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 Cowrie 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.