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27. November 2018
5 tips for proposing at Christmas
“Will you marry me?” is a very simple question, but it takes a lot of mulling over a some courage before deciding to ask it. And once that decision has been made, you have to figure out HOW to do it – preferably in a way which conveys your love for her and the bond which you share. With Christmas coming up, now might be a great time to make your move. Christmas is a lot of lovely things – amongst these ROMANTIC. Having a bit of downtime paired with good food, soft lights and thoughtful gifts can create the…9. October 2018
BTS: Creation of an opal pendant
Once in a while I take the time to to create true con amore piece through the lost wax (or cire perdue) method. Such piece is always time-consuming to craft, but also oh-so-satisfying and this one started out with a gorgeous 3 carat opal from Aethiopia. This absolutely enchanting gem deserved a unique setting and after creating countless sketches I found myself unable to decide on a design. And so I dared an experiment: What happens if I ask my followers on Facebook to vote for their favorite? It was almost as hard for them to decide as for me,…6. October 2018
Which gem is the most durable?
An engagement or wedding ring is something very special: These rings are about love, commitment and persistence and the rings should reflect exactly that. Therefore, choosing a gem which is durable enough to last a whole lifetime (or longer) is paramount.Want to know exactly what makes a gem durable enough for “the long haul”, how it should be set in order to be protected and which color choices you have – watch this video! (If you are watching this video on your mobile phone, just tab the enlage icon and it will adjust to your device) The video…11. September 2018
Darling Dragonling
A small jewellery dragon has proved to be one of Castens’ most successful creations. And no wonder: The charming creature can be created in so many variations that everyone can enjoy wearing their unique version of the little protector. Many Dragonlings have fluttered from my hands to be gifted: as wedding night gifts, for baptizations and confirmations and many other occasions where the giver wants the receiver to carry his or her love and feel protected by it – as fiercely as any dragon would protects its treasure. This fact has inspired a short story about a young woman who…13. July 2018
Sing Blue Silver - a bespoke ring
It can be a bit challenging to understand what exactly it takes here in our workshop to create a piece of jewellery. It’s always interesting to get a look behind the scene and in this article you will get just that as I take you on the journey from sketch to finished custom made piece. A few years ago, this customer came to me with a request to have her old heirloom jewellery redesigned into a new ring, which fitted her taste and personal style. The old ring was a 40’s design and featuring a large and rather beautifully colored…4. July 2018
Boho-wedding on a Greek Beach
Love crosses borders and conquers culture differences. This is the story of an international couple who got united on a beach in Greece with a custom made wedding set from Castens. Norea and Michael met in Athens on a hot summer day a few years ago. He was Canadian, but lived in Athens where he was teaching acting and instructed theatre plays. She was on vacation and on the verge of beginning her studies to become a midwife back in Denmark. It was a truly enchanting night and just one week later, on a beach in the tiny village Sougia…4. May 2018
Castens wins international design award
A few months ago, we participated in a design contest with our Two Forever wedding set. We are very proud of it and convinced that many will love it. Therefore, the main reason for participating in a design contest was merely to be able to prove, that this design is from our workshop – which will come in handy once someone starts to copy it (and that probably will happen eventually). As it turns out, we weren’t the only ones who considered this design to be special! A large jury at the A’Design Award chose the Two Forever wedding set…17. March 2018
Sustainable gem sourcing – an impossible dream?
For good reasons, we have become more and more aware of the environmental footprint which we leave after our existence on this earth and therefore I have an increasing number of customers who ask:Is there such a thing as fairtrade diamonds or other ethically sourced gems which do not harm the environment? The answer is YES, NO and DEFINITELY MAYBE... Recently I attended a talk by the “Indiana Jones of Gemmology” - Vincent Pardieu. The topic was sustainable mining of coloured gemstones such as sapphires, emeralds and rubies. This is actually a very complicated matter, as it turns out! Now,…28. February 2018
Interlinked wedding set
Wedding sets are a well-known concept in the US, where the big diamond engagement ring is paired with a smaller wedding ring, which fits up against the latter. A smart solution in order to have more space for rings on the other fingers. However, the wedding ring tends to turn autonomously around the finger even though it has often been designed to follow the specific shape of the engagement ring - to much irritation of the wearer. Solution: Interlink the two rings together like a hook and loop My wedding award winning set consists of a solitaire – The “Hiding…14. February 2018
