This month we speak with our member in Adelaide, South Australia about what he loves about working with diamonds.

MEET JAMES THREDGOLD OF JAMES THREDGOLD JEWELLER.

Established in 1997 James Thredgold Jeweller was founded by namesake James in his hometown of Adelaide shortly after completing his apprenticeship as a manufacturing jeweller. His passion to this day is the designing and crafting of handmade pieces that are individual and personal to his clients style.

WHO DO YOU HAVE WORKING IN YOUR BUSINESS?

JAMES: I have an amazing team ranging in age and all bringing their own expertise to the business –these include Jewellery designers and now a talented group of master jewellers including Head jeweller Derek has been with me since opening.I work closely with all overseeing each order and getting to know our clients personally.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT WORKING WITH DIAMONDS?

JAMES: I love that each diamond is different and uniqueand all are created by nature not mass manufactured by man. Our team love being a part of the story behind each diamond-that they are being given to someone with special meaning or to mark life event such as a significant birthday or anniversary. Our designers also work with many of our existing clients to remodel old pieces. These sometimes include pieces passed downthrough a family or loved one which makes the piece of jewellery even more special. For usit is a privilege to be a small part of these moments and share in the journey.

WHAT MAKES YOUR DIAMOND SET PIECES UNIQUE?

JAMES: We prefer to use traditional handcrafting processes to create beautiful pieces of jewellery that will last a lifetime and will become family heirlooms in years to come.

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE PIECE OF DIAMOND JEWELLERY YOU HAVE EVER CREATED AND WHY?

JAMES: The ‘Lotus Flower’ diamond pendant (see image). 

This handcrafted piece symbolises strength and how something beautiful can flourish and bloom out of the darkness. It rises out of the muddy depths reaching up through the water, meaning that its precious petals never touch the mud as it blooms.This design was created for the Holly’s Secret Garden fundraising initiative honouring the memory of my wife and raising much needed funds for the Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation for which I serve as an ambassador.  

Breakthrough is Australia’s only dedicated organisation working to support the research to tackle mental health issues head on.I am proud to say that the event and sale of this pendant  raised over $140,000 to fund a scholarship for a 3 year study into perinatal mental health. The internationally recognised research team  for this project has just been appointed and the project will commence later in 2021.