adding a personal touch like a hand carved inital can create a lasting memory.

Nick was referred to come and see Lauren by a friend of the boutique, who recommended our services to design a bespoke engagement ring for his fiance to be. After doing his own research online Nick came to us with an idea about what type of diamond he wanted and some inspiration for the design for the ring. Lauren worked closely with Nick, hand selected a range of stones for him to view in the boutique and bought his design concept to life with a hand drawn sketch. As you can see the end result is incredible, and of course she said yes! Congratulations to Nick and Tash on this exciting new chapter. We are so happy to have been invited to help you along the way and look forward to seeing you soon!

Australia produces some of the most rare and unique coloured diamonds in the world, and we are so priveliged to have access to such an incredible variety. I love being able to work with rare Australian pinks, yellows and blues. For my recent competition piece I was supplied with a selection of the most intense Argyle pink and blue diamonds from our good friends at Pink Kimberley. Diamonds aside, we can't forget to mention the colourful array of gemstones like sapphire, ruby and garnet, all mined here in Oz. I'm proud of our industry here in Australia and also to be associated with talented designers, jewellers and suppliers who continue to support each other and the trade.

After a fantastic break with my family over the holiday season I have had a moment to reflect on the many incredible moments that made up the past year.

I had the privelage to craft some stand out, bespoke pieces for our clients and celebrate love by helping couples create their engagement and wedding rings.

My team and I would like to wish you a happy and safe holiday season and offer our best wishes for the year ahead. The past year has been incredible and the support that we have received from our wonderful clients, family and friends means the world to us. Here's to a fantastic 2016!

My must haves for Christmas would have to include a classic diamond tennis bracelet or a pair of diamond studs. These are two coveted pieces of jewellery that will compliment any collection and can be worn daily, or saved for special occasions.

Christmas has arrived at the boutique! This year we are encouraging you to let your light shine, in whatever way means the most to you. Be it with diamonds or gemstones, maybe a combination of the two.

Selecting the perfect gift for your loved one at Christmas time can be a little daunting but it doesn't have to be. My advice is to keep the following three things in mind: her personal style, her lifestyle, and her current jewellery collection.

Choose something that reflects her personal style, which could be modern, classic, colourful, amongst others. Choose something that you know she will get a decent amount of wear from. Either for special occasions, or for every day.

Introducing my new earrings 'Garden 'Party'. Inspired by sunny Sunday afternoon celebrations with friends and the spring racing season.

The holiday season is the perfect time to spoil yourself and indulge a little. Which is why we have partnered with the team of creative stylists next door at Element Hair to offer a luxury addition to your hair appointment in the lead up to Christmas.

What better way to celebrate being named as a finalist in this years Diamond Guild Australia Jewellery Awards than a fantastic night with my family, staff, peers and friends in the industry.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a celebration to mark the 10th Anniversary of the McGrath Foundation and the wonderful work that they do.

Held at Kirribilli House and hosted by Priminister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy, the function also gave me the opportunity to catch up with my friend Tracy Bevan. Tracy and I designed a pendant and earrings together last year using pink diamonds, named The Pink Friendship Collection, to raise awarenes and funds for breast cancer research.

Quite a few months ago I started the thought process for my next competition piece. These designs can be quite intricate and involved as there needs to be a strong focus on expressing your style as a designer/jeweller, while impressing the judges with craftsmanship, skill, design and innovation. After winning the fancy colour award in the last DGA Awards the pressure is on! This year I designed and hand crafted a luxury statement piece named Chantilly and have entered her into the Red Carpet division.

Spring is the perfect time to bring your brighter gemstone pieces out of storage and show off some colour. From the deep blue purple hues of Tanzanite to soft peachy Morganite, think 'boldness' in terms of both colour or size, depending on your personal style. Coloured gems are my favourite stones to wrk with. I love being able to really bring out the colour or tone in a gem by using different metals and complimentary or contrasting stones.

Time flies when you're having fun! This month we celebrate our first birthday and what a year it's been.

The decision to open my own boutique in Woollahra was a long time in the making and opening the doors last year was an incredible feeling. I wanted to make sure the look, feel and functionality of the space was perfect and worked closely with the designers and builders to create something special for the area. The community has welcomed us with open arms and we've developed lasting relationships with many of the local residents and businesses alike. Having the boutique has given me the opportunity to do more of what I love and am passionate about and I'm very grateful for that.

When I'm given the opportunity to hand craft a bespoke piece of jewellery for one of our clients I can be known to get a little excited.

I love working with colour, it's always exciting and inspiring when coloured gems and diamonds arrive at my workbench. This new collection was about celebrating and exploring coloured diamonds and the multitude of hues that they come in.

My team and I decided to fill a gap in the market for luxe, yet affordable fine diamond jewellery for the modern woman to ‘mix and match’ and suit her personality. The goal was to create minimalistic pieces, which catch the eye and can be worn every day. We have called it The Minimal Collection, and I intend to add to it throughout the year.

Todays South Sea Pearls are as close to natural as can be. Long ago they were considered to be a miracle of nature, found sporadically. Now due to popular demand a culturing process has been developed to ensure that this beautiful, organic gem continues to thrive. The culturing process still involves live oysters in the ocean, very similar to the way nature intended. Most pearls can spend approximately 2 years being created deep down in the ocean. They are then harvested by divers, cleaned, sorted and make into stunning pieces of jewellery.

Gemstones are one of my true passions. I love the process of sourcing them, working at the bench with them and the lift of colour that they give to an already incredible piece of jewellery. I have intentionally designed this new collection with a range of gems to showcase the variety of colours available in different types of stones. Ranging from rare Tanzanite, to Heliodor and fine yellow Sapphires. I hope you enjoy it.

This week I had the pleasure of attending a gala dinner here in Sydney, held by Men's Style, which was an incredible event. I'm very honoured to have been named as one of Australia's 'Men of Influence', along side some very talented and entrepreneurial gents. Thank you for the mention Men's Style, and to MJ Bale for taking good care of me (as always) when I came to select my suit for the evening.

Next month my wife and I will be welcoming our first child into the family and my approaching fatherhood has inspired me to create a bespoke baby bracelet collection. I believe that major milestones in life should be celebrated and for that reason, as well as creating something special for my own baby, I wanted to make this personalized memento available for my clients to enjoy. Each baby bracelet has the baby’s initial hand carved into the gold and reveals a hidden diamond underneath for a little luxury. Something they can keep forever.

There’s something beautiful about Chocolate Diamonds. Apart from the fact that they are Australian, they exhibit a warm glow and come alive when paired with whites. During the creative process for this new collection I wanted to highlight the smooth tones of the chocolate and champagne diamonds with rose gold, and give a contrast with white gold and white diamonds. The collection includes a selection of more extravagant pieces, complimented by more affordable, every day designs. I hope you enjoy it.

Richard Burton once said – ‘Liz only knows one word of Italian and that’s Bulgari’. Audrey Hepburn was quoted as saying that she was mad about Tiffany’s. Diamonds have long been a favourite of leading ladies around the world, especially with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn leading the way. The value of their collections alone would no doubt compete with today’s high jewellery houses. I love their passion for fine jewellery and strive to see the same reaction and excitement from my clients when I present them with their pieces.