Childhood summers:

I have happy childhood memories of playing in the rock pools on the beaches in the South West of England. The fascination with what I found there has never left me. So I was happy to watch my children playing in the same rock pools, and discovering the same things with just as much excitement as I once did. We found lots of things on that unspoiled beach. But nothing pleased me as much as when we found a tiny conch shell. As I turned it over in my hand I marvelled at the extraordinary detail, the tiny ridges, the sensuous curves
of the tiny shell.
All of a sudden I saw in my minds eye,a bracelet, a shining circle of shells;perhaps a tribute to a sea goddess, or a treasure worn by a mermaid. Surprised by this idea, I wrapped the tiny shell in tissue and tucked it in my pocket.
So began the design for a collection of jewellery with a marine theme. I have named this collection "The Wembury Collection" after the beach where we found that first shell.


Wembury beach near Plymouth Devon in the UK.

Once back at my studio I set about making the bracelet that I had imagined on the beach. Sculpting a shell like the one I had found was more difficult than I had anticipated but after several attempts I was finally happy with the result. Making the individual silver shells into the bracelet posed more problems. The tiny jump rings that are commercially available are not very strong so I decided to make my own "hard drawn" wire. Wire that is hand made in this way is much stronger and as a result I am sure that this bracelet will last for many many years. In fact I confidently expect that you will be able to pass it on to your children.

Hall Marked sterling silver Conch shell Bracelet. Design © H. Corney 2002.

The bracelet feels "right" it has a good weight to it and a tactile quality similar to the original shell. So I decided the design was a good one and went on to make more using semiprecious beads in marine colours of blue, pink, green and purple. Please view the rest of the collection here. Please view the rest of the collection here.