Elie Ruby with 14ct Scottish Gold Sterling Silver Ring

This short stretch of coast is called Ruby Bay by the locals, thanks to the rare red gemstones known as 'Elie Rubies' that are washed out of the volcanic rock and can be found by patient searching through the sand. The stones are actually a special type of garnet coloured by chromium rather than iron, which gives them a particularly vivid shade and led to their rather grand nickname. Adam and Richard have been painstakingly collecting the gems by hand for months, and we have now had a number of them faceted and polished for setting into jewellery. Elie Rubies are so highly prized that a couple even found their way into Adam's wife's wedding ring!

Two Skies works with a small team of licensed native gold prospectors,
in keeping with our ethos of supporting low impact and ethical practices. All our Scottish gold is painstakingly collected from Highland mountain streams using environmentally-friendly methods such as 'sniping' and hand-panning. It is a true labour of love to find Scottish gold (0.5 grams per day is considered a 'fine haul'!)

Scottish gold naturally ranges between 14 and 22 carats in purity, so - as we work with the material unrefined - we can guarantee all our jewellery to be a minimum of 14ct. Find out more at www.scottishgold.scot

Why do silversmiths use 925%? Measured in parts per thousand, pure silver (999%) is too soft so silversmiths mix it with other metals to make it it harder. The purer the metal, the higher the polish, but it is a lot softer (thus less durable). The harder the metal is, the more hard wearing the jewellery is, but it will also tarnish easier as it has less silver content. Therefore, the silver industry set a standard percentage content for fine silver (925); what we know as "sterling silver". At Two Skies our silversmiths use 925 (sterling) silver for ring shafts and moving parts, and a very high 950% on our stones settings, which enables us to get a strong jewellery item with a beautiful and secure stone setting, without any gluing. Each piece of our jewellery is hand stamped with our Two Skies Hallmark alongside the recognised industry 925 Hallmark.

Relax - you can shop with confidence at Two Skies.  If you change your mind, simply get in touch to let us know you want to return one or all of your items within 7 days of receiving your order, and we'll get a replacement/refund arranged - no quibbles!