martner & mowat

Nadine Paris – Luxury before the lens

simon — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:13:47 +0000

The last few weeks have been very very busy for us. We have been approached by a couple of new clients that we are really enjoying working with, new web campaigns in the making and many many photographs taken. One job we enjoyed this week was shooting for Harrods Luggage department (not strictly jewellery but hey – it’s Harrods!)

Travels Through The Jewel Box

alyson — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:43:55 +0000

I recently reread the delightful book “Buried Treasure: Travels Through The Jewel Box” by the author Victoria Finlay.

Finlay travels across the world to tell the stories behind these miraculous oddities of nature. Her treasure maps are organized from the softest jewels to the hardest according to Mohs’ scale and each chapter includes curious and fascinating anecdotes relating to each stone.

The appendices in the back include lists of birthstones, anniversary gemstones, Mohs’ scale of relative hardness, alternative names, famous diamonds, names for cuts of gems, and glossary of gem words that are wonderfully informative.

This is an essential addition to your jewellery library and a pleasure to read.

Ethical jewellery by Leblas

alyson — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:00:28 +0000

A couple of Saturday’s ago we were working on a shoot for a new client, Leblas Jewellery, who are based on Sloane Street in London.

Gold bracelet by Leblas

Gold necklace by Leblas

We got chatting to Nina, Leblas’s PR agent, who told us more about their ethical stance on jewellery and how they only use 100% recycled gold, silver and platinum, sourced specifically from a carefully selected single refinery.

They also use traceable precious stones and try to use diamonds extracted from Canadian mines where a transparent route can be traced.

Leblas does not only stay true to their vision of sustainable production – they also produce wonderful designs.

Read more about Leblas and their inspiring stance on ethical jewellery here

Cabaret Carnival at Madame Jojos

alyson — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:54:22 +0000

This Sunday past we celebrated another fantastic Cabaret Carnival with our good friend and organizer, Aaron Lamb.

With Simon on the decks and burlesque dancers and performers a plenty one could not help but be drawn into this glamorous spectacle.

Simon and Alyson at Cabaret Carneval, Madame Jojos

Aaron has spent a lot of time in Cambodia looking after orphan kids and is involved with a fantastic little orphanage there where he has also taught. When he came back to London he started The Cabaret Carnival in order to raise money for the children back in Cambodia. Cabaret Carnival is a not- for-profit fundraising annual show with all profits going to the Foundation for Developing Cambodian Communities Orphanage project in Cambodia.

The performers dance for free and every penny raised goes straight to the kids!

Find out more:
www.fdcc.org.au

Tomasz Donocik – 360 animation photography of amazing ring

alyson — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:00:52 +0000

I literally squealed with delight when I opened the box containing the ring Tomasz Donocik, UK award winning designer, had dropped off with us earlier that day for us to do a 360 degree animation of it.

The ring speaks for itself and it shall be participating in an auction organized by Eco Art, a charitable institution for ecological welfare supported by Prince Albert II of Monaco. The Chairman of the acclaimed auction-house Sotheby’s will conduct this auction in Abu Dhabi on the 13^th November 2010.

The art form chosen in 2010 is jewellery, and the theme is ‘extinct birds’, the Hornbill and the Saker Falcon.

Click here to see the 360 rotation we did for Tomasz.

Photographing a different kind of valuable

simon — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:00:48 +0000

Specializing in photographing jewellery we often find ourselves handling very expensive pieces. But the most valuable thing we have photographed to date doesn’t contain a single precious stone – it’s a violin.

This beauty is the “Grande Dame” made by the famous violin maker Joannes Baptista Guadagnini in 1770.

Photographing this violin was in many ways similar to shooting luxury items and jewellery, you want a very sharp expensive look, but here it was also important to not overdo it with highlights or go for a “flawless” look. This instrument is a master piece in craftmanship that has been through a lot in its 240 years in this world, so you do want to show its age and characteristic.

Today this violin is played by Oscar Bohorquez, a very talented musician who shares his time between his home in Notting Hill and tours around Europe.

Treasure

alyson — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 23:31:45 +0000

We attended the opening night of Treasure. It was great to see so many of our clients presenting themselves so well. The queue to the Pimms seemed to wrap around the whole event so we were thrilled to camp out at Jig’s stand and help him get through his crate of champagne.

Had to have a pic next to the sparkly Union Jack

One Two Five Presents…

alyson — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 23:19:33 +0000

We were thrilled to attend the launch party for the very fabulous One Two Five Presents Boutique on Ledbury Road in Notting Hill. One of our very talented clients Lauren Adriana was modeling a show stopping 80’s number, one of the many vintage treasures on display here. We made a b line though for her sparkling couture collection which can be viewed here along with other pieces from her different collections.

One Two Five Presents Boutique, 125 Ledbury Rd, London, W11 2AQ

One Two Five Presents