This bespoke tiara was created for the Lady Mayoress Amanda Keaveny to wear to the Lord Mayor’s banquet at the Guildhall.

My client, Pierce Haley, is a talented up-and-coming stone setter who approached me with an ambitious and beautiful idea. His vision for a show-stopping piece featured 120 gemstones set in a timeless and classic design.

First, I helped Pierce refine his design vision. Flowing the band and ornament into one another created a seamless design with a modern feel. Our next challenge was creating settings both elegant and secure. I settled on individual four-claw settings to hold the pear and marquise shape stones, which were delicately joined for a feeling of lightness. Round accent diamonds were variously flush and claw set along the sweeping tiara form.

I created the tiara structure to be a ‘backbone’ on which the settings were arranged. The three-dimensional structure adds a contemporary touch to the timeless design, giving the impression that the top row of marquise diamonds float on the tiara.

As well as completing the CAD, I also provided manufacturing consultation to Pierce throughout the project. The tiara had a number of production challenges, not least the need to break it down into sections for cast and clean-up. I identified the optimal split to balance time and quality, allowing for the greatest ease of assembly possible.

After examining the cost, properties and weight of different alloy choices, we settled on 935 Argentium silver. During the production stage, Pierce held a fitting with the mayoress. Our alloy choice allowed the annealed wire arms to be manipulated by hand for a secure yet comfortable fit, which was then made permanent through heat treatment. 

Pierce’s final piece looked incredibly striking on the Lady Mayoress, and is a collaboration we are both proud of. Thank you Pierce for a fun and challenging project!

SERVICES:

- CAD

- Design consultation

- Manufacturing consultation

- Materials consultation

- Wax model sampling