It is very interesting to note that silversmithing is not the same as making silver jewellery, though the words get used as if they were. I have many good friends who are true silversmiths and jewellers, and many friends who work in silver but are not jewellers.

To clarify, a silversmith makes hollowware: bowls, vessels, boxes, beakers and sculptures. Someone who makes silver jewellery is, properly speaking, a jeweller or goldsmith, whatever precious metal they work in. The difference is not the material but the scale, and the size of the tools it takes.

My own Fragile Form sculptures are here, pressed flowers held in pages of black silver and gold, works of art made to be viewed rather than worn.

The other pieces I have chosen are by renowned, talented silversmiths who create exquisite functional silverware and objets d'art.