Gavin and Lorraine Marsh

I’ve always had interest in jewellery especially diamonds and gemstones. I went to college after school to do an art and design course, which led me down the path of jewellery and it was then when I found in my local newspaper, a jewellery firm advertising a job for a jeweller, I went for it and fell in love with it straight away. I remember thinking that this was it – this is my job for the rest of my life. I spent 3 years as a jeweller and moved up to become a diamond and gemstone setter within the same company. The master setter took me under his wing, trained me up, and taught me everything I know now. A few years after, I went to Hatton Garden as a diamond setter, working for a larger company where I really had the opportunity to refine my skills. In 2000, jewellery manufacturers started sending work overseas to be set. Luckily, I was young enough to come out and do something else.

Due to my strong jewellery background, I secured a role at Rolex with their service centre in St. James’s square, refurbishing cases and bracelets. I had the opportunity to meet high net worth individuals including celebrities. I worked for Rolex for about four years, then I decided to travel – I found myself in Thailand as a scuba diver instructor, which is where I met my wife Lorraine who was already an entrepreneur in the hotel industry. In 2017, we decided to travel more and moved to New Zealand and that’s when I came back to jewellery. Whilst in Thailand, I learnt about gemstones that are from Asia. I also made Lorraine’s engagement ring and our wedding rings, through a local jeweller. But it was in New Zealand when I started working for a small family run business which sparked my love for it again. I was their master stone setter and within the 3 years of my time there, I learnt new skills, acquired new tools and new methods that brought me up to the current times.

In 2019, we decided to move back to England due to family events and when we finally arrived in February 2020, I was due to start a new job as a diamond setter for a local jeweller but because of uncertainty, that did not proceed. Lorraine’s contract was also retracted by a chain hotel. During lockdown, I made a small pendant for my son, which had a nice etched pattern and a couple of melee diamonds. Lorraine was actually the one who conceptualised the thought of selling it. That’s when our company ‘The Diamond Setter’ was born.

We got to the drawing books and started designing our first range. Whilst I am very technical, Lorraine makes sure the feminine touch and beauty of the jewellery is there. We then moved at The Solomon Estate, end of September. It was just like an old garage, it didn’t have anything in it. So I built the wall and created a jewellery studio. We’re not the typical showroom jewellers. We focus on making it here on site and you can actually see me working here in my workshop. And in some occasions, you can even wait whilst we help restore your jewellery piece. Our customers are wedding couples looking for that extra special experience of creating their wedding bands with us rather than getting it off the shelf. We also have a stunning range of jewellery for your everyday wear – accessible and made sustainably with dedication and care.

Our customers don’t want to hand in their jewellery, have it sent away and part with it for several weeks – that’s one of our unique service; everything is done here, and our customer’s jewellery does not leave this room.

We have an e-commerce website run by Lorraine which includes a https://www.thediamondsetter.co.uk/personalised-jewellery one of a kind personalisation tool. We firmly believe that that everyone has the right to own fine jewellery, and we are excited about being able to deliver our collaborative designs in eco conscious, luxury gift boxes. Using recycled gold and silver our exquisite pieces breathe new life into existing materials, with minimal environmental impact. We are very proud to have a jeweller and diamond setter in house.”