Welcome to Neeni
The home of bespoke, custom-designed jewellery, specialising in our hand-mined Australian sapphires and meaningful keepsakes.
It's all about connection.
My journey into jewellery didn't begin at a jeweller's bench. It began as a little girl spending school holidays on the Central Queensland Gemfields with my family. It all started with my dad, who had a burning desire to chase Australian sapphires. It took a few years before the rest of us were struck by what Gemmies affectionately call "Sapphire Fever"... but once it gets you, there's no turning back!
Those holidays were spent camping and "roughing it" in the bush while Dad and Uncle John did the hard yards—digging and sieving buckets of sapphire wash. Me? I was far more interested in exploring at that age! The only real "work" I did was what Gemmies call specking—wandering around with my eyes glued to the ground, hoping to spot a sapphire lying on the surface. I had absolutely no idea what I was looking for and would ask over and over the same question every beginner asks...
"Is this a sapphire?"
It was always met with a resounding...
"No... but keep looking."
I can't even remember finding my first sapphire, but I do know this... Once you've found one, your eye is in. Suddenly they seem to appear like magic. If you've ever fossicked for sapphires, you'll know exactly what I mean.
These days, not much has changed. My husband eventually caught Sapphire Fever too, and today four generations of our family continue the tradition of hand-mining Australian sapphires from the Central Queensland Gemfields.
As the years went by, we upgraded from camping in tents to our off-grid shacks, but one thing never changed—we kept chasing sapphires. Dad has always designed, refined and fabricated our mining machinery. Being a toolmaker by trade (and a bit of an inventor!), he continually improves everything from our lifters and wash plants to our trommels, pulsators and mini pulsators. Over the years he's even built machines for plenty of other Gemmies too. Once our sapphires are unearthed and inspected, we cut and facet our gem-grade sapphires and skin polish many of our larger specimens to reveal their natural beauty. I started off faceting, but these days Dad does most of the cutting because...
Someone in the family had to become the jeweller.
That someone was me.
After years of training under a Master Jeweller and Watchmaker, Neeni Designs was born. It brought together everything our family had spent years building—from hand-mining and cutting Australian sapphires to designing and handcrafting jewellery. More than anything, it gave me the opportunity to create pieces that celebrate connection: to the land, to the people we love, and to the stories that make us who we are.
We Mine. We Cut. We Design. We Make.
Whether it's an engagement ring featuring one of our hand-mined Australian sapphires, remodelling a treasured family heirloom, or creating a deeply personal keepsake, every bespoke piece is thoughtfully created to honour the moments, memories and people that matter most.
This is our story. Every piece we create gives us the privilege of becoming part of yours.
At Neeni, you're a name, not a number. My hope is that when you walk through our door, you feel at home. When you leave, our journey together has only just begun. Together, we'll create something uniquely yours—something that carries meaning today and becomes even more meaningful with time.
Neeni x
Get in touch today, I can't wait to meet you. x
