Dublin-Born Goldsmith Specializes in Celtic Designs
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
Dublin-born Adrian O'Brien is a real Dub, a real character who loves the "craic." He's also a highly trained goldsmith who specializes in Celtic jewellery, particularly Claddagh rings.
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OWNERS of C & A Jewellers, Tina and Adrian O’Brien, pictured in Victoria.
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Adrian and his wife Christina (Tina) operate C&A Jewellers in Victoria – the company name is their combined initials. The O’Briens emigrated to Canada and first settled in Toronto where they lived for 24 years. In 1994, the family moved toVictoria, British Columbia. On my recent visit to Victoria, I dropped in to C&A Jewellers to speak with the O’Briens about their business.
I asked Adrian about the number of years of training that it takes to be a goldsmith and about the process of making specialized jewellery, which he makes look so easy.
“I trained in Birmingham, England for six years and did my apprenticeship in Dublin,” said Adrian. “The first couple of years I didn’t make any money, but then I didn’t do anything, so I wasn’t costing anybody anything. Later, I got 30 bob a week or a pound.
“I think the best way to describe learning to be a goldsmith is like learning to write, you go through pages and pages of doing letters. The same thing applies to learning a trade, it’s repetition.
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ADRIAN O’BRIEN working on Claddagh rings at his studio in Victoria.
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“I have no regrets about the number of years that I spent learning the trade, only the amount of money that I didn’t get.” Then Adrian laughed and said, “but I’m making up for it now. Actually, it was a super way to learn the trade, and it’s a straightforward process if you obey the rules and follow the steps.”
Speaking about the process of making rings, Adrian describes the starting point. “The rings are first made of wax which I then carve into a silicone rubber mold. Originally this would take days, but now it takes only 24 hours. Then you cast your ring and finish it.” It sounds easy, but as Adrian explains, “there is a fair bit of work to it.”
He does a lot of work in gold, silver and platinum, in any of the carats – 10, 14 or 18 – except for 22 carats. He also does a lot of special orders for engagement and wedding rings. Adrian explains, “I specialize in Celtic and Claddagh rings, because I have the feeling for the Claddagh design, the same as I wouldn’t do native jewellery, because I wouldn’t have the feeling for it.”
Another issue that arises in his work is that some people have allergies to metal. Adrian explains, “they are not allergic to the element but to the alloys in the element. The 14 carat has 58.5 percent pure gold, so you would not be allergic to that...but the nickel and silver, you could be allergic to. White gold is also fairly strong for allergies because of the nickel in it. Europe has outlawed nickel and we may eventually see that here, who knows.”
Speaking about the various Celtic designs that people choose for their rings, Tina said, “usually when people want Celtic designs, we ask them to look on the internet or go to a book of Celtic design and pick out a pattern. But it’s still quite hard even after that, because you still have to draw the pattern or photocopy it.
“Then, you’ve got to get a silicone wax made out of it. It’s quite intricate and sometimes you have to increase or decrease the size to fit the finger, and then make sure the pattern joins up in the right way.”
C&A Jewellers does both wholesale and retail. They get a lot of orders from the United States and across Canada. Adrian showed me a ring that he was currently working on for a man in Washington State. He also had a custom made order for another wedding ring which was to fit inside a Claddagh design for a man in Ottawa.
Adrian has also just designed a new modern Claddagh ring, which he describes as stylized as there are no fingers or cuffs on the hands holding the heart. Adrian explains that it is completely unique and there is not another one like it in the world, it’s his design. Since it is such a simple style, the buyer might wish to have precious stones embedded in the ring.
C&A Jewellers is located at #4 - 671 Fort Street in Victoria. For more information, call (250) 381-2174.
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