“When a piece captures the raw beauty of the Australian landscape and the luminous colours of our oceans, it becomes far more than jewellery. It becomes a treasure — an heirloom that carries meaning for generations.”
Joseph Courtenay
Your Private Jeweller
A Life Lived in Rare Places
Pearls from the northern seas.
Opals from the red earth of Lightning Ridge.
Jewellery shaped by hand on the Victorian coast.
The Beginning
Joseph Courtenay didn’t simply learn about Australian gems — he grew up surrounded by them.
Raised in the remote pearling town of Broome, Western Australia, Joe’s early years unfolded against one of the most extraordinary natural landscapes on earth. Turquoise waters, vast tidal flats and the rhythm of the pearling fleets shaped daily life in this small frontier town.
Long before he was old enough to drive, Joe was already working aboard the pearling fleets, beginning as a young deckhand and developing a deep respect for the ocean and the remarkable treasures it yields.
It was here, in Broome’s historic Chinatown, that he later began a traditional five-year jewellery apprenticeship with Broome Pearls Pty Ltd, learning his craft under some of the industry’s most respected master jewellers.
Joseph has worked as a jeweller since 1997, building a depth of knowledge shaped not only at the bench, but through years spent in the very places where pearls and gemstones are found.
What sets Joe apart is not simply his craftsmanship — but the rare breadth of experience he brings to it.
Before establishing his own boutique, Joe worked extensively throughout Australia’s pearling industry, serving as a diver aboard the Paspaley fleets and spending extended periods on remote pearl farms and vessels across Northern Australia. Few jewellers have experienced pearls from their origin in the ocean to their final place in fine jewellery.
A Life in the Industry
His passion for Australian gemstones also led him deep underground into Lightning Ridge, where he personally descended into the opal mines to source stones at their origin.
Today Blue Salt Jewellers maintains an exclusive partnership in a privately owned Lightning Ridge mine — the very mine Joe descended himself. Through this relationship these remarkable opals pass through only one set of hands before reaching Joe’s bench.
This rare continuity — from the mine itself to the finished piece — is something very few jewellers in the world can offer.
Today
Today Joe creates from his private boutique in Inverloch, Victoria, where the surrounding coastline continues to inspire his work.
Every piece is entirely handcrafted, and every gemstone is sourced with care and integrity.
His expertise has also led to an international consulting appointment in the UAE, where his specialist knowledge of pearling and gemstones is held in high regard.
Clients who visit Blue Salt receive something increasingly rare in the modern world — the undivided attention of a jeweller who has spent a lifetime immersed in the places where the world's most extraordinary gems are found.
Jewellery shaped by rare places,
and the hands that know them best.
What This Means For You
When you commission a piece from Blue Salt Jewellers, you are not simply choosing a design.
You are working directly with a jeweller who has spent decades in the places where the world’s rarest gemstones are found — from the pearling waters of Broome to the opal mines of Lightning Ridge.
Every stone is selected with knowledge. Every piece is shaped by hand.
And every creation carries a story that began long before it reached the jeweller’s bench.