Raised by hand, Edinburgh
Gold that was worked, not poured.
I make jewelry the slow way: sheet and wire, a hammer and a torch, everything raised at one bench off Candlemaker Row and sent to the assay office before it goes anywhere. Two collections a year, a permanent line, and a small number of commissions I take on myself.
The marks
Five punches, and what each one promises
Turn any piece over and they are on the inside of the band. Together they say who made it, what it is made of, and when it was tested.
- Maker's mark My own punch, registered with the office and held on file. It says who cut, raised and finished the piece, and it cannot be borrowed.
- Fineness Parts of gold per thousand. 750 is 18 carat, 925 is sterling silver, 950 is platinum. It is a measurement, not a claim.
- Assay office The castle of the Edinburgh office, struck after they tested the metal themselves. They are not taking my word for it and neither should you.
- Year letter The letter for the year the piece was tested, so somebody can date it a century from now without asking me.
- Standard mark The common control mark, recognized across the convention countries. It is what lets a piece cross a border without an argument.
Anything over one gram of gold goes to the office before it goes to you. It adds ten days and it is not negotiable.
The work
Two collections and a permanent line
Everything here was raised at the bench and tested at the office. The number on each plate is what the metal actually is.
The maker
One room, one bench
There is nobody else here. When you commission something, the person who answers the email is the person holding the hammer.
A hammer is an argument you win slowly, or not at all.
I learned to raise metal in Glasgow and then spent four years at somebody else's bench in Orkney, where the weather made it easy to stay in and get better. In 2013 I took a ground-floor room in a courtyard off Candlemaker Row and have been there since.
Everything leaves this room the same way: sheet cut and hammered, wire drawn down, chain built link by link. No casting house, no supplier's blanks, nothing bought in and stamped with my name. It means I make less than most people would, and that the work carries the marks of being made. A bangle has a join you can find if you look for it. That is not a fault I am apologizing for, it is most of the reason to buy the thing.
- At the bench since
- 2013
- Trained
- Glasgow, then four years in Orkney
- Made in house
- Everything but the chain solder
- Registered mark
- MS, Edinburgh office
Stock
What is actually on the bench
Six things, bought in small quantities, from people whose names I know. Metal prices move; this list does not.
18 carat yellow gold
Recycled, refined in Birmingham
The house alloy. Warm rather than brassy, and hard enough to hold a hammered face for thirty years of being knocked against door handles.
Sterling silver
Recycled sheet and wire
Everything cut from sheet starts here. It moves under the hammer more honestly than anything else on the bench, which is why the trials are silver.
Platinum
Bought to order, never held
Only for settings meant to outlive the wearer. Slow to work, hard on tools, and worth the extra week when the stone matters.
Amethyst, rough cut
One quarry in Perthshire
Cut flat rather than faceted, so the color reads as stone and not as glass. I buy a year at a time and the color drifts between batches.
Your own gold
Brought in by the client
Tested, melted, rolled and reused where the alloy allows it. I will tell you honestly when it does not, and give the rest back as an ingot.
Hand tools
Mostly older than me
Six gravers, four hammers and a set of stakes I bought from a retiring silversmith in Leith. Nothing here is disposable.
Every supplier above is a person I have met. Nothing on this bench was bought through a marketplace.
Commissions
Three ways in
What you bring decides how the work runs, how long it takes and what it costs. All three end at the same bench.
Remade from your own gold
An inherited ring, a snapped chain, a drawer of odd earrings nobody has worn since 1998. I test the metal, melt what can be reused and raise something you will actually put on.
Whatever gold you have, and the story of who wore it if there is one.
One finished piece, hallmarked, plus any metal I could not use, returned as a small ingot.
A stone you already own
You have the stone and a setting nobody would choose today. I design around the cut instead of forcing it into a standard mount, and tell you early if it cannot be reset safely.
The stone, loose or still in its old setting, and an honest answer about how often you would wear it.
A new piece in gold, silver or platinum, and the old mount back in a bag if you want it.
Made from nothing
No metal, no stone, just a conversation. Two drawings at full size, one trial in silver you wear for a week, then the piece itself.
A budget you are comfortable saying out loud, and a date if you have one.
The finished piece, the silver trial, and the drawings, which are yours to keep.
Stockists
Where to try it on
A photograph only gets you so far with something you wear every day. These counters hold the work in person.
Thistle and Bone
14 Thistle Street, Edinburgh
The full permanent line and both current collections.
Stocking since2017
Studio Halm
Krystalgade 11, Copenhagen
Silver only, plus two cuffs made for them alone.
Stocking since2021
Coil and Sett
271 Elizabeth Street, New York
The permanent line, restocked twice a year.
Stocking since2022
Nine more counters in six countries, and one shop per city. See all the stockists
Clients
People who came back
The wedding band first, usually. Then whatever came after it. This is the only proof I have that the work holds up.
We came in for wedding bands and I have been back for every birthday since. She remembers what my hands are like, which sounds like a small thing until you have worn a ring that was never quite right.
Elspeth Rae Edinburgh- First piece
- 2016
- Pieces since
- 5
- Most recent
- 2026
I brought in my grandmother's gold in a freezer bag, half of it snapped. She told me straight which parts could be reused and gave the rest back as a little ingot. My sister has one now too.
Iona Dalgleish Glasgow- First piece
- 2019
- Pieces since
- 3
- Most recent
- 2025
We stock a lot of small makers and most of them miss a delivery eventually. Six years and she has never once been late, and the pieces sell without us having to explain them to anybody.
Rowan Blackwood Buyer, Thistle and Bone- First piece
- 2017
- Pieces since
- 22
- Most recent
- 2026
I asked for something plain and she talked me out of the version I thought I wanted. Nine years on it still looks like it was made this morning, apart from where I have worn it.
Maja Lindqvist Copenhagen- First piece
- 2017
- Pieces since
- 4
- Most recent
- 2024
Notices
Written about, occasionally
I do not chase this and there is not much of it. What there is, is listed here in full.
The book for this year is nearly full.
I take twenty-two commissions a year so that none of them get rushed and none of them get made by somebody else. If there is a date attached to yours, it is worth asking early rather than well.
Ask about a place18 of 22
Commissions taken this year
Four places left before spring, then the book closes until September.