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About Royal Mile Silver

We teach ethical jewelry design, bench technique, and responsible retail with a practical studio mindset—clear workflows, defensible claims, and craftsmanship that holds up under close inspection.

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Why we started (our founding story)

Royal Mile Silver was founded in 2019 in Edinburgh after we kept seeing the same gap in jewelry education: technique was taught in isolation, while ethical questions were treated as add-ons. Makers could learn to solder a seam, but not how to document recycled content; they could buy gemstones, but not how to ask the right disclosure questions or keep records that make retail claims credible.

The early courses were built as workshop notes turned into lessons—materials lists, finishing sequences, and the kind of checklists that prevent expensive remakes. Over time, we shaped the curriculum around a simple idea: every piece of jewelry is a chain of decisions, and “ethical” only means something when you can explain your choices in plain language backed by evidence.

Edinburgh, Scotland Founded 2019
jewelry workshop hands crafting silver

What “ethical” means in our courses

  • Material provenance: invoices, supplier statements, and traceability notes you can keep with each batch.
  • Bench discipline: heat control, pickling hygiene, and finishing sequences that reduce rework and waste.
  • Responsible retail language: accurate claims that avoid greenwashing and hold up under customer questions.

Our mission

Our mission is to make ethical jewelry practice teachable, repeatable, and specific. That means a curriculum that goes beyond inspiration and gives you the unglamorous tools: a supplier due diligence checklist, a batch record template, a polishing sequence that prevents orange-peel haze, and guidance on how to describe recycled metals and gemstone treatments without slipping into vague marketing language.

We keep the course material grounded in real studio choices. Students learn where fabrication and casting change the risk profile of defects, why consistent pre-polish matters more than the final compound, how to set stones without chipping a girdle, and how to structure product pages so disclosures are readable instead of buried. The goal is craft you can defend: clear documentation, clean technique, and honest communication at retail.

Documentation-first

Templates for provenance notes, batch logs, and disclosure language that stays consistent across listings and packaging.

Bench realism

Practical sequences for saw-piercing, solder control, pickling hygiene, and finishing—written like working notes.

Gemstone clarity

Treatment awareness and supplier questions that support accurate disclosures and protect stones during setting.

Responsible retail

Pricing logic, packaging trade-offs, and product-page copy that respects customers and avoids overclaiming.

Meet the team

Our teaching team spans bench practice, sourcing conversations, and retail systems. Each course is designed to connect technique to decision-making, so learners leave with a workflow—not just a collection of tips.

Edinburgh-based instruction
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Eilidh M. — Curriculum Lead (GIA AJP)

Eilidh has spent 10+ years developing course material that bridges bench technique and ethical decision-making. Her focus is the “paper trail” that supports responsible claims: supplier statements, batch records, and disclosure language that stays accurate when products scale from a single piece to a small run. She’s known for turning complex topics into checklists that are actually usable at the bench.

In lessons, she emphasises process control—clean pickling habits, abrasive progression, contamination avoidance—because these are the boring details that prevent time-wasting remakes. If a module includes templates, it likely came from her working folder.

R S

Rowan S. — Bench Technique Instructor (Assay Office Short Course)

Rowan teaches the hands-on craft modules: fabrication fundamentals, soldering control, joint preparation, and finishing sequences that hold up under macro photography. He’s taught workshops for 8+ years and has a methodical way of diagnosing common failures—porosity from overheated solder, seams that telegraph through polish, and stone-setting pressure that creates hairline chips.

His favourite parts of the curriculum are the “tolerance notes” that keep results consistent: how tight a bezel should feel, what a clean pre-polish surface looks like, and where beginners lose time. Students often mention his troubleshooting emails are unusually practical.

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Nadia K. — Ethical Retail & Packaging (Chartered Marketer)

Nadia leads the retail modules: pricing logic for handmade work, margin and VAT awareness, returns policies, and the writing choices that keep product pages readable while still disclosing what matters. She’s worked in small-brand ecommerce for 9+ years and keeps a sharp eye on where “ethical” language slips into overclaiming.

In the packaging lessons, she breaks down trade-offs (material, transport, durability, unboxing) and shows how to document decisions so they can be explained with confidence. She’s also the person who will ask: can you prove that claim, and do customers understand it?

Contact and office details

Address
11 Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DR, Scotland, United Kingdom
Phone
+44 131 202 4728
Email
[email protected]

If you have a question about course fit, include a short note on your current workflow (fabrication or casting, silver or mixed metals, gemstones or not) and where you sell (online, markets, boutique). We’ll reply with a sensible starting point.

Start with a free account—then build a learning path that fits your studio

Create an account to access free starter lessons and course updates. Registration is kept minimal and focused on access: name, email, and password. No phone number required.

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What happens next

  • You receive account and access emails for your selected lessons.
  • You can browse the catalog and choose paid courses when ready.
  • Support is available by email, typically within 1 business day.
Contact: [email protected] • +44 131 202 4728

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Need help choosing?

Email us with your preferred materials (silver, mixed metals), whether you work with gemstones, and your sales channel (online, markets, boutique). We’ll suggest a course sequence that makes sense and avoids learning techniques without a working process.

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Prefer email? Contact [email protected]. For help by phone, call +44 131 202 4728.

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Disclaimer

This website provides educational courses on ethical jewelry design, production and retail for learning and creative development purposes only.