April 22 blog  - Is Spring in the air...

We amazingly have had some lovely sunny days haven’t we – long may it continue…

Since my last blog we have had snow, sleet & I have had covid… for the first time – fortunately I have tested negative now so all good but I did have a ranging sore throat for almost a week..

I hope you haven’t been suffering – it seems to be everywhere at the moment.

I am luckily negative now so looking forward to taking part in my next Market – with @NunheadArtsandCrafts – another great bunch of crafts people from Jewellery to upholstery – come & check it out  - its at Ninth Life Pub in Catford & you can grap food & drink at the same time – making a day of it.



It’s a couple of weeks ago now since Mother’s Day – if you remember this year I was fortunate enough to have my Mum visiting making it extra special – she is m=now back in France but thought you might like to see what I made here as part of her gift this year... A pair of 9 caret yellow gold ‘Circle of life’ studs... which I am happy to report she loved...

I don’t work in Gold a lot – but do every now & then – so if you have any special requests, please do let me know.

I appreciate Gold is expensive so another thought could be to have gold plated jewellery. I have made a few pieces with a heavy 5-micron gold plating and have had very happy customers as a result.

Gold plating explained.

As part of my day job as a product technologist I have recently been on an Understanding Plating training course at the Birmingham Assay office – which was very illuminating.

I hadn’t realised the different layers necessary when plating base metals. But if plating brass for example – This is a plating sequence where the base metal is Brass -

For plating silver, you miss out steps 2-5.

Looking after plated jewellery.

1. Avoid getting the jewellery wet with water, soap, perfume, lotion and other chemicals. ... If the jewellery does get wet, wipe it immediately with a soft cloth.
2. Avoid getting the jewellery wet with your sweat. ... so best to remove before doing your workout.
3. Remove the plated jewellery when you sleep at night to reduce contact with bare skin.
4. Store the jewellery in a dry place. It is also best to store the plated jewellery separately from other plated jewellery (either you keep them in individual plastic pouches or separate them in the jewellery box). Do not store or keep several plated items of jewellery in a single pouch as several plated pieces could will rub or scratch against each other and will cause the plating to fade faster.

How long should Plated Jewellery last?

If plated well plated jewellery should last approx. 2 years. I use silver as a base material so this would then be the predominant visible metal. Other brands plate brass or stainless steel so it is worth checking before you buy.

A lot of white gold is Rhodium plated as this has a high shine & can reveal the gold below – which can often be a darker colour.

Finally a new fayre to let you know about..

Join the Queen’s Jubilee weekend celebrations – by attending the Artisan Craft Fayre at Beckenham Place Park Mansion x

Please let me know what you are looking for – I make what I love an have been very fortunate that so many of you love too. But if there is anything you feel you would like to see I will do my best to incorporate it in the range.

So don’t be shy – get in touch…

My email address is enidandmejewellery@gmail.com if you want to get in touch.

Until next time - stay safe.