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Showing posts from January, 2011

New Pieces Sneak Peek

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I've begun to expand on the thicker hammered sets of rings. This is the first set. It holds a shimmering snow white moonstone that is very ethereal. Its listed in the Etsy shop here: Moonstone Stack Set The snow this winter in my new home state has been record setting I am told. I must say it is charming at first, and watching my daughters run to play like little girls in the first snow was a wonderful memory. But lets face it, snow is only charming for so long, and after awhile its just cold and damp and a bit hard to get used to for this Florida transplant. So if the moonstone is my unconscious ode to snow, the cherry blossom promise ring is my ode to the promise of spring. These are amazing oval pink topaz gemstones that I bought last year at my favorite gem show. Large 5x7 stones that are wonderfully cut so there is so much sparkle to the soft pink. The exact color of cherry blossoms. The band is a new floral design with cherry blossoms an leaves circling the band. I only have

Wedding sets keep my fingers busy

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Sometimes customers have their own special gemstones that carry history with them. A grandmothers diamond, a special gift, a purchase from a special trip. These memories attach themselves to our mementos that we carry through life. It's not very Buddhist , but for most of us it is true. Objects have a special meaning beyond their physical worth. Sometimes I am intrusted to work with these special bits of cherished memory. This was the case with this lovely purple blue Ceylon sapphire. It really shows off its color in the bright silver princess set. I would say that at least 1/4-1/3 of the work I do is custom. I think it is really tremendously rewarding to be able to create something that will be a cherished bit of personal history and a bit humbling.

Custom Wedding Sets and New Ideas

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A very special wedding set, made with a wide band and a large rose cut garnet. A beautiful looking ring that reminds me of Mary Queen of Scots. Opulent and Rich with warm tones and lots of detail. On its way to its new home. I do quite a bit of custom work for my customers and I must say I really love it. It not only expands my imagination to try new things but it expands my skills as a metalsmith because I have to work out the crafting of the piece and how it needs to come together. Sometimes in this process, I see new possibilities about how a new piece can be made or an idea develops in a totally new direction. Sometimes a new piece develops from that trial & error of engineering a custom piece. That is how the lotus ring & earrings came into being. I posted the custom ring that I was working on already on the blog. But while I was testing the pieces, what size they needed to be & how they fit together, I fell in love with the simple petal shape & the lotus rings sp