Jorgensen Studio Silversmith

Gem Shows When I lived in Florida I was lucky enough to live where the local Gem & Mineral Society had a huge gem show each year. I could go there and find amazing stones, and buy enough to tide me over (well almost) until the next year. Moving to a new state, I've had to relearn a lot of things I already had figured out. One of those is whether or not there is a local gem show where I can interact with vendors to get great prices on quality stones. I try really hard to keep my jewelry affordable to regular folks & getting the gemstones sourced from reliable dealers is a big part of that. Besides it is great fun & a bit of an addiction. This past weekend there was a small show across the bridge & while there was only one vendor with loose gemstones that were not just beads, I did score some lovelies. Sometimes it pays off to be the only one buying loose stones at a show too. One of the best scores of the day is a beautiful 4.5 ct Ruby Cabochon. I'll have to sav...

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to Alyson from unruly-things.com for featuring my simple little spinner rings : Here She has a lovely & stylish blog that you should check out.

The new anniversay band. I have been wanting to make this ring for such a long time. It took me awhile to figure out the engineering of it, but all that time scratching my head paid off, I think. I am so smitten with it & how it looks with the stacking rings. It has just been added to the Etsy shop : Here It is available right now in a limited number for 64.00 I am looking forward to making these with colored gems too! I want more.

My person Icon Rings started a couple of years ago & once in a while I add something new, like recently I added a horseshoe and a ladybug to the the ones I offer in my Etsy shop. Sometimes customers ask for special custom icons and I am happy to create them when I can. Above are a few of the recent custom requests. A bird, a dog bone, a heart and of course the ever popular hipster mustashe. If you would like your own little personal icon ring or set contact me through my Etsy shop for info.

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 ...

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.

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...