Barbara Heath — Glistening gems

One of Australia’s most revered contemporary jewellers, Barbara Heath, has just delivered a collection of beautiful new rings to Handmark Gallery. This small batch of handcrafted delights dazzles with glorious gemstones and luscious pearls.

Only eight new rings. Each one is a masterful balance of boldness and refinement. The largest is a showstopper. A sizeable domed rose quartz is surrounded by delicately crafted gold petals dripping with white enamel. This 9ct cabochon ring glows with “the play of light across the top of the stone giving it a delicate softness. It’s a very feminine ring,” Barbara tells us.

There are also cross-over rings sprinkled with yellow sapphires, garnets and citrines, or polished tourmalines of deep green and pink. Three pearl rings complete the collection. The most striking sparkles with a large creamy south sea Mabe pearl surrounded by smaller black Tahitian pearls which Barbara calls “quirky and off-the-cuff.”

Barbara has spent the past 50 years crafting her beautiful jewels. Each is a work of art designed to last a lifetime and beyond: “Nothing we wear defines us quite the same way as jewellery. It is a miniature art form that light up our lives.”

Barbara Heath’s collection of new rings is now on display at Handmark Gallery.