Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

A gold band ring, by Paul Preston, with spot detail in vari-coloured precious metals, engraved to the shank ‘July 2003’, with maker’s mark ‘PP’, and signature spaceship motif, band width 5.5mm, ring size K, (leading edge). £300-£400

Born in Leeds, from 1958 Paul Preston originally practised architecture, a career he pursued for just two years before retiring to Lands End, to become a self-taught jeweller. Supporting himself by diving for crawfish and later recovering non-ferrous metals from wrecks, Paul realised he could ‘live off the sea’, and there was no pressure to make ‘commercial’ work. Initially inspired by the work of artists such as Breon O’Casey, Preston’s jewellery shows a combination of fine workmanship and imaginative ideas, often incorporating themes of nature, especially birds and fish, making him one of the most distinctive contemporary British jewellers today.

Paul now works from his studio in West Wales. He has works in many public and private collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.