internet find #1

large citrine pendant 1974

THIS was the very first piece that came back to me through the power of the internet, in 2012. My daughter spotted it on ebay and my partner bought it for me. It’s a special privilege having work that has had a whole other life and will continue to have, through my family, for years to come. Its an early piece of Bill’s work and a design I had never seen before, which made it all the more special a find.

My father’s design style is highly recognisable and his hand unmistakeable in the quality of the finish on his pieces. Sometimes we’ve lost out on pieces at auction - a really nice oval pink moss agate brooch that came up at the same time, so may have belonged to the same owner - went to a buyer abroad. But most that come up for auction are small items including SNP pins that my father produced for the party in the early days. I had the oportunity to tell FM Nicola Sturgeon when she visited my workplace, about the gold SNP emblem pin Bill had made for the party’s first leader Winnie Ewing, in 1968.

WH is a quite common mark and there have been a few instances where I have had to contact a seller to tell them when a piece comes up that is incorrectly attributed. It’s an easy mistake to make, but the hallmark for Bill’s work will have a mark for the year date and the mark for the Edinburgh Assay Office along with the WH. Occasionally the marks appear WH & LR as for a brief period the hallmark was adapted for work that both my parents produced.

I hope if you come across his work this site and archive will be of interest.