In 1854, the owner of a copper mine accidently stumbled across
glistening yellow pieces from within a piece of waste rock extracted
from the mine – the first signs of Welsh gold. From this
point on, the mine was no longer to extract copper and instead
became the Clogau St. David’s Gold Mine.
This
same mine, left abandoned, was later discovered by a Welsh family
in 1989. Its founder, William Roberts, intended to open the mine
as a tourist attraction. However, this idea was overturned due
to strict planning restrictions within the Snowdonia National
Park. William then decided to gamble on the idea that there may
still be some Welsh gold left within the hills. Luckily, the risk
paid off and there was enough gold left to complete a few years
worth of small scale mining, beginning in 1992, where small amounts
of precious rose-coloured gold was extracted.
 William
decided to use the extraordinary gold to produce jewellery of
the utmost beauty and quality using Wales as the sole design inspiration.
And so in 1994, the “Clogau Gold” brand was born with
the launch of just five pieces of jewellery..
Welsh
gold is so precious that a single nugget of it has been used to
create wedding rings for generations of the Royal Family, a tradition
began by the Queen Mother in 1923. Subsequently The Queen, Princess
Margaret, Princess Diana, Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall
all had wedding rings made from the same nugget of pure Welsh
gold.
The
costs of mining and the diminishing quantities of gold caused
the eventual closure of the mine in 1998. As a result of this,
the Clogau Welsh gold supply will eventually run out making it
the rarest gold in the world.
Without
a doubt, the natural beauty and traditions associated with Wales
are the main inspiration behind the jewellery that Clogau Gold
produces which is reflected in the popular collections that currently
exist in Clogau’s range including the Tree of Life
collection, the Milestones collection, the Sessile
Oak collection and the Cariad collection.
We
are delighted to stock the Clogau Gold collection in all of our
stores. Below are a few examples of the collection, but to learn
more about the range visit one of our stores in either Preston,
Southport, Blackburn, Carlisle or Bury. Alternatively, contact
us at clogau@peterjackson.co.uk |
