Buried Treasure and New Traditions

Last week, a woman came into the shop and told me she’d found a Roman ring while metal detecting in Norfolk. It’s hard not to feel a little thrill at the idea — something small and beautiful, once worn, now uncovered after centuries underground. You can almost imagine the person who wore it. What did it mean to them? Was it lost by accident, or left behind on purpose?

Jewellery has always had the power to tell a story — especially when it’s found again.

Just a day earlier, I’d been making a new wedding band for a customer who lost his original in a flower bed. After a long day of gardening, he looked down and realised the ring had vanished. He dug the whole thing up again in hope… but no luck. Still, he has a new one now — and a rather funny tale to tell every time someone compliments it.

The ones we’ve lost

I’ve lost rings, too. Well, technically, Mr H and Small did. My engagement ring and wedding band disappeared years ago and were never seen again. We like to argue about whether they lost them or I tucked them into a Very Safe Place — which usually meant you wouldn’t find something again for at least a decade. I still miss those rings, but what they meant hasn’t disappeared. That’s the funny thing about jewellery. Sometimes the story remains even when the object is gone.

Cufflinks with character

When I started designing the North by East collection, I kept coming back to the idea of jewellery as wearable history. Pieces that are strong and simple, but still have texture and character — like something you could dig out of the ground and still want to wear today.

The Holdfast Cufflinks are a favourite. They’re tactile and quietly striking, with a surface that catches the light like old silver pulled from the soil. They’re the kind of thing that feels purposeful — a gift for a milestone moment, a little bit of everyday armour, or a modern heirloom in the making.

Made to last (even if they get lost)

Whether it’s a Roman ring or a freshly made band, the beauty of jewellery is how it marks time. It gets worn, lived in, and occasionally misplaced. But that’s part of its magic. It becomes a vessel for memory.

The pieces in North by East aren’t about flashy fashion. They’re about meaning, sentiment, and quiet strength. Jewellery made to be worn close — and maybe, just maybe, dug up by someone in a hundred years and still admired.

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