Clogau Gold The history

The story of Clogau Gold starts with a Welsh family's discovery of a gold mine in the wild Snowdonia mountains nearly 20 years ago - a mine that dates back to Roman times. Their discovery would breathe life back into this abandoned mine and, consequently, herald the birth of Clogau Gold.

A rare Welsh treasure found among the mountains of Wales

William Roberts and his family had little idea how significant the mine was at first. To their amazement, they discovered that it had been mining Welsh gold since 1854 and was the very same mine that was chosen to supply the gold for generations of Royal Family wedding rings, beginning with the Queen Mother in 1923.

It was undoubtedly one of the most productive and successful gold mines in the country during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

William's original intention was to turn the mine into a tourist attraction. But planning restriction problems in the Snowdonia National Park meant the idea never materialised - so essentially he was left with a big hole in the ground wondering what to do with it.

The only option was to re-open the mine in the hope that some gold was still down there. Amazingly, there was - but only enough to last about 3 years worth of small-scale mining. It was obvious that there was very little Welsh gold left.

This made the gold one of the rarest and most sought-after in the world. It also meant than mining was hugely costly - at £1,000 per ounce to extract - and the dream of creating jewellery from pure Welsh gold was unrealistic.

So William made the decision to include a small amount of this Welsh gold into each piece. This made the jewellery both special and affordable.

Unique and luxurious jewellery from Wales

From the start, he was adamant about using this precious gold in the most beautiful jewellery possible - which meant expert handcraftsmanship, solid golds and designs inspired by the natural beauty of Wales, the place of its origin.

Mining came to a halt in 1995 after three years of mining due to the exuberant costs and the scarcity of the gold.

A touch of rare Welsh gold in every piece

The Welsh gold that is now included in each piece is extracted from a stockpile that was amassed before the mine was closed. Obviously, this means that Welsh gold will all run out one day - at current estimates (based on both current and predicted sales) this is expected to be around 2016.

Today, Clogau Gold continues this Welsh tradition of creating jewellery that is completely solid, handcrafted and uniquely designed - a tradition that has now been passed onto William's son, Ben.

"As the story of Clogau Gold continues to unfold there's one thing that will always remain - our dedication and love for permanently capturing this beautiful Welsh gold in the most uniquely beautiful jewellery. That's what Clogau is all about." says Ben.

More links about Clogau Gold

The Story of Welsh Gold

The Gold of Royalty

News & Press Releases

Clogau's Golden Lady

Miners at the Glogau Gold Mine in the 1900s

From the 1862 'rush' and untill 1911 the miners at Clogau St. Davids Gold Mine extracted a total of 165,031 tons of gold are resulting oin 78,507 troy ounces(2,442 kg) of gold.

Early pices of Clogau Gold jewellery

Left: A miner at the Clogau Gold mine during 1990.
Middle: Some of the our earliest pieces of jewellery, created in 1992.
Right: One of our original craftsmen creating a pieces of Clogau Gold jewellery.

A family run business in Wales

Clogau Gold has continued to remain a family-based business in Wales. Bill, who founded the company in 1989 has now passed most of his duties onto his son Ben.

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