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We are based in the Black Isle of the Scottish Highlands which is home to the workshop where we make all of our jewellery. We are only 18 miles from Loch Ness, 12 miles from Inverness and 16 miles from Culloden Battlefield where the last battle in British soil took place in 1746. If you visit the new visitor centre which was completed in December 2007 you can learn all about the Jacobite cause and the great impact it had on not just the highlands but all of the UK. At Culloden visitor centre look out for our beauitful range of Jacobite jewellery which includes Jacobite Kilt pins, Cufflinks, Lapel badges and Pendants which we have supplied to the National Trust for Scotland.
We have over 20 years experience in the jewellery trade. All our own collections are hand made by ourselves in our Black Isle workshop.
Our Designs:
Saltire Collection: Our best-selling collection offering a variety of different jewellery. Below is the insert that comes with each Saltire piece of jewellery.
The flag of St Andrew, Patron Saint of Scotland. St Andrew is supposed to have been crucified on two diagonal beams known as the Saltire. In the 8th Century (736AD) King Angus defeated the Saxons under a blue sky with the white cross of St Andrew. After the Battle King Angus appointed the cross of St Andrew as the badge of the Picts. In Medieval times, nations used the banners of national Saints and before long the acceptance of the Saltire as the national flag of Scotland became common. In 1385 as the Scots prepared to invade England, an order was issued that every man should wear the Saltire before and behind.
Our Celtic (Kilduncan) collection design is based on a 9th or 10th Century stone carving. Kil means church so Kilduncan would translate to Church of Duncan. Recent research suggests that Duncan may have been a Saint from Iona in the early 8th Century. The stone itself is around 1100 years old and can currently be seen at the St Andrews Museum in Fife, Scotland. With the inspiration from this story and stone carving itself we designed and made pendants, lapel badges, kiltpins and cufflinks.
The Thistle Collection: Again our inspiratation came from the excellent story/tale of how Scotland adopted the Thistle as an emblem, read below: When the Scots and Norsemen were at war and prior to the Battle of Largs (1263AD), under the cover of darkness Norsemen managed to land unseen on the coast of Scotland. Removing their boots, they crept on bare feet towards the unsuspecting group of Scottish fighting men who were resting overnight in a field. Suddenly, a sharp cry of pain shattered the stillness: a Norse soldier had stepped on a thistle. Thus alerted to the surprise attack, the Scots sprang into action and drove the invaders from their shores. As it was decisive in terms of ending the threat of the Norsemen, from that day the Thistle has been adopted as Scotland’s national symbol.Trade enquiries are welcome for our Cufflinks, Pendants, Lapel badges and Kilt Pins.
Wedding Gifts: We regularly sell our Sgian Dubhs, cufflinks and kiltpins as gifts for Weddings. It is now popular for Best Men, Fathers and Ushers to receive a quality gift that they can keep for many years and use again. The Luckenbooth brooch is also another item that we sell which is a traditional gift for the Bride. Click to see our Information page on Luckenbooth brooches. Pendants for Bridesmaids and Flower Girls are also worth a look at. See our various pendants on our shop pages.
The Sgian Dubh: Part of Scottish Highland dress -no Kilt is complete without a Sgian Dubh.
The spelling can be Sgian Dubh, skein dubh, sgian dhub, skene du, skean dhu, skean dubh and skhian dubh however it is pronounced skein or skeen doo. The meaning, however, is clear: sgian means knife and dubh means black. Some feel that black comes from the colour of the handle others suggest that it means secret, or hidden.
The sgian dubh may have evolved from the sgian achlais (ochles), the armpit dagger. This was a knife slightly larger than today’s sgian dubh that was carried in the upper sleeve of the jacket and drawn from the inside through the armhole.
A second theory holds that the sgian dubh evolved from the small skinning knife that was part of the typical set of hunting or gralloch knives. Some of these do exist. There is usually a butchering knife with a blade of 9-10 inches and a skinner with a blade of only 3½ - 4 inches. These gralloch knives usually had antler handles, and so do not fit the term black in colour, however this theory does have two points in its favour. Firstly, many early sgian dubhs were fitted with antler or horn handles. Secondly, the skinning and butchering of wild game after the successful hunt was usually undertaken by the upper-class hunter’s ghillie, literally "boy" in Gaelic, as in serving boy.
When the sgian dubh first began to be worn full-time in the stocking top, it is best revealed in portraits of men in kilts painted in the early to mid 1800’s.
When Victoria became Queen of England in 1837, the Scottish romantic period began in earnest. For example, Balmoral Castle in the highlands, complete with tartan carpets, was her favourite summer residence. Lavish dirks and sgian dubhs reached their peak around the end of her reign in 1901 and continued until WWI ended such impractical romances. Sgian dubhs were found buried in the mud of the Somme and many other WW1 battle sites.
The Sgian Dubh is presently a very popular item when wearing highland dress and many fine Scottish Sgian Dubhs are still made here in Scotland. Our Sgian Dubhs are made in the Scottish Highlands from various hard woods and Red Deer Antler, some of the pieces are set with Sterling Silver Saltire Jewellery designs.
Kilt Pins: Another piece of Highland dress, Kilt pins come in various shapes and forms. We offer a range of Sterling Silver Kilt pins which are ideal gifts for the Groom, best man or just the man in your life. Click to see our Kilt pins
Bottom left is hand soldering a Cufflink and Bottom middle is some of the tools used to make our jewellery.
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