We are Aquila Jewellery, an independent jewellery company located in the colourful lanes of Brighton, UK. We sell handmade boho jewellery - with a twist.
Join us as we discuss what we do, how we do it and what makes us different to the other jewellers in the market…
We are proud to be Brighton Lane Jewellers in a community that encourages and fosters local independent businesses. Brighton had to be the place to open our first shop with its unwavering support of entrepreneurs and creativity - plus our founder, Stacey already lived there!
We support and visit our neighbours in Duke’s Lane regularly and join in with community events, after all, small businesses need to help each other out.
What makes Aquila Jewellery different?
The handmade difference
Our handmade jewellery isn’t necessarily trend-driven. Our collections are timeless in their designs and have been made for everyday wear, special occasions and sentimental gifts.
You won’t see our pieces being made using premade parts or machinery. And there isn’t a factory in sight. Every piece is handmade by our lovely artisans whom we have a great relationship with. They use handheld tools and age-old techniques passed down from generation to generation.
Only experience tells the artisan how long to spend on a piece to achieve the level of detail they need rather than a pressurised factory quota. It’s a beautiful thing to see just what the human hand can do through dedication to a craft.
The result? Our customers get carefully crafted pieces made from raw materials with a durability and quality that surpasses that of high street jewellery.
Travel-inspired
Our boho jewellery has the unique characteristic of being inspired by travel. Our founder has always taken inspiration from her travels and the designs for the jewellery are always based on places in the world like Halong Bay in Thailand.
Travel continues to be an integral theme in Aquila Jewellery today and a big differentiating factor in why our jewellery is unique. Not only does each piece come with a special handmade design but it carries a sentimental story and an ode to the world around us.
This is why so many of our customers buy for themselves but also give our jewellery as thoughtful gifts.
The planet is full of amazing places to visit and behold - and small details to appreciate. Like a humble Indonesian ceramic in a yoga class that resulted in the Ubud silver detailed pendant!
Our relationship with our artisans
We have fostered such a great relationship with our artisans over the years, travelling to see them in India, Thailand and Indonesia in person.
We know them by name, speak with them regularly and know for a fact their working conditions and pay are of an excellent standard.
Age old techniques
Our artisans draw from their cultural legacies in India, Thailand and Indonesia to create beautifully boho jewellery. For example Jawan, the technique that inspired the founding of Aquila Jewellery features prominently in our collections.
This technique is where thin threads of metal and tiny metal beads e.g sterling silver, are placed on flat piece of jewellery and arranged in an ornate and often symmetrical fashion. The base metal is oxidised to create a contrast in the design.
Additionally, we have pieces displaying fine filigree, hand-hammered, and dot work. You can learn more about our jewellery types and techniques here.
Our audience is wide-reaching
It’s pretty amazing that we have customers all over the world due to our online store.
But not only that, the customers that buy from our shop are of all ages and all genders. Our jewellery is made for everyone and inclusive of everyone.
Why buy from us?
We are an independent business
We aren’t part of a chain. We don’t have a head office - or even an office! We are just an independent business built from a love of handmade boho jewellery and travel.
By supporting small businesses customers are investing in a new point of view and a passion you won’t find from a chain. Customers choosing to shop independent are using their money to encourage independent creativity and a small, intimate customer experience.
We are pleased to say we have many repeat customers who pop into the shop just to say hello and have a catch up. To us, this is the beauty of independent businesses.
We have a sustainable focus
All of our silver pieces are made from recycled silver. Nothing is wasted. There are no extra extraction processes and no additional energy and co2 created through mining and transportation. Just recycled silver, melted down and remade by our artisans in their workshops.
We are also aiming to be a fully recycled metal jewellery within the coming year. We’ll be hitting 80% recycled metals this June, so we are nearly there!
We have developed our packaging so it is fully recyclable with uncoated craft boxes and organic cotton bags.
We are very aware as a business that borrows from the earth that we need to tread carefully on it.
Quality
Quality metal is very important to us. We want our customers to be able to enjoy their pieces time and time again (upkeep and maintenance help by the way).
Our silver pieces are 925 sterling silver which means 92.5 parts out of 100 are solid silver and the other 7.5 are made from copper - a specifically chosen hypoallergenic alloy metal that won’t irritate sensitive skin.
Sterling silver is durable, strong and with some cleaning every now and again maintains its lustre perfectly. You won’t find any fake silver from Aquila Jewellery!
Our gold pieces are primarily made from 925 sterling silver and have a gold vermeil 2.5 micron coating on them, a five-times thicker coating than gold plated jewellery.
For our solid gold ring, we use 9ct gold and 18ct gold on our mixed metal rings.
All of our pieces have an official hallmark, a necessary stamp to verify the piece’s purity.
Full exchange and refund policy
We want our customers to love their jewellery. But we do understand sometimes they may request a refund or an exchange. We are happy to do so with pieces in their original packaging and in the same condition you received them in.
Unfortunately for hygiene reasons, we cannot accept earrings for returns or refunds - we are sure you understand why.
If you find there is a defect with your piece we can refund or exchange up to 6 months after placing your order, within reason, and we’ll have a quick check of the item to understand the problem.
Affordable
Every piece in our range has been deliberately designed using quality metals in certain designs and quantities. The result is jewellery that doesn’t break the bank.
We often have sales and by signing up to our newsletter you can get exclusive offers and hear about big discounts first.
All in all…
We are a small business that cares. We care about our artisans, the finished product and our customers. We wouldn’t be anything without them!
Thank you for taking an interest in our story and we hope you pop in to see us in our shop or take a look at our online shop soon to find beautiful pieces as unique as you.
