Jewellery & Watch News
W Hamond is incredibly proud to announce a stunning new jewellery collection named “Silver Darlings” designed in collaboration with Whitby sculptor Emma Stothard. Together, the great British artist and the British jewellery manufacturer celebrate Whitby’s rejoiced fishing village, transforming Emma’s own life-size works on the new Whitby Sculpture Trail into distinctive and desirable jewellery designs.
Who is Emma Stothard?
As many of you will know, W Hamond has been proudly centred in Yorkshire since the very beginning in 1860. The same can be said for Emma, who was born in Hull, grew up in Kilnsea and now lives in W Hamond’s hometown of Whitby. Even as a child she was artistically talented, forever drawing the Holderness landscapes around her home and taking most of her inspiration from nature. After graduating from Southampton Solent University, where she studied for a BA Hons in Fine Art, she ventured to Somerset where she learned the art of growing, coppicing, bundling and weaving willow.
With what she learned, she returned to Yorkshire to study for a PGCE while also harnessing her new skills in weaving to create geese and small animals from woven willow. Shortly later, she moved to Whitby to take up a teaching post at Whitby Community College where the art department continued to support her development as a sculptor. An increasing interest in her work quickly led to several incredible commissions including her “English Garden” creation with the Louis C Tiffany Museum and Water Gardens in Matsue, Japan and a large scale portrait of HRH the Prince of Wales beloved Jack Russell ‘Tigga’.
In 2019, Emma was asked to produce a series of life-sized sculptures in Whitby to honour the triumphs of several notable figures from its fishing heritage as well as the contribution of the many anonymous fishermen, harbour workers and their families who have given so much to the town. The sculptures can now be seen on the Whitby Sculpture trail across the cobbled streets of Whitby including the “Herring Girls” which are the very hard-working women that inspire the new W Hamond Silver Darlings jewellery collection.
The W Hamond X Emma Stothard Silver Darlings Jewellery Collection
At the heart of Emma’s Whitby Sculpture Trail are the 'Herring Girls'. These hard-working women were a welcome sight to the fishing fleet during the early 1900’s when they arrived in the harbour. They would be ready at the coast to gut and pack the day’s catch. They would usually work in teams of three, with two girls gutting and salting the herrings whilst the third girl would pack the fish away into barrels. They would work up to 15 hours a day on the gruelling task. With herrings often nicknamed “silver darlings”, the new Silver Darlings jewellery collection brings to life these fish and the remarkable women who would follow the fleet.
W Hamond and Emma Stothard wanted to provide a sense of female empowerment, history and a dedication to a thriving Yorkshire industry through the series of Silver Darlings jewellery. We did just that, with a range of necklaces, pendants, bracelets, earrings and a keyring adorned with special fish motifs and gorgeous gemstones. Each piece is individually handcrafted from hallmarked sterling silver and detailed with colourful stones such as lapis lazuli, turquoise, amethyst, green and rose quartz and of course, the famous Whitby Jet gemstone famed in the region. If you’d like to shop the W Hamond X Emma Stothard Silver Darlings jewellery collection, you can do so by visiting the W Hamond website here or by visiting our boutique on Church Street, Whitby.
