Master jeweller lays down his tools
After spending the last 19 years in Nelson’s oldest commercial building, believed by some to be the oldest in the country, master jeweller Ian Candlish has some stories to tell.
He’s has had his share of seismic events, or “shakes”, and a few break ins, but fortunately no hold ups.
While he and his wife Fleur haven’t spotted any ghosts, they and other staff have noticed the curious smell of cigarettes and perfume in the mornings when opening up.
It’s perhaps not surprising that apparitions of some type might linger, given that the building dates back to 1855.
Its frontage is almost original, though it once featured a fisherman’s jetty out the back, according to heritage website The Prow.
Over the years fancy confectionery, sewing machines, lingerie, and even petrol have been sold there.
Artist Marjorie Eleanor Froom Naylor, well-known for her portraits and landscapes, operated a gallery from the premises and lived there until she died in 1985.
Ian, now 69, says he has “done his bit” and will be retiring at the end of March, putting an end to his work in the gem of a building, though the business will still remain open.
It will mark the end of over 50 years in jewellery, having started his long career at the age of 15 in Hatton Garden, London’s prestigious jewellery quarter and the centre of the UK’s diamond trade.
Working initially as a general dogsbody, sweeping the toilets, cleaning, and picking up food on Fridays, Ian went on to do a five year apprenticeship in diamond setting, before moving to South Africa in his mid 20s.
His brother, also working in the same field, was offered a job there, but his fiancée refused to go at the last minute, so Ian went in his place and spent a decade in the country, where he learnt to be a manufacturing jeweller.
Working at a three story Jack Friedman shop on the corner of Bree St in Johannesburg, customers would be picked up directly off the planes and taken into town, where the girls on the ground floor would deal with the customers.
There, he worked on stones worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. His next port of call was New Zealand, where his brother had already established himself as a diamond setter in the North Island.
Customers nowadays don’t buy a lot of rings, nor do they buy much white gold, Ian said.
In terms of unusual custom jewellery requests, Ian recalled being asked to make a locket to contain ashes.
“Now I know where the bastard is,” was his client’s response when he handed the completed item over.
Asked what he’ll miss, Ian has an immediate response: “People,” he said.
By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail
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