My Chinese adventure began in England at Broughton castle in Oxfordshire when I stayed in a room with the most beautiful green 18th century Chinese wallpaper. I noticed that occasionally, small butterflies had been hand painted in the wallpaper, and I was charmed by their flitting and fluttering over the walls. I found myself day dreaming about the Far East of the 18th century, imagining the Forbidden city and its exotic palaces, sumptuous silks and stories of the Emperor. I sketched butterflies in all sizes, some as earrings, some larger for brooches and necklaces. They were golden and small, larger and diamond set with facetted stones sparkling on their wings . And so I named them after the names for the capital: Peking (the smallest), Nanjing (the medium size) and Beijing (the larger brooch and pendants).

One of the most renowned and romantic stones of all, the diamond has a rich and sparkling history. A symbol of eternal love famed since ancient Greece, etymology denotes that the word diamond comes from the Greek 'Adamas' meaning unconquerable, and so it is, as the hardest of all gemstones.

The birthstone for April, these jewels are believed to increase energy, detoxify the body from impurities, and bring you inner courage. In shades varying from colourless, pale yellow to green, red, pink and blue, diamonds are found in lots of colours across South Africa, Australia, as well as Namibia, Russia and China. The most prized, pure diamonds are colourless and all are composed entirely of carbon.

They are graded by the 4 C's, carat weight, colour, clarity and cut. Diamonds are faceted to display a unique combination of this adamantine lustre and fire, displaying a higher degree of dispersion than any other natural colourless gemstone. A high degree of skill is required to ensure precision, proportion, and precise facet edges, as well as sharp scintillation. A popular cut is round brilliant, with 57 well-proportioned facets to show off the optical effects of brilliance and dispersion, but there are other cuts including square, pear, marquise and oval.