All that glitters is gold with our Goldsmith Peter Penrose
At Fields we love producing the most beautiful jewellery pieces to adorn our shop windows, website and your collections at home.
If you've ever taken your jewellery to Fields for a repair or a polish, then there's every chance that Peter Penrose was the one who worked his magic on it.
Recently we grabbed a few minutes with Peter between his busy schedule of repairs and modifications to find out more about his near 20 years with the company.
So Peter, what got you into Goldsmithing?
I left school at 15 years of age and became an apprentice goldsmith to a small company in Dublin City in 1980. Apprenticeships were very popular then. I like working with metals, so it really suited me.
When did you join Fields?
I joined Fields in July 2002 when we only had 7 stores. I love that we are Irish-owned, everyone here knows your name and I have great friends in the company.
People in the job, be it the bosses or anyone else, you will find they are always willing to help you out...
What do you like most about the job?
Everyday is busy with repairs and the variation of products I work with always keeps things interesting. I have a comfortable space here and there's a very relaxed atmosphere
How do we keep you busy?
The majority of my work involves resizing wedding rings and engagement rings. I love getting these just right for a happy couples’ big day. I also get a lot of rings in for polishing and rhodium plating.
When we polish a white gold ring it has to have a rhodium plating finish to make it look incredible! It's amazing how a small bit of care can make such a difference.
What tips would you give to people to look after their jewellery?
My top tips would be to always mind your larger diamonds when you're doing something manual or cleaning. Even low grade bleaches can damage a stone or metal.
The same goes for bracelets or necklace chains. Always best to keep them in the jewellery box when you're doing something like this.
What's your favourite product?
Despite working with jewellery every single day, I’m not really a jewellery person myself so I don't own much or wear any day-to-day. I do have a stainless steel TISSOT automatic from Fields however and this is something that I adore!
They are perfect when worn on their own or can be accessorised with other hoops or even stud earrings. It can also of course be worn with a number of different earrings to create the seriously on-trend stacked look.
We have a great selection of earrings that you can shop to create your own unique stack.
As it's made from 9 carat yellow gold, it is also durable and long lasting. Its design means it can be worn in casual day to day looks or really stand out in a more elegant outfit at an important event like a wedding.
No jewellery collection would be complete without a statement bracelet. To complete her edit, Rebecca opted for one of our most popular bracelets - the sterling silver gold plated Herringbone Bracelet. We have a wide selection of bracelets and this particular piece exudes elegance.
You can see perfectly it sits alongside Rebecca's smartwatch when worn as part of a casual ensemble, but again this would be perfect when worn with more formal attire on its own or in a stacked wrist look.