Jeweller born with no fingers makes miniature masterpieces

One of Britain’s most talented jewellers makes miniature masterpieces worth thousands of pounds despite being born with no fingers.



Annette Gabbedey, 48, who has had her own workshop and shop in Frome, Somerset for 23 years, does not have any special tools to help her work, she simply adapts conventional crafting devices to create dazzling ornaments. Annette, who insists she is not disabled, even says she could not imagine doing her job with fingers because they “must get in the way”.

She said: “Normally people can see that there is something a little bit different about me – I don’t have fingers which most people expect a goldsmith to have. Making jewellery is very tactile and something you do with your hands. I do find that people have that usual question of how do you manage and how do you manage to create jewellery let alone the day to day things.


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“My answer to that really is that I tend to look at people with fingers and think well how can you manage with fingers because they must get in the way. It is just your own perception of how you look at yourself and for me I was born like it and I have never known anything different. I’m quite normal and not disabled at all but I do appreciate that people are fascinated by me being able to create something and just get on really.”