Irish Jeweler And Scottish Whiskey Brand Form A Tasty, Dazzling Collab

Irish high jeweler, Nigel O’Reilly, partnered with Scottish whiskey brand, Aberfeldy, to create two exclusive jewels to celebrate the company’s 125th anniversary, and its new 25-year Scotch whiskey.

O’Reilly has earned a reputation for creating jewels using exquisite gemstones with unusual cuts and placing them into finely crafted settings. He personally crafts all of his pieces in his workshop in rural County Mayo, Ireland. This separates his work from many high and designer jewelers, who generally produce the drawings and then give them to craftsmen to create. His one-of-a-kind pieces have earned a following among serious jewelry collectors in the U.S. and Europe.

Meanwhile, Aberfeldy, named after the village in the Scottish Highlands where the distillery is located, is known as the “golden dram,” partly because its Scotch whiskey has a golden, honeyed color but also because gold deposits have been found in the Pitilie Burn, the large stream that serves as the water source. Its aged single malt whiskeys are known for their fruity flavor and smooth approachable taste.

O’Reilly and U.S. representatives of Aberfeldy held an event recently in New York where guests could view O’Reilly’s two jewels as part of a seven-piece collection on view as well sample Aberfeldy’s Scotch, including its 25-year anniversary edition. Several display cases were setup with O’Reilly’s jewels alongside bottles of Aberfeldy.

While on the surface you may not think an Irish jeweler has a lot in common with a Scottish whiskey purveyor, but O’Reilly said the two share an adherence for fine craftsmanship and in taking one’s time to produce high-quality artisan products. He said his biggest challenge was finding gems that were the same color of the 25-year edition, which had a different hue then the company’s other scotches. He chose madeira citrine, a quartz gemstone with a deep yellow to reddish color.

“It took a while to find the gemstone that matched its unique color,” he said. “We found a match with madeira citrine which complements the slight citrine notes in the whiskey. I love the way the madeira citrine reflects light like it does in the glass as you’re spinning it around.”

As he learned more about the company and where it is located, he chose additional gems to reflect these colors. For example, the Pitilie Burn Ring is inspired by the river Aberfeldy uses as its water source.

“When I found out more about the water they use, the Pitilie Burn river, I chose ice-blue diamonds at the bottom. They graduate up along the ring into the more earthy richer tones of the Scottish Highlands. This leads up to a honeycomb pattern, inspired by the honey notes of the whiskey.”

The Aberfeldy cufflinks incorporate 18k rose gold in a shape inspired by the whisky glass you might sip Aberfeldy from. Madeira citrines are in the center of each cufflink, with burnt orange diamonds along the rim, a nod to Aberfeldy’s rich hues. They are engraved with “125” to honor Aberfeldy’s anniversary.

“At different angles you can always see the light shining within the piece.” O’Reilly said.

Among the other pieces O’Reilly brought with him was a show stopping Talisman pendant necklace, featuring a 69-carat salmon pink morganite uniquely crafted by Erwin Springrunn, the late master lapidary, who was a friend and neighbor of O’Reilly.

The gem serves as the centerpiece resting in an 18k rose gold floral structure topped with 201 graduated champagne and white diamonds. The collar’s links are woven in 18k rose gold with each link set with a single navette-shaped diamond.

Which at first seemed like an unusual pairing between an Irish jeweler and Scotch whiskey brand turned out to be a perfect match.