BLOOMS is the first of its kind fine jewellery collection using recycled and refined aluminium from drink cans as the base metal, paired with scintillating laboratory-grown and created gemstones in vivid hues to create a dramatic, unusual and sculptural collection of blossoming blooms in forms of statement earrings and brooch pins.

Through a process of trial and error, it is a project 2 and half years in the making. By taking waste aluminium drink cans as the base metal, the cans are cut up into small 1.5cm squares, then melted at approximately 600 degrees C (the colours printed on the outside of the cans disappear in the heat). Through a process of refining it to overcome the impurities, the molten aluminium is then poured into ingots (bars of metal cooled from the melted and refined aluminium), ready for casting. From the ingots onwards, similar to gold pebbles and bars, the process is the same as working with precious metals in jewellery, where we are able to create miniature sculptures through the ancient artisanal process of lost-wax casting.

The biggest challenge with recycling aluminium cans is the impurities in the metal that causes issues with porosity, an uneven texture and tiny pores in the surface of the finished piece. By refining the recycled aluminium, through a process of trial and error, we were able overcome this and actually take advantage of a controlled porosity that allow us to achieve greater colour intensity. The unusual, incredible psychedelic iridescent colours have been achieved using physical vapour deposition, known as PVD, the same technique used in the car industries to colour car bodies.