Historical commission for remarkable new Bishop

During my jewellery career I have been involved in designing and creating many special commissions, all of which have been very memorable.

Some of these bespoke pieces have been quite historical, such as the two rings I have produced for the Bishop of Bedford in 2012, and more recently for the Bishop of Dunwich last year. It was with delight that I accepted another commission request this year from a remarkable woman, who has become the first ever Bishop of Loughborough. Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, an Iranian who aged just 14 fled the revolution in her home country, will take on a “suffragan” role that will see her working alongside the Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, to focus on supporting Christians from minority backgrounds.

Married to Canon Lee Francis-Dehqani, the Team Rector of Oakham, she was consecrated as the Bishop of Loughborough by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on November 30th 2017. Seen below are a sequence of images which illustrate the journey of design to creation which we went through in order to craft her delightful Bishop’s ring. You can read about Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani’s story in full here.