![]() The heather stems are transformed in color using textile dyes. After training is given to use this machine, the skill, and technique needed is perfected over a few months to allow the user to become more efficient and make sure the stems are evenly distributed when making the block,” said Brown. All the pieces used to be cut out by hand before we started to use a CNC machine. “The CNC machines have played an important role in this. The process has been adapted over the years to become more efficient,” said Brown. “The company went from making floor tiles to inlaying pieces of staghorn with heather to make brooches and pendants. The manufacturing process has evolved with time and now includes two to three people working on a single stone and the aid of pre-programmed CNC machines that dictates the movement of the stones. Mother Nature’s thumbprint can be seen on every piece. It’s a complex system that transforms the rough, plain stems of the heather plant into shiny, vibrantly-hued stones used to craft pendants, rings, bracelets, bangles, earrings, brooches, and other accessories. The next day, the block is removed from the mold and the rough edges are trimmed. The block goes into an oven with mild heat to help it set. ![]() It was then the family decided to relocate the factory to Pitlochry. Kerr died in 1974 and Buyers died in 1992. The headquarters shifted to Blair Atholl, a village in Perthshire, in 1979. The company was first stationed in a small factory in East Kilbride where production of Heathergems began in the spring of 1970. They agreed, but then pulled out at the last minute.Ĭharles then put the money forward himself and set up the business with Hugh Kerr.” “Charles Buyers put Kerr’s business forward to the Highland and Islands to invest in. “My grandfather Charles Buyers was working for the Highlands and Islands Development Agency - they were looking for Scottish craft businesses to invest in,” said Stuart Brown. In 1969, Kerr met Charles Buyers, a Glasgow accountant who had an interest in craft industries. This proved tedious and cost-prohibitive so Hugh Kerr, a craftsman from Glenlivet, came up with the process of using heather stems for manufacturing and started making Heathergems in limited quantities in his workshop. ![]() The gems have been in production since the 1950s and started as an outgrowth of a business using compressed beech wood branches to make flooring tiles. ![]() Pitlochry, which has a population of fewer than 3,000 people, is a Victorian-era town, which evolved into a tourist spot after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited the area in 1842, followed by the railroad in 1863, and in 1947 it became a burgh.Ī third-generation business, Heathergems is currently run by brothers Craig and Stuart Brown. Located in Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland, Heathergems turns heather plants into one-of-a-kind jewelry. Pin this post to save this information for later. It also has an interesting use in creating heathergems jewelry. Twice a year the mountains and moors are covered in purple-blooming heather which has been harvested since the land’s earliest inhabitants - mainly for thatching, honey, and brewing for dyes. ![]() They are best known as home to the Loch Ness Monster, castles, whiskey production, and heather. The Highlands cover 10,000 square miles in northern Scotland and contain some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world. Heathergems jewelry, from the Scottish Highlands, is a beautiful example of turning nature into art by making colorful gemstones from heather plants. This bluish-green ring captures the essence of ocean waves. ![]()
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