#it can also mean rock but so many of the diamond clan members had names referencing time

[warden-melli]

With her connection to the Adaman and therefore the Diamond Clan, Dialga, and the very concept of time, I wonder if Perrin’s name comes from the word Perennial?

She’s also wearing a wrist watch, which could be another design callback to her great great great grandfather/uncle/whatever’s connection/association with time?

#There’s so much about her design I could pick apart I already love her #Perrin #pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon sv #adaman #pokemon legends arceus #it can also mean rock but so many of the diamond clan members had names referencing time #I think there’s more to this 👀 #Melli speaks

[the-toppat-king]

Chapter Seven: Recovery

Everything hurts.

That was the first thought Henry had as he started waking up. Briefly, he tried collecting his memories. He'd escaped from the Wall, they'd called the Toppats, he'd been shot and fell...

He'd died.

Henry shot upright, regretting it instantly as intense pain shot through his body. He doubled over with a groan, gritting his teeth.

"Hey, take it easy." Someone said. He took a few deep breaths, looking up. A blonde woman had her hand on his shoulder, peering at him through rose-colored glasses. "You were gone for a bit, you're lucky I could bring you back."

He raised his hands to start signing. He had so many questions for her, so many things that needed answered.

He froze, staring at his left hand.

It was gone, replaced by a new, metal limb. His right hand dropped to his lap as he slowly turned his left one.

A blue light on his palm, and at a simple thought, it suddenly shifted, smoothly changing into a narrow, sharp blade. How did I-?

"You learn so quickly!" The doctor beamed, clasping her hands together. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Dr. Vinschpinsilstien. You fell quite a distance, which was bad enough but you had the misfortune of hitting some very sharp, jagged rocks before you rolled into the water. I caught you in my fishing net." Her smile fell, and she crossed her arms. "I was not happy to catch a Toppat in my net instead of my next meal, however."

Henry looked back up, his hand turning back into...well, a hand. "Where am I?" He finally signed.

"On my boat, of course. Russian waters." She replied simply. "Now I want to hold you a few days to make sure you adjust alright and there are no further complications."

"What about the Toppats?"

"If you want to stay off my nerves, you'll do wise not to mention them too often, Suave." Dr. Vinschpinsilstien replied a bit sternly. "But they're fine. Reginald, Right and your other two friends have already been here to see you."

"That's not my name anymore."

She blinked. "What?"

"S-U-A-V-E," He signed back, spelling it out. "That's not my name, I had it changed. It's S-T-I-C-K-M-I-N now, doctor." His brow suddenly furrowed. "How do you know my name, though?"

"I was a Toppat under your father's reign." She replied, writing something down on a clipboard. "He was incompetent and an utter ass, so I left. But you were always quite the troublemaker," There was a flash of amusement on her face. "Quite memorable, in fact, I didn't need to know you personally to be able to recognize you."

Henry cringed a bit. He didn't really remember much from his father's reign, but he knew that people were often injured, killed or even captured in his raids. If Dr. Vinschpinsilstien was a doctor then, he could hardly blame her for leaving. He could easily imagine her tired of patients coming to her and dying before she even had a chance to ease their pains. "I'm sorry. I don't remember much, but I've heard of how many people were injured and killed because of his plans. It must have been hard."

She blinked a few times at him, then dipped her head. "There is nothing you could have done, Henry. Terrence was an idiot, nothing to be done about that. Sadly, you can't fix stupidity."

Henry laughed a bit. Even though there was clearly a lot of bitterness, at least she had some humor.

"In any case." She shook her head. "You also have a few new...features." The doctor reached back, pressing somewhere on his new spine. Henry jumped as a pair of jet wings shot from his back. He twisted to look at them, eyes wide.

"Where did those come from? How did they fit in there?" He signed, barely stopping himself from signing too quickly to understand. "I can fly now?"

"Normally I wouldn't add anything too fancy for a Toppat. But with your injuries, you may not be a Toppat for much longer."

Henry blinked a few times. "What?"

"Resuming leading the Toppat Clan is unwise. Your prosthetics are very fragile." She replied, frowning. "Single shot to your exposed spine and you will be dead in less than an hour as your failing cybernetics result in your body shutting down. The moment someone decides you are unfit to lead..."

Henry stared at her, looking away. He knew she was right, but leaving again? It felt wrong now, everything was finally coming together. "There's nothing else for me, though."

"You have friends, do you not?" She tilted her head. "Charles and Ellie. And just because you are not in the Clan does not mean you must say goodbye. You think your fathers will let you go without calling at least once a month? Family never truly says goodbye."

"I suppose you're right." Henry ignored the fact that she called Right and Reginald his fathers. He supposed she wasn't wrong, they were certainly more of fathers to him than Terrence ever was.

"You don't need to retire, and if you do, you don't need to now." She looked back down to the clipboard. "But consider it."

____________________________________________

The next few days weren't easy.

There were a few issues with his new spine, mostly the issue of the skin around the implant not wanting to heal correctly, and overall being sore. At least he had visitors often, Charles and Ellie decided to stay on the boat and Right and Reginald visited at least once a day.

"Why are we doing this again?" Henry signed with a sigh. At the moment he lay on his stomach while Dr. Vinschpinsilstien tinkered with his spine. He yelped when he felt metal pinch the spin, jolting a bit.

"Stay still." She huffed. "I'm trying to smooth the edges closest to your skin so your movement won't damage the skin. I underestimated how much the spine moves. I'm also raising the spine itself so your wings don't scrape against your skin upon being unsheathed."

"Have you ever done this on a spine before?"

"Not at all, this was experimental even by my standards." She replied. "Part of the reason I charged on the lower end."

Henry looked up at her, brows furrowed. "How much was it?"

"One hundred fifty thousand."

"Holy fuck."

She laughed a bit. "That's not much for the Toppat Clan, and you should know that. Especially with both the Tunisian Diamond and Romanian Ruby in the vault."

"Excuse me the diamond is mine and remains in my room." Henry signed with a huff. "Do you know how hard stealing that thing was? I almost died."

"Oh? So the Toppats weren't the one to steal it?" She asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"No, I heard Reginald was pissed when they tried to steal it and it was already gone." Henry laughed a bit as Dr. Vinschpinsilstien worked on unscrewing something. He glanced back, seeing her remove what he assumed was the folded version of one of his wings.

The fact that those fit in his spine would never cease to surprise him.

"I think I need to make these thinner." She muttered. "They aren't very aerodynamic and there's no way to prevent overheating."

Henry tapped the table to catch her attention before signing again. "What about fans? You may need to sacrifice size, but a fan could be used to cool off the inside. You can also use up less fuel if you add a sort of membrane for gliding, like a bat's wing."

She paused, looking at him. "Elaborate a bit more, if you will."

"Well, most large bird hover by catching streams of air, right? Obviously metal feathers might not work, but if the wings were more flexible and possibly shaped like a glider. Bursts of fuel would be needed to get into the air but if they're light enough not as much would be necessary to stay in the air."

"That's...not a bad idea. While most of the wing would still need to be metal for internal mechanisms, not as much power would be needed. Not bad, Stickmin." She jotted down a few notes before resuming her work. "...you know, should you actually choose to leave the Toppat Clan, I always have use for an assistant."

Henry jolted a bit, looking up at her. "You hate the Toppat Clan."

"I hate them as a whole, I never said anything about individual members. Besides, you're bright and a fast learner." She shaved down a sharp edge, careful not to hurt Henry too much. "That is, if you want the position."

"I'll think about it." He signed before folding his arms and laying his head down. It wasn't like he would have anywhere else to go, and he did enjoy the good doctor's company. She had mentioned at one point that she specialized in military-grade augmentations, maybe she could even get him a pardon if he stayed.

Of course there was the plan to leave earth but...did he really even want that? Did he really want to leave earth altogether? It felt wrong, like even with the Clan it'd be a lonely life.

"Was it still home for me?"

"Of course! You were always welcome back here, Henry, you're a Toppat."

Am I really? It doesn't feel that way. The Toppat Clan...it didn't feel like his place anymore. It didn't feel like home, like where he was meant to be. Sven, Right, Reginald, Thomas, Geoffery, they were still his family. But what about the others? Am I just overthinking it? Is it because I was gone for so long? Or is my absence why it's not my home anymore?

It was confusing, and it hurt his head to consider for too long.

"Doctor V? Could we see Henry?" Henry opened his eyes at Charles's voice, smiling a bit.

"Конечно, I don't need to much focus for this." She looked up. "I think Henry's a bit tired of signing, but he could use the company."

Charles nodded, practically skipping over and taking a seat next to Henry, Ellie following a bit slower. "I've been talking to General Galeforce."

"Mhm?"

"He said he's willing to pardon Ellie and leave you guys alone a few days if you help us take down the Wall." He said cheerfully. Henry lifted his head in interest. That was perfect! In the days they were left alone, the Toppats could finish preparations and leave!

"Kinda risky to take your eyes off them, isn't it?" Dr. Vinschpinsilstien asked suspiciously.

"At this rate our concern over the Wall and what they do is more important, especially with the fact that the Toppat Clan has been laying low, and, well, we can't actually pin them on any crimes yet. Not enough evidence." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, most of the people there aren't actually guilty of a crime bad enough to warrant being stuck there. I mean, there's a baguette burglar, a...toilet wizard, even someone who isn't even a criminal, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. At even the slightest hint of sickness, you're put in a small, filled quarantine cell with people a lot sicker than you are. Bodies are just-"

"Thrown into the ocean with the rest of their trash, I know." Dr. Vinschpinsilstien sighed. "You think that's the first time I caught a body in my net?"

"Problem is, no one can get in long enough to gather evidence. I was supposed to steal some of their files to prove their wrongdoings, but I got caught." He deflated a bit, then looked at Henry. "I...I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me, you'd be alright. You wouldn't have a metal spine."

Henry shook his head, pulling out his hands to sign. "I don't blame you. I probably would have been caught anyway, besides. Dmitri shot me, you couldn't have done anything to prevent it."

"But I-"

"Dmitri will not get away with that, Charles." Ellie spoke up, putting a hand on Charles's shoulder. "And you can make it up to Henry by helping make sure he never sees the light of day again."

Charles nodded, suddenly looking very determined.

"I say..." Ellie straightened up. "When Henry heals, we lay a trap. I can be bait, he'll want to recapture any of us. I can lead him to a cliff and we can corner him there. Then he has one of two choices: Jump, or let himself be arrested for his cruelty."

"Not a bad plan." The doctor shrugged. "Alright, Henry, try turning. See if it feels any better."

Henry sat up, stretching before twisting a bit. Unlike the last time, the metal didn't dig into his skin uncomfortably or draw any new blood. "That feels a lot better, doctor!" He signed excitedly.

"I'll take a few more days to fix your wings and watch you heal, then you can go back to the Toppat Clan and figure out a plan." Dr. Vinschpinsilstien sat back. "But in case we don't have a chance to talk like this again: I wish you three the best of luck. And...be careful." ____________________ Translation Конечно - Sure

#Chapters #The Toppat King #Henry Stickmin #Dr. Vinschpinsilstien #Charles Calvin #Ellie Rose

[brisktransportremovalistcanberra]

Sparkling Success

The most precious gems in the life of Matthew Ely are undoubtedly wife Nicole, daughter Amity and the new addition which will be joining the Ely clan early next year.

Diamonds, however, run a close second.

Born into a jewellery dynasty the pride of Sydney’s west, exquisite rocks have always played a significant role in the young entrepreneur’s childhood and early upbringing with father Robert, mother Helen and brother Douglas all involved in the trade.

“My parents own and operate [York Jewellers] a well-established jewellery business in Sydney’s [Penrith], which allowed me to experience the day-to-day running of the industry and gain an insight into the world of jewellery design. My mother and father have always exemplified a strong work ethic. I was extremely inspired by my father and his passion for design as a child, and his influence definitely shaped my approach to luxury jewellery design.” Yet despite his own success, and the early enthusiasm shown by his son, the family patriarch was initially apprehensive about allowing his second born into the family business.

    In 1999 when he was 12, Matthew applied for a job at York but was knocked back with his father politely, but firmly, insisting there was no spot available. He encouraged the then teenager to instead try his hand at other trades.

Matthew found work at a furniture store and later as a boilermaker but the attraction of the jewellery industry proved too strong and three years later Robert relented and offered him a job at York as a sales assistant.

He began his formal jewellery design training at Enmore TAFE and was still in his first year when he placed first in the state and second nationally in the World Skills National Championship. On the back of that he received a scholarship to London with the Australian Overseas Foundation. Moving half way around the world at such a young age was not easy but it wouldn’t take him long to begin fulfilling his passion.

After securing digs in East Putney he started knocking on doors to find work. Just weeks after passing through Heathrow immigration, he secured a job in a manufacturing workshop, Jacobs Jewellery. With it arose the opportunity to work alongside, what Matthew describes as, some of the greatest designers in the industry. “The workshop manager had worked on some of the biggest diamonds in the world – 100 carat-plus – the diamond setter was a man whom had worked on the English crown jewels, and lastly, there was a New Zealand jeweller that manufactured the £1 million necklace from [219-year-old British fine jewellery design house] Boodles. My experiences in London working alongside three of the best jewellery mentors in the world were extremely inspirational in terms of my creativity and passion for design. Their expertise and humility in sharing their knowledge helped to refine my design practices and master the skills required to craft luxury bespoke pieces.” Yet, in spite of having easy access to an assortment of precious stones, to this day Matthew only wears a single piece of jewellery – his wedding band which itself also has a unique connection to the time he spent abroad. “This is a particularly important piece for me as l designed and crafted it myself and it features personal engravings which are very close to my heart. The engraving was a wedding gift from my engraving teacher in London. He was the engraver [employed] to carve the plaques in Westminster Abbey.”

    Upon his return to Australia in 2014, Matthew was afforded the opportunity to open his own boutique in Woollahra in Sydney’s leafy eastern suburbs trading under the name Matthew Ely by York Jewellery. He admits being “enthralled” by the idea of transcending from small and rustic to grand and luxe while utilising the training and skills sharpened while he was abroad.

Despite it occurring some years ago, Matthew says he can still vividly recall his first customers, a recently engaged couple who trusted him to craft their engagement ring, offering him the opportunity to not only design an exquisite piece but to personally source the gems within the ring.

In 2011, Matthew, who by then was a qualified Gemmologist, took out the Creative Jewellery Design Award at the Showcase International Design Awards. Other accolades include the ‘Fancy Colour Award’ at the Diamond Guild Australia Awards in 2013 with an Argyle pink and Blue diamond ring and the ‘Red Carpet Award’ at the Showcase International Design Awards in 2015.

He has recently been invited to join the Diamond Guild and is now the youngest ever invited member. Showcasing a selection of his hand crafted, bespoke fine jewellery along with some award-winning pieces created over the years, his eponymous boutique specialises in custom one-off pieces but also offers recrafting of beloved pieces as well as repair and cleaning services.

    Its point of difference is unquestionably the boutique’s bespoke design services. “We create distinct bespoke pieces that feature immaculate design and craftsmanship and draw on my experience and knowledge of the industry. My process creating bespoke pieces for clients is an outstanding concept that allows for personalisation and something more unique than your classic jewellery piece. For brides, it represents an exciting opportunity to design a new piece that is their own, as opposed to buying a ring that is ready-made in store.”

A typical entry price point for a bespoke engagement ring is around $15,000 and he has a “small and trusted group of jewellery makers” who assist in bringing his inspiration and designs to life. Every piece is designed and crafted onsite.

The process begins by Matthew inviting interested parties into the boutique where he gets to know them personally. Once in the store, clients are able to go into detail about what they’re looking for in their dream engagement ring or statement piece via a one-on-one consultation. Once clients have decided on their desired ring style, diamond (shape, cut, colour, clarity) and precious metal for the band, he hand draws various sketches of the piece so they can visualise how the piece will look once complete.

“I try to make these as realistic a representation as possible, believing it is crucial to ensure the end product closely resembles the dream piece that the client has in mind. We have the opportunity to source so many exquisite pieces for our clients, but one experience which I recall vividly was being asked to source a one carat Pink Diamond from Argyle for a private client. This was such an exciting experience, as I had the opportunity to touch and see one of the rarest gems in the world. With regards to value, I would never divulge, but I will say it had to be delivered by armoured guard.”

    An advocate for ethical sourcing, Matthew says the boutique partners with a number of suppliers to locate and source some of the most stunning and rarest gems in the world. He takes particular pride in supporting Australian suppliers and materials and has worked closely with the Argyle mine in the past, to source natural gems. “I try to be vocal in my support of ethics in both gemmology and running a business.”.

Matthew says the jewellery industry has changed dramatically since he first became involved, particularly in the engagement market, where partners now spend much more to impress and meet much higher expectations from their brides to be.

“The old three-month salary rule is no longer valid, with couples spending more to craft their perfect bespoke piece to reflect their unique love story.”

But the greatest issue impacting the sector has been the use of synthetic diamonds – a development he believes has only increased the value and demand for luxurious high quality natural diamonds.

    With such an abundance of different forms of diamonds available, the popularity of naturally coloured diamonds is continually on the increase and supported by growing industry demand over the past few years, he says. “There is a definite ‘Hollywood factor’ contributing to this rise in popularity, with naturally coloured diamonds exemplifying a modernity and fashion forward approach to jewellery design. We often see clients looking for something different or unusual in terms of their jewellery, and utilising a naturally coloured diamond is an excellent way to exemplify uniqueness whilst maintaining a luxurious design. I am also seeing a sharp increase in demand for pink diamonds with the announcement of the Argyle mine closing in 2021. This supply supports 95 percent of the pink diamonds in the world.”

    The demand has also been extended to pearls which have also seen a resurgence in popularity. Having become somewhat of a destination for stunning pearls, Australia is in a perfect place to capitalise on this, he says. “The globalisation of the market has allowed for gems and other precious materials to be easily sourced by all. I think it’s now more important than ever to develop a trusted relationship with your jeweller. As an expert in the field, only a jeweller can provide you the knowledge and experience necessary to ensure you are truly paying for quality. There is a multitude of information online which may give people an impression of being a diamond expert. Whilst clients should by all means be informed, it’s important that they build a strong rapport with their jeweller so they can understand what they are buying.”

Text ‘MATTHEWELY’ to [phone] for more information