Lovingly made
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Words by Hannah Tapping
Creating pieces of jewellery as individual as the people who wear them.
A jeweller sits at his bench, expertly forming a ring claw ready to receive a carefully chosen precious stone. This is not a process that can be rushed, cast in bulk or replicated by machine. It is the work of Robins & Robins, a jeweller based in Plymouth, generations deep, where father, son and brother work the bench together. Every hand-crafted ring, pendant and bracelet that leaves the bench is designed to endure whatever life involves.
Established in 1988, originally based in Plymouth Market, Robins & Robins relocated a couple of years later to Cornwall Street, where the store remains today. Paul Robins runs the business alongside his brother Rob, a fellow of the Institute of Professional Goldsmiths and internationally trained diamond setter, along with their father, who founded the business almost 40 years ago and still works as a jeweller himself. Between them they represent a lineage of skill that is becoming vanishingly rare. As lead goldsmith, Rob has trained with the world’s finest craftsmen and is now himself one of the most experienced and respected goldsmiths in the country. Combining centuries-old jewellery-making techniques with modern technology and innovation, the team carries forward a legacy of fine craftsmanship that has long-defined their work.
This depth of experience shows in everything Robins & Robins makes. While much of the high street has turned to computer aided design and cast manufacture to keep prices competitive, Paul is candid about what that shift has cost the industry. “While producing jewellery like this keeps the price down, the impact is on the longevity of the piece.” Rings that should become heirlooms are instead becoming disposable, hollowed out to save weight and cost in ways often invisible to the person who wears them. Where a handmade piece has claws formed individually around each stone, a cast piece has them poured into place and finished in a fraction of the time. “We choose to hand-form all of the claws that hold the stones,” Paul says, “which means our jewellery is designed to last more than a lifetime.”
Sourcing plays just as significant a role as craftsmanship, with high-end gemstones growing harder to find. However, Robins & Robins refuses to compromise, preferring to hand-select individual stones rather than settling for a cheaper, homogenous product. “We’re able to source really beautiful, high-end stones because of the relationships we have built up with our suppliers over the years,” Paul says. “We know where to go for certain gems, and who’s likely to have them in stock.” Robins & Robins has always been committed to creating responsible and sustainable jewellery, long before such values became widely recognised. The jewellers work with recycled gold and platinum, as well as offering Fairtrade and Single Mine Origin (SMO) gold, with all diamonds being conflict free.
The Robins & Robins design process is a two-way process. Customers connect through in-store visits or remote meetings, and will often arrive with an idea in mind, sometimes with existing pieces they want to reimagine. They are then guided through a selection of gems before any design work begins. Once a stone is chosen, a computer rendered design and wax resin model follow, which allows customers to visualise and try on their piece before it is made. From there, the finished item may be cast, handmade or a blend of the two, depending on what the design demands. The whole process typically takes six to eight weeks, remarkably swift given the level of craftsmanship involved.
As time and taste evolve, sentimental commissions have become a particular speciality. Family gold, handed down but no longer worn, is regularly reworked into new pieces built for another generation to inherit, a continuation of the Robins family’s own story told through the jewellery it creates. Since its inception, Robins & Robins has always had an unwavering commitment to exceptional service and uncompromising quality, resulting in an outstanding reputation for personalised, first-class care, whether that be a repair, resize, restoration or complete custom remodelling. In an industry where so much has been sacrificed to speed and cost, Robins & Robins remains as something increasingly hard to find: a generation of expertise, creating jewellery intended to outlast those who wear it.
