There’s a little boutique with ornate frontage on Bourbong Street in Bundaberg that beckons you inside. The inviting street facade is the first sign that this is anything but another basic transactional business. Inside, antique cabinets, busts and décor give the store a homey feel that immediately puts you at ease.
The people at Warner’s Fine Jewellery have helped countless families mark life’s most precious moments with special keepsakes. They’re entrusted with heirlooms and remodels, from cradle to altar to grave.
It’s a responsibility that owner Kate Marland does not take lightly. “Blokes come into the shop in their work gear. We take the time to learn all about them and their fiancé to help them find the perfect engagement ring,” Kate said. “We put ashes and snippets of hair in lockets for people in times of grief and can remake jewellery for people who have separated. We engrave initials, cattle brands and family crests in signet rings for men, women and children. We even stock special pieces that mark somewhat bygone traditions, like the Bluebird for Happiness. It’s humbling to play a small part, creating symbolic timepieces, for some of life’s most momentous occasions.”
They make plenty of occasional dress pieces too. “We make traditional jewellery like diamond rings, pearl necklaces and tennis bracelets, but we also create fun pieces for social events,” Kate said. “We use a wide range of stones – like lapis lazuli, onyx, amethyst, citrine and smoky quartz – so that we have something for every style, taste and budget. Our marcasite brooches and porcelain cameo brooches are imported from Italy. They make wonderful, affordable gifts. Our bow and coin pearl earrings are very popular and we’ve been sourcing our Baltic amber from Poland for more than 30 years.”
Kate considers herself lucky to be carrying on her family craft. Her great grandfather Bert Warner (pictured above on left) was an expert watch maker and violinist, who built some of the big clocks in Sydney and London. He is said to have installed almost every public clock in Newcastle in New South Wales. Kate’s grandfather Douglas was a managing director at Prouds in Sydney, before it became a chain store, and her father Michael is a master jeweller. Bert’s business card and Michael’s apprentice indenture papers hang proudly in the Bundaberg boutique.
“I’ve been playing in Dad’s workshop, amongst his trinkets, my entire life,” she said. “I love his hardworking hands and calloused flat thumbs, and now my three sons enjoy spending time in the workshop too.”
Much of the jewellery at Warner’s is designed by Kate. If it hasn’t been handcrafted in one of their three workshops in Bundaberg, Hervey Bay or Brisbane, it has been sourced from other small, family-owned Australian jewellers. “These relationships are so important to us and ensure every piece we sell is quality.”
It’s their skilful ability to combine old world styles with new trends that sets Warner’s Fine Jewellery apart. “Old-fashioned country service and workmanship are our hallmarks,” Kate said. “It is possible to own beautiful jewellery at any price point.”
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Warners Fine Jewellery
78 Bourbong Street, Bundaberg
07 4152 5774