Materials and Care.
Materials
Every Founders piece begins with 925 sterling silver as its foundation.
I chose silver on purpose. For me, it is not just a practical metal but a precious one. Silver has been worn, traded and valued for centuries. It carries history, weight and meaning in a way industrial metals simply do not. Unlike cheaper alternatives, silver has real intrinsic value and its price has steadily risen over time. When you choose silver, you are choosing something that sits within a long tradition of craftsmanship and worth.
Could we have used stainless steel? Yes. Steel is tough, inexpensive and very durable. But durability alone was never enough for Founders. Steel is a material you build with, not one you wear to express who you are. I did not want this brand to feel functional or disposable. I wanted it to feel intentional.
For our silver finish, we apply a fine platinum coating over the sterling silver. This gives the jewellery a brighter, cleaner look and adds an extra layer of protection for everyday wear.
For our gold finish, we plate the sterling silver in 14k gold and then seal it with a nano ceramic coating. We deliberately chose 14k rather than 18k because it is tougher, more resistant to wear and better suited to jewellery you actually live in. The nano ceramic layer helps protect the colour, reduces tarnishing and makes the finish more resistant to scratches and fading over time.
The result is jewellery that feels solid, meaningful and worth wearing every day.
Care
Your Founders jewellery is designed to last a lifetime, but it is not meant to be treated carelessly. Think of it like a great outfit for an important event. It is made to be worn with confidence and presence, but it is also made to be looked after.
The main thing to remember is that plated jewellery does not like harsh environments. Try to take your pieces off before swimming, showering or using a sauna. Salt water, chlorine and steam can all speed up wear on the finish over time. The same goes for perfume, aftershave, lotions and hair products. If you spray or apply anything, let it settle on your skin first before putting your jewellery on.
When you train, it is best to remove your rings and bracelets. Sweat itself is not terrible for silver, but friction against equipment and repeated impact can scratch or dull the surface. Chains are generally fine, but heavy lifting with rings is where most damage happens.
Storage matters more than people realise. When you are not wearing your pieces, keep them in the pouch or box they came in rather than loose in a drawer. This prevents unnecessary contact with other metals and surfaces that can cause small marks over time.
For cleaning, keep it simple. Use a soft cloth to gently buff your jewellery after wearing it. If it needs a deeper clean, use warm water with a tiny drop of mild soap, rinse thoroughly and dry with a soft towel. Avoid abrasive cloths, polishing pastes and harsh chemicals, as these can wear down the plating.
If you treat your Founders jewellery with this level of care, it will hold its colour, its shine and its presence for years to come.
Process
Every Founders piece starts long before any metal is poured.
Most people think jewellery is just designed quickly and produced, but in reality the design phase is where almost all the work lives. Jewellery looks simple, yet it is built from tiny details that really matter. A small change in thickness can affect how a ring feels, how a pendant sits, or how a chain moves on your chest. Getting that right takes time, patience and a lot of back and forth.
From the beginning, we wanted every piece to feel like something you would actually be proud to wear, not just another item you buy and forget about.
Once a design is locked in, it moves into mould production. That stage alone usually takes four to eight weeks. That timeline surprises people, but precision cannot be rushed. The mould is what every single piece comes from, so it has to be perfect before anything else happens.
When samples arrive, we don’t just glance at them. We wear them, we test them in real life and we look closely at how they hold up. If anything feels slightly off, we send it back to be adjusted. Each adjustment means new mould work, which is why small changes can push timelines back by months rather than weeks.
This is a big part of why Founders has taken a full year to launch. We could have moved faster, but we chose not to. Rushing jewellery usually shows in the final product, and we wanted to avoid that. We took our time, fixed what needed fixing and only moved forward when we felt genuinely confident in what we were creating.
The result is not fast jewellery. It is considered jewellery, made through a slow process that values quality, intention and pride over speed.