I was recently in London. Work trip, so my time was not entirely my own. I did get a chance to shop a bit though. So what do a woman shop for in London when she got the time? Not what you might think. I did not travel home with one single cloth item, or make up. Nope, what I got home with me, with some great help, was a 16 kg block of steel.  And I was thrilled!

I had added favourites on google map on my phone, and used that to navigate. Interesting places that I got from the kind folks at Etsy forums.  It was my first time abroad with a smart phone (yeah I was late in using those) It would been so much easier in the eighties when I did most of my travelling to have a companion like that…

Of course I ended up in Hatton Garden, that was inevitable.  The most interesting thing about the street for me was not all the jewelers there – but the tool shops.  Cookson Gold is there as well as Walsh.  Tools are such an important part of jewelry making, and having many options is a must. This block of steel had been on my wish list for so long.

So what is it then?

A Durston rolling mill. This amazing piece of equipment will last my lifetime.  I will post pictures of it when I have set it up.