In Castlebar, a small town in the north of the Republic of Ireland, Nigel O’Reilly works. It is not a place renowned for fine jewelry, yet O’Reilly does just that, and with success. Sotheby’s has just auctioned off a ring in the shape of a damask rose paved with rubies and 757 tsavorites for $ 25,000. Sotheby’s also sold another ring, Plato’s Garnet, with a 10.69-carat garnet surrounded by 220 orange and pink sapphires, pink and green diamonds and tsavorites, for $ 18,900.
Another surprising aspect is that, unlike designers born in circles already introduced to the gemstone or jewelry industry, O’Reilly comes from a family of cattle ranchers. He spent his youth on a farm in Claremorris in the west of Ireland. Passionate about football and David Bowie’s music, the designer followed a four-year apprenticeship in precision engineering and automation, and later worked for a company that manufactures heart valves.
Falling in love with jewelry is the consequence of falling in love with Tracy Sweeney, a young artist who has become Mrs. O’Reilly. For her, thanks to the mechanical expertise, he made a ring with the steel used for the heart valves. He did quite well, it seems, because Tracy advised him to start the profession of jeweler. After a jewelry course, to learn the art of gold and precious stones, the study of famous setters and an apprenticeship, O’Reilly began the life of the jeweler with difficulty. First as a setter for other Maison, and then finally with his own business, and he moved to Castlebar. He has several admirers. Her rings and earrings were worn by Saoirse Ronan and Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, the eldest daughter of Prince Albert II of Monaco and granddaughter of Grace Kelly, whose family had roots in County Mayo.
