Parkin & Gerrish

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Parkin & Gerrish Parkin & Gerrish is an online-only shop, specialising in antique, vintage and fine jewellery.
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It was founded in 2021 by gemologist and jewellery historian, Zuleika Gerrish BA (hons) FGA DGA.

CREATURES GREAT & SMALL… AND OTHER CURIOSITIES! 🐢Part Two of my 22 latest finds, and this time things are getting a litt...
14/10/2026

CREATURES GREAT & SMALL… AND OTHER CURIOSITIES! 🐢

Part Two of my 22 latest finds, and this time things are getting a little more eccentric.

There’s a crocodile covered in diamonds, a rather wise-looking owl, a gorgeous little tortoise and a Scottish Terrier I simply couldn’t leave behind.

Oh, and a spider. Although I appreciate that one might not be to everyone’s taste!

One of the things I adore about antique jewellery is the extraordinary imagination of the jewellers who made it. Animals, insects, flowers, lucky charms and the most peculiar little objects have all found their way into jewellery over the centuries.

And they often carried wonderful meanings, from loyalty and friendship to good fortune, remembrance and everlasting love.

Alongside my little menagerie are some beautiful antique tie pins, natural pearls and other curious treasures.

I do think we should bring back the art of wearing a really good tie pin. Why should they be reserved for gentlemen?

All 22 new jewels are now available at Parkin & Gerrish, via the link in my bio.

Now, the important question: which little creature would you take home?

18 new finds are now online ✨Some came home with us from France, where Oli and I had just celebrated 10 years of marriag...
01/10/2026

18 new finds are now online ✨

Some came home with us from France, where Oli and I had just celebrated 10 years of marriage, some have only just returned from the gem lab, and others simply took a little longer to research properly.

There are diamonds, pearls, starfish, snakes, a tiara, one enormous amethyst, a wonderfully strange Vesuvius lava skull… and possibly the best little ruby and diamond duck I have ever seen.

I’ve added a little story to each slide, because for me that is always the best bit, not just what a jewel is, but why it is interesting.

Which one would you choose?

28/09/2026

NEW FINDS ✨ A little jewellery rummage with me…

This is a slightly longer one (six and a half minutes!), but there was simply too much to show you.

A look through some of our latest finds including a few treasures brought back from France, a wonderful tiara by Malcolm Morris, who worked on Shakespeare in Love, and lots of earrings because, in my opinion, one can never have too many… especially with Christmas creeping closer.

There are some really beautiful things in this group and hopefully something that catches your eye. They’ll all be making their way online very, very soon, but if you spot something you love before then, do send me a message. 💚

Which would you choose?

18/09/2026

One of the reasons I love sapphires so much is the way their colour can change, ever so subtly from daylight to evening light.

It’s something I’m always looking for as an antique jewellery dealer. A sapphire can appear a little brighter, deeper, softer or more inky depending on the light around it, and for me, that tiny shift is part of its magic.

No two sapphires ever seem quite the same. 💙

16/09/2026

They say that sapphires choose you… and perhaps there is something rather romantic in that idea. 💙

In this reel I mention Serena Kutchinsky’s wonderful Kutchinsky’s Egg: A Family Story of Love, Loss and Obsession, and one detail in particular really struck a chord with me.

There is a moment in the book where jewellery could simply be taken home, tried, lived with and considered…You kept what you wanted, returned what you didn’t, and then paid for your choice.

Imagine the trust involved!!

Of course, it was also a very different world of shopping. Before credit cards, established customers of firms might have had an account with the jeweller, with purchases later settled by cheque or cash. So much rested on reputation, relationships and, quite literally, a person’s word.

There is something rather lovely about that.

Jewellery wasn’t always chosen in five minutes at a counter. Sometimes you took it home, wore it, looked at it in different lights, and discovered whether it really was yours.

Perhaps that is why the old saying that “a sapphire chooses you” feels rather apt.

And if you haven’t read Kutchinsky’s Egg, I hugely recommend it. It is a story about an extraordinary jewel and an extraordinary jewellery family, but for me it was the relationship between Serena and her father that I found moving (maybe because I lost my own father 14 years ago and all you think of your father is they are the best thing in the world!) There is enormous success in the story, but also such sadness and love. I cried more than once.

A very moving book.

15/09/2026

There is rather a lot of romance hidden in one little brooch… 🌙💙✨

Sapphires have long been associated with devotion and fidelity, while diamonds have symbolised eternity for centuries, long before De Beers rather brilliantly turned “A Diamond Is Forever” into one of the most famous advertising lines of all time.

And then there is the crescent moon itself: a symbol of new beginnings, change and hope.

Which makes me wonder what this beautiful Victorian sapphire and diamond crescent was originally given for. A wedding? A christening? The beginning of a new chapter in someone’s life?

Or perhaps there is something a little more mythological about her- a nod to Diana, goddess of the moon and the hunt. 🌙

We may never know. But that, for me, is part of the magic of antique jewellery.

15/09/2026

Some rings are beautiful. Some are just wonderfully, gloriously unusual. 💚

This Retro green sapphire and diamond ring is one of those pieces I don’t think I could ever mistake for another. The strong, almost Art Deco geometry, the wonderful folded sides, which, for reasons I can’t quite explain, remind me slightly of a Viennetta ice cream… or perhaps folds of pastry 😂 and that incredible green sapphire at the centre.

I bought it in Germany and it may well be German in origin. There’s something so architectural about it, but at the same time those folded platinum sides give it this lovely softness.

Also, at one point I confidently say “geographical” when I mean geometrical. Jewellery historian, yes. Words apparently less reliable.

And if you can hear mysterious deep breathing in the background, I promise it isn’t me. It’s Tixall snoring. 🐶

A very unusual jewel and exactly the sort of ring I love finding.

11/09/2026

What is the most romantic city in the world? Paris, surely… 🇫🇷💙

There is something about this Edwardian sapphire and diamond ring that has always made me think of Paris.

The rich blue sapphires against the flashes of white diamond remind me of light pouring through the blue stained-glass windows of a great Parisian cathedral , tiny panes of colour and light, but on your finger.

Perhaps I’m just a romantic, but some jewels transport you somewhere. This one takes me straight to Paris.

And really, what could be more romantic than that? 💙💍

10/09/2026

New jewels. New discoveries. New temptations… ✨
Coming soon to the website.
Which one would you choose? 👀👇

10/09/2026

What would you call this ring? 👑💙

In Britain, we tend to call this style a tiara ring, while you’ll also hear the term Duchess ring in parts of Europe.

But personally? I think Grand Duchess ring has a rather better ring to it… particularly as, in Luxembourg, a Grand Duchess is the sovereign. 👑

This beautiful Edwardian example dates to the 1900s, with a rich blue sapphire surrounded by old-cut diamonds and the most wonderful miniature tiara-like diamond shoulders.

And do swipe through the photographs — sometimes an iPhone camera simply doesn’t give an antique jewel the credit it deserves!

Would you call it a Tiara, Duchess or Grand Duchess ring?

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