POLLY GASSTON

In 2007 Polly came back to the bench after being away from it for 30 years. She decided to work only in 22ct gold, not only because of her love of the metal but also because no one else was specialising in its use. Polly’s idea of a precious stone is a high quality opal or a flawless tourmaline, and so she only uses these semi-precious stones in her work.

In the time that Polly was away from the bench she traveled extensively, and when she began designing again she discovered that her style was strongly influenced by these travels in the ancient near east, particularly. The only gold the ancient masters used was pure gold, and they also used semi precious stones such as turquoise, coral, lapis and jade, and Polly has carried this feature through in her work.

In the past year Polly has suffered some impairment to her eyesight, so while she still designs all her pieces and makes what she can, she works closely with her stone setter and metal worker, Andrew Bird, and she has introduced her sister to some apprentice level work. The high level of design and production for which Polly Gasston is known has been maintained and even enhanced by this collaboration.