Historic Perth ‘gem' now home to bespoke jewellery showroom
Soklich & Co. Jewellers, founded by the Soklich family, has spanned over three generations and grown from humble beginnings in the WA outback to become one of the State's most respected names in jewellery bespoke design and manufacturing.
The story began in 1965, when the family first started gemstone exploration in the Pilbara. A year later, they bought the Great Australian Amethyst Mine in WA.
From there, the family built a large-scale gemstone cutting and jewellery manufacturing business in Thailand, which ran successfully for 20 years and became a major exporter of Australian gemstones.
In 1986, the family moved their operations back to Perth, shifting focus to wholesaling jewellery to retail outlets across Australia and New Zealand.
In 2014, husband-and-wife Chris and Lexie Soklich opened a flagship shop on Angelo Street in South Perth that brought their designs directly to the public, with on-site jewellers and a workshop.
Now, more than a decade later, they are opening the doors to a new space and they've chosen a piece of South Perth history as its home. Chris Soklich standing next to his dad (the late Daniel Soklich) and the mining truck. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian
Located in the former South Perth Post Office in the Civic Heart centre, the new showroom is the result of a five-year renovation project which restored the building's heritage features while also giving it a modern edge.
'This building was originally built in 1900. We've tried to preserve its history as much as possible while creating something fresh and exciting,' Ms Soklich said.
'It's a historical gem in South Perth and we want to honour its story.' The late (Daniel Soklich) standing over a fresh load of rough rock from the Australian outback ready to be processed. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian
The store's interior features a striking Italian-made chandelier shaped like cherry blossoms, curved counters inspired by traditional designs, and a fully visible workshop where customers can see the jewellers at work, a space Ms Soklich referred to as 'the fishbowl'.
'It's not just a shop,' Ms Soklich said.
'We wanted people to be able to walk in, feel inspired and actually see how the pieces are made. It's about the full experience, from imagination to creation.'
Soklich & Co. is known for its bold, one-of-a-kind designs, from diamond-set jellyfish with moving limbs to intricate spiders and bees crafted with black diamonds and yellow and white gold. Their collection ranges from high-end custom jewellery to more traditional, timeless pieces. The Fishbowl feature will allow people to view the artistic process. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian
'We have big bees the size of your palm, and even a fish made of aquamarines and diamonds. We even turned a piece of wood our son found into a paperweight,' Ms Soklich said.
'People come to us because they know we do 'different'.'
The business now operates across three arms: Soklich & Co. for custom design and retail, Ellendale Diamonds for wholesale across Australia and New Zealand, and a Perth safety deposit box facility offering high-security storage, which are all run by the Soklich family and their 21 staff members.
Through it all, Ms Soklich says, the focus has remained on craftsmanship, customer connection and joy.
'If I had to attach an emotion to our business, it would be joy,' she said. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian, Lexie Soklich and Chris Soklich, from Soklich & Co Jewellers in South Perth.
'We want people to leave here feeling like they've created that makes them happy.'
As part of future plans, Ms Soklich hopes to upcycle more of the old post office's original fittings, including more than 1200 vintage mailboxes.
She's hoping to build that project in conjunction with Wesley College metalwork students to turn them into a community project that pays tribute to the building's past.
'I also want to get some historical items from the South Perth council to actually put into the project, like some old letters and photos,' Ms Soklich said.
The new Soklich & Co. showroom is open to the public.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
35 minutes ago
- Herald Sun
NBN results: Losses dip, government spends $1.19bn to upgrade Australia's internet network
Taxpayer-funded NBN Co has trimmed its losses to just under $1bn after the Albanese government pumped in an extra $1.19bn to upgrade its network as competition heats up. Chief executive Ellie Sweeney says NBN Co's strategy of upgrading its network to full fibre is 'delivering for customers, businesses and the nation'. She said the number of homes and businesses connected via fibre to the premises surged 23 per cent to 2.665 million, making it the dominant fixed-line technology on its network. 'We are on track to complete the initial five-year fibre-connect program on time by December 2025, and on budget. Almost 9.8 million premises can now order our highest-speed residential products, and by the end of December this year that will grow to more than 10 million premises, or 90 per cent of our fixed-line network,' Ms Sweeney said. NBN Co trimmed its losses by 10 per cent to $963m over the year to June 30. Overall revenue firmed 4 per cent to $5.7bn, while underlying earnings jumped 8 per cent to $4.2bn. It cut its debt ratio from 9.9 to 9.3 times EBITDA, despite total debt increasing from $26.89bn to $27.16bn. Taxpayers buoyed the result, with the commonwealth providing NBN Co $1.19bn in equity funding, a 54 per cent increase on 2024. Ms Sweeney said Australians were continuing to embrace 'faster speeds and full-fibre connections', upgrading from 'copper-based technologies in record numbers'. 'With seven out of 10 Australian homes and businesses connected to the NBN network, our focus is on lifting customer experience, delivering a resilient network that supports digitisation and AI (artificial intelligence) workloads, while ensuring the benefits of connectivity are delivered across our communities, homes and businesses, now and into the future,' she said. 'We take great pride in delivering a reliable, high-speed and high-capacity network to Australians, and it is our investment in the network that is enabling us to 'accelerate great', as we say, which will lift our 100Mbps wholesale speed tier to offer wholesale download speeds of 500Mbps in September. 'These investments are also enabling the launch of our first multi-gigabit wholesale residential products, via participating retailers, to eligible customers connected to the NBN network. Looking to the future, it is NBN's aim that our 500Mbps wholesale speed tier becomes Australia's most popular NBN plan. And thanks to our investments in the latest technologies and network upgrades, we expect to lift average fixed broadband speeds across the nation.' From mid-next year, it will offer low earth orbit satellite broadband services via Amazon's Project Kuiper, replacing its much-maligned geostationary offering, Sky Muster. Project Kuiper will offer speeds of about 400Mbps. This compares with Starlink offering speeds of up to 220Mbps, still 10 times faster than Sky Muster. But NBN Co's upgrades has attracted criticism, with commercial rival, Vodafone owner TPG Telecom, accusing it of overbuilding its network in Canberra. NBN's Canberra upgrades are costing almost $6600 per premises, mainly due to challenges such as backyard power poles and rocky terrain. About 97,000 businesses and homes in the ACT are included in the upgrade, lifting its total cost to more than $640m. TPG argued such works were unnecessary given commercial wholesaler Vision Network – which TPG sold to Macquarie-backed Vocus for $5.25bn – was already available in Canberra and can provide up to 1Gbps connection speeds. 'Fundamentally, that $6600 needs to be recouped. It's an investment that any business would need to recoup over time, and the way they're going to recoup that is with high pricing. 'Vision would have already spent that cost, and then able to punt that back to their independent retailers, and in turn get great pricing for customers already,' TPG general manager of fixed-line product Andrew O'Connor said. NBN Co defended the Canberra upgrades, saying it was 'supporting competition' and delivering faster internet speeds. NBN's total revenue growth was driven by a 6 per cent increase in telecommunications revenue, with residential average revenue per user up $3 to $50 per month. Ms Sweeney said the higher residential ARPU was attributed to growing customer demand for higher-speed products and the application of regulated wholesale price changes, in accordance with the Special Access Undertaking Variation that was accepted by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. 'The NBN network is delivering and Australians are responding. It is our responsibility and privilege to deliver the digital infrastructure today that will be critical to the way Australians work, learn, connect and grow in the future,' she said. 'Our goal is to turn investment into impact, innovation into inclusion, and infrastructure into opportunity for the economy, communities and families in every home and business across Australia.' Originally published as NBN cuts losses as Albanese government forks out $1.19bn for internet network upgrade
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
SGH has another record year with $924m profit while enhancing focus on Australia to achieve further growth
SGH is heading towards $1 billion of annual net profit — to reach this remarkable milestone the conglomerate has bet big on Australia's growing economy and its need for more infrastructure and housing. SGH on Tuesday reported a 9 per cent rise in net profit after tax to $924 million for the 2025 financial year as operational cash flow surged 49 per cent to $1.95b, both of which are fresh records. 'The circa $1.9b (of operating cash) just reinforces the quality of our businesses,' SGH chief executive Ryan Stokes told The West Australian. 'Overall we feel very confident about the earnings result and how we are set up for FY26.' SGH chief financial officer Richard Richards said the conglomerate enhanced its focus on the Australian market to deliver growth in the current financial year and beyond. 'Ryan has made a choice (for SGH) not to be offshore, he sold the Caterpillar dealership in China for half a billion dollars and he sold $5.2b worth of Boral's international assets, which ultimately repaid most of the acquisition debt,' Mr Richards said. 'So we've positioned ourselves to be exposed to the domestic economy, we think infrastructure will be strong, ultimately housing will need to increase, mining production is a cycle that is very long-dated, and on transitional energy the result of Beach Energy highlights the opportunity in that sector as well.' Building materials provider Boral was a star performer with its earnings before interest and tax surging 26 per cent to $468m. Boral became a wholly-owned SGH entity in July last year. SGH's total EBIT rose 8 per cent to $1.54b as revenue increased one per cent to $10.7b. The company pinned the margin growth on 'strong operational performance and cost discipline'. Beyond Boral, SGH owns mining and industrial machinery company WesTrac, industrial equipment hire firm Coates and mobile lighting business Allight. SGH also has a 30 per cent stake in natural gas producer Beach Energy and a 40 per cent interest in Seven West Media. SWM owns WA Newspapers, publisher of The West Australian, The Nightly and Mr Stokes said the success of the national digital-focused publication — The Nightly — illustrates how SWM 'can better utilise the strength of our publishing capability'. 'I think (another example) is the 7Plus digital growth, which has been phenomenal through the year in audience, engagement and revenue.' Business leaders across Australia, including SGH's chief, are set to keep a close eye on Jim Chalmers' productivity round-table next week. Mr Stokes would like to see infrastructure emerge as a key theme from the industry sit-down. 'We certainly think the value of infrastructure is often overlooked as the power that has been driving productivity, a critical aspect to support economic growth long term, and the right infrastructure is a very prudent return on investment from a government perspective if you factor in productivity,' he said. More road and rail will be needed to support the efficient movement of Australia's growing population, according to Mr Stokes. The SGH chief said he was 'pleasantly surprised' how resilient the domestic economy had been in the face of Donald Trump's tariffs, while noting China remains the key overseas economic influence. 'I think we're pretty confident in how the Australian economy plays staring into global activities . . . and we still have areas we think we can continue to grow within the Australian economy.' SGH has forecast 'low to mid single-digit EBIT growth' for the current financial year. The board declared a fully franked dividend of 32¢ per share, taking the total dividend for the 2025 financial year to 62¢ — a 17 per cent increase year-on-year. This dividend increase contributed to a total shareholder return of 46 per cent for the 2025 financial year, significantly outperforming the ASX100 annual return of 15 per cent.
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Aussie beef a hot commodity as US imports hit a high
US demand for Australian beef looks set to skyrocket as drought, disease and hefty tariffs hit other top cattle-producing countries. Australia exported more than 43,000 tonnes of beef to the United States in July, the highest volume since October 2024, according to a Bendigo Bank Agribusiness commodity report released on Tuesday. The extra demand came at the same time as the federal government announced it would allow imports of US beef that had been raised in Canada or Mexico but processed in America. Australia had faced pressure from President Donald Trump to ease the restrictions on beef as it sought exemptions from wide-ranging tariffs. As US herd numbers continued to dwindle due to drought in 2025, Americans have also been eating beef imported from Canada and Brazil. But with Brazil facing a 50 per cent tariff, Canada slipping further into drought and a US ban on Mexican beef due to a parasite infestation, America would have to source meat from elsewhere. Australian beef exports to the US would likely "skyrocket" as a result, according to the commodity report. "That is now three of (America's) top five import markets affected due to tariffs, a reduced herd or disease," it said. "This presents even greater opportunities for Aussie producers as the US looks to satisfy their own domestic demand with expected falling beef production." Australian cattle producers had anticipated that opening the gates to US-processed beef would have a limited effect on the domestic market. "The US is already importing bucket loads of beef from from Australia, so for it to come back the other way is unlikely," Craig Huf, a grazier and chair of the NSW Farmers Association far north coast branch, told AAP after the decision in July. "So, in the short term, we probably don't expect it to impact us." Cattle industry groups have called for an independent review into the government's decision to lift the US beef restrictions. "Australia has got some of the best biosecurity protocols in the world and the produce here is often bought because of its clean, green image," Mr Huf said. "So to jeopardise that is pretty risky, but here's hoping the science is right." The total export market has been "extraordinary" in 2025, with July the highest monthly export volume on record at just under 150,500 tonnes. For growers, widespread rainfall in July marked a turning point for winter crops across many states, the commodity report said. "After a late break and critically low soil moisture levels through June, the late July rainfall has given growers a renewed shot at achieving average yields or better," it said. "While it's come late, it arrived in time to stabilise crop potential, provided spring conditions remain favourable." US demand for Australian beef looks set to skyrocket as drought, disease and hefty tariffs hit other top cattle-producing countries. Australia exported more than 43,000 tonnes of beef to the United States in July, the highest volume since October 2024, according to a Bendigo Bank Agribusiness commodity report released on Tuesday. The extra demand came at the same time as the federal government announced it would allow imports of US beef that had been raised in Canada or Mexico but processed in America. Australia had faced pressure from President Donald Trump to ease the restrictions on beef as it sought exemptions from wide-ranging tariffs. As US herd numbers continued to dwindle due to drought in 2025, Americans have also been eating beef imported from Canada and Brazil. But with Brazil facing a 50 per cent tariff, Canada slipping further into drought and a US ban on Mexican beef due to a parasite infestation, America would have to source meat from elsewhere. Australian beef exports to the US would likely "skyrocket" as a result, according to the commodity report. "That is now three of (America's) top five import markets affected due to tariffs, a reduced herd or disease," it said. "This presents even greater opportunities for Aussie producers as the US looks to satisfy their own domestic demand with expected falling beef production." Australian cattle producers had anticipated that opening the gates to US-processed beef would have a limited effect on the domestic market. "The US is already importing bucket loads of beef from from Australia, so for it to come back the other way is unlikely," Craig Huf, a grazier and chair of the NSW Farmers Association far north coast branch, told AAP after the decision in July. "So, in the short term, we probably don't expect it to impact us." Cattle industry groups have called for an independent review into the government's decision to lift the US beef restrictions. "Australia has got some of the best biosecurity protocols in the world and the produce here is often bought because of its clean, green image," Mr Huf said. "So to jeopardise that is pretty risky, but here's hoping the science is right." The total export market has been "extraordinary" in 2025, with July the highest monthly export volume on record at just under 150,500 tonnes. For growers, widespread rainfall in July marked a turning point for winter crops across many states, the commodity report said. "After a late break and critically low soil moisture levels through June, the late July rainfall has given growers a renewed shot at achieving average yields or better," it said. "While it's come late, it arrived in time to stabilise crop potential, provided spring conditions remain favourable." US demand for Australian beef looks set to skyrocket as drought, disease and hefty tariffs hit other top cattle-producing countries. Australia exported more than 43,000 tonnes of beef to the United States in July, the highest volume since October 2024, according to a Bendigo Bank Agribusiness commodity report released on Tuesday. The extra demand came at the same time as the federal government announced it would allow imports of US beef that had been raised in Canada or Mexico but processed in America. Australia had faced pressure from President Donald Trump to ease the restrictions on beef as it sought exemptions from wide-ranging tariffs. As US herd numbers continued to dwindle due to drought in 2025, Americans have also been eating beef imported from Canada and Brazil. But with Brazil facing a 50 per cent tariff, Canada slipping further into drought and a US ban on Mexican beef due to a parasite infestation, America would have to source meat from elsewhere. Australian beef exports to the US would likely "skyrocket" as a result, according to the commodity report. "That is now three of (America's) top five import markets affected due to tariffs, a reduced herd or disease," it said. "This presents even greater opportunities for Aussie producers as the US looks to satisfy their own domestic demand with expected falling beef production." Australian cattle producers had anticipated that opening the gates to US-processed beef would have a limited effect on the domestic market. "The US is already importing bucket loads of beef from from Australia, so for it to come back the other way is unlikely," Craig Huf, a grazier and chair of the NSW Farmers Association far north coast branch, told AAP after the decision in July. "So, in the short term, we probably don't expect it to impact us." Cattle industry groups have called for an independent review into the government's decision to lift the US beef restrictions. "Australia has got some of the best biosecurity protocols in the world and the produce here is often bought because of its clean, green image," Mr Huf said. "So to jeopardise that is pretty risky, but here's hoping the science is right." The total export market has been "extraordinary" in 2025, with July the highest monthly export volume on record at just under 150,500 tonnes. For growers, widespread rainfall in July marked a turning point for winter crops across many states, the commodity report said. "After a late break and critically low soil moisture levels through June, the late July rainfall has given growers a renewed shot at achieving average yields or better," it said. "While it's come late, it arrived in time to stabilise crop potential, provided spring conditions remain favourable." US demand for Australian beef looks set to skyrocket as drought, disease and hefty tariffs hit other top cattle-producing countries. Australia exported more than 43,000 tonnes of beef to the United States in July, the highest volume since October 2024, according to a Bendigo Bank Agribusiness commodity report released on Tuesday. The extra demand came at the same time as the federal government announced it would allow imports of US beef that had been raised in Canada or Mexico but processed in America. Australia had faced pressure from President Donald Trump to ease the restrictions on beef as it sought exemptions from wide-ranging tariffs. As US herd numbers continued to dwindle due to drought in 2025, Americans have also been eating beef imported from Canada and Brazil. But with Brazil facing a 50 per cent tariff, Canada slipping further into drought and a US ban on Mexican beef due to a parasite infestation, America would have to source meat from elsewhere. Australian beef exports to the US would likely "skyrocket" as a result, according to the commodity report. "That is now three of (America's) top five import markets affected due to tariffs, a reduced herd or disease," it said. "This presents even greater opportunities for Aussie producers as the US looks to satisfy their own domestic demand with expected falling beef production." Australian cattle producers had anticipated that opening the gates to US-processed beef would have a limited effect on the domestic market. "The US is already importing bucket loads of beef from from Australia, so for it to come back the other way is unlikely," Craig Huf, a grazier and chair of the NSW Farmers Association far north coast branch, told AAP after the decision in July. "So, in the short term, we probably don't expect it to impact us." Cattle industry groups have called for an independent review into the government's decision to lift the US beef restrictions. "Australia has got some of the best biosecurity protocols in the world and the produce here is often bought because of its clean, green image," Mr Huf said. "So to jeopardise that is pretty risky, but here's hoping the science is right." The total export market has been "extraordinary" in 2025, with July the highest monthly export volume on record at just under 150,500 tonnes. For growers, widespread rainfall in July marked a turning point for winter crops across many states, the commodity report said. "After a late break and critically low soil moisture levels through June, the late July rainfall has given growers a renewed shot at achieving average yields or better," it said. "While it's come late, it arrived in time to stabilise crop potential, provided spring conditions remain favourable."
