Christie and Daniel wanted gold bands, but did not want anything too flashy or shiny. They have a wonderful tradition that uses a penny and were hoping that the symbolism of that could be put into the rings- the combination of white and rose gold looks great together. I think rose gold and a cognac diamond is my new favorite combo!
A friend in Phoenix headed down on the last day of the Tucson gem show and found this beautiful 10X14mm large garnet. It's her birthstone and she has always wanted a ring made with one, so this is the year she gets one! It is kind of fun to hand pick the stone, choose the ring design, and then have it made.
I love the look of mokume gane, so I am always happy when I find a client that wants to use the mixed metal in a project. Mokume is a japanese metal technique that is used originally by master sword makers. It combines thin veneers of two different metals that can be punched and then filed to create the wood like grain of the finished metal. In the case of these rings, I have placed two pieces of mokume on the rings- one is a yellow gold and silver mix, and the other is a white gold and silver mix. I think it makes a symbolic statement on wedding bands- the combination of two different metals, and then having the masculine nature of silver mixed with the feminine nature of gold.
Spring is in the air and I'm in the mood for something new and fresh- a new website is calling! I like the way that selling on Etsy is set up, so I am thinking of re-designing my site to link up to on-line sales with Etsy. I'll keep you posted as to when it will be ready- and please feel free to let me know what you think of the idea! I'm hoping to be featuring more designs than I currently have in my on-line shopping area. More to choose from is a good thing!
Ed has been a long time client and one of the best. He usually drops by and has an idea of what he wants made and what color stone to use, and other than that, he just lets me go and create. For this project he was more specific- he had six rubies that he purchased and wanted to use and he e-mailed me a sketch for a brooch. Then he sent me five images of his inspiration- I had no idea that he was an artist! There was one image he had collaged/drawn of a vortex like image and I was immediately drawn to and I used that one for my inspiration. To get the 'nest' like feel I carved it in wax. That was the best way to create the rugged lines and 3D form. I then cast it in sterling silver. The six beautiful rubies are flush set in the cogs and really sparkle. I love it when I get to work with nice stones!
