A Scottish theme is common to all of the jewellery in this range with the thistle being the most familiar emblem. The thistle was used by the early Kings of Scotland as their personal heraldic crest and is borne by the Arms of The Realm and by a number of the ancient Scottish Clans and families as part of their coat of arms. Our jewellery features thistles in attractive contemporary and traditional designs.
The Luckenbooth pieces are replicas of the heart shaped brooches typically exchanged between lovers on bethrothal. Luckenbooth Brooches are so called because they were sold from "locked booths" in the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, in the early 1700's. The surmounting crown symbolises Mary Queen of Scots. They are traditionally exchanged between lovers on betrothal. Subsequently they were pinned to the shawls of the first baby to protect it from evil spirits. Many have passed from generation to generation to become valuable family heirlooms.
Claddagh are also a traditional Celtic token of affection. The claddagh dates back well over three hundred years and denotes love or friendship as depicted in the traditional quotation:
The hands are there for friendship,
The heart is there for love.
For loyalty throughout the year,
The crown is raised above.
We also feature Heathergem jewellery, unique, hand-crafted pieces with gems created from Scottish Heather...sure to bring good luck! The heathergem stone, which is the centrepiece of this jewellery, is handmade from the stems of heather, the Scottish plant renowned world-wide for its purple bloom. The stems of heather are dried and then coloured using natural dyes. Stems of different colours are then mixed together and compressed to form a block from which individual gemstones are cut and shaped by skilled craftworkers. The gemstone is then lacquered to give a polished finish.
