I just finished a custom engagement ring that I’m very excited about. Here are a few images and details about the process from start to finish. The wedding band process will begin very soon. I’ll post photos when it’s all done.

Original setting to be re-imagined. Materials recycled from old setting for new design.

Concept sketch and large princess cut diamond removed from original setting.

Wax carving in process for redesign. The wedding band will fit between the 2 shanks of the engagement ring.

Casting stage before stone setting.

Stone setting complete! Whew! I give all the credit to the talented Bobby Litaker of Litaker’s Jewelry for this amazing setting job. This photo was taken with the aide of the laser machine’s microscope. The powerful microscope was a useful tool in the setting process as well. I love this cool spooky photo. It wasn’t so easy to capture- I lined up my iPhone with the eye piece on the laser’s microscope and snapped this image.

My happy client wearing the finished engagement ring. Nice picture of Ravenel Bridge, Charleston SC- the location for the proposal. Sweet!

I just finished this redesign ring project. Here are a few pics of the process.

This is the final redesign image. From here we’ll go back to the beginning.

This is the original nugget ring that was used for the redesign.

Wax carved model for redesign. Diamonds are in place just for client approval, but will be set after the ring has been cast and cleaned.

Casting in the rough before sprue removal and cleanup. Setting the diamonds is the last step of the process.

Another picture of final redesign using Instagram.

This lovely rose band was made for a special friend of mine. The couple got married a year ago and the husband (a dear friend as well) wanted to upgrade her ring for one of my designs. She always coveted my Glacier Band that I have created for men in White Gold. I created a slightly thinner version for her (approximately 6mm) and cast it in 14K Rose Gold. A sweet combination with the raw textural landscape of rough terrain found in Glaciers and yet utterly feminine with the vintage hue of Rose Gold.

from the Manlier Collection: Glacier Band

I made this in time for Mother’s Day for my mom, but I’m just getting around to taking a photo. Mom had some nice pearls that she never wore because the clasp was white gold, something she never wears and it was shorter than she liked. I repurposed the gold from the clasp and cast a new braided theme clasp in peach gold. I lengthened the necklace by adding peach accent pearls and restrung with a pale pink thread. She loves her redesigned pearl necklace. Having a jeweler as a daughter has it’s benefits!

I’m a big fan of the PBS series, Downton Abbey. Actually anything Jane Austin or from a time period where manners and getting dressed for dinner were a part of everyday life. It seems to be lost in our present day society. So with that in mind, well maybe in my unconscious creative thought process… I designed a custom pendant channeling the Victorian era. The design was to accommodate a lovely oval faceted green garnet. My client provided the gemstone along with another tiny round garnet and the yellow gold. Having the two garnets gave me the idea to create the pendant with the small one hanging by itself. Also, the prong setting is an old style of setting that goes along with the rest of the Victorian style. The result is quite stunning and even more so on my client. She could definitely be cast in a period piece.  I should look into getting my work on the next series! I’m sure it’s all old heirlooms and not new designs. Of course, who would know the difference?

My client calls this her “weddings ring” because the redesign I created repurposed the diamonds and metal from a couple of her wedding rings.

Here are a bit of the redesign details. I hand carved the sculptural design in wax and added details of tiny bead drops to give it an organic feel. After sending her old gold off to the refinery, I cast the new design in 14k peach gold. I featured the repurposed diamonds from her old wedding rings with a bead set style texture to compliment the bead drop design in the ring.

The result is pretty amazing and my client loves it! Makes me happy to have a happy client.

I was asked to design a couple of cremation necklaces for a sister and brother who had lost their father. This design request was both technically challenging, in that I’d never made this type of vessel to hold something so sentimental and also to create individual vessels for each sibling that was representational to them and in their relationship to their father. I also wanted the pendants to have a similar design esthetic even though the siblings live in different parts of the country.

When I began to research cremation pendants, what I found looked like a little flask with a screw top. I’m not a designer who is into mechanisms and I was more interested in designing vessels where the contents were contained inside with permanence. I had designed a necklace for a client who is an acupuncturist. She wanted a small vessel to contain elements of ground up sage, tobacco leaves and amethyst that ward off bad energy. I created a delicate necklace with a small conch shell I had cast in silver that had a tiny hole where I sprinkled the ground elements inside and soldered it shut. This was the same approach I went with for the design of the cremation pendants. Here is what I came up with.

The sister wanted something simple and understated. She said her father called her Sunshine. I created a tubular style vessel with a dot pattern of the sun. It’s abstract, but also representational.

The brother practices yoga. I decided a triangle shape was best for him in that it’s a pose in yoga and a bit more masculine in it’s structure than a tube. His only design request was to have the OM symbol somewhere.

I decided to put the OM symbol on the back of pendant. I wanted it to rest against his heart, bringing a sense of peace and closeness to his father.

You deserve a bit of TLC. Recycle your old jewelry into a new design. Purrrfect!

Contentment. Now wasn’t that worth it?

Custom designed ring using repurposed diamonds and gold. Mandarin Garnet Circle Ring with recycled White Diamonds set in Peach Gold.

Latest custom project with repurposed gold and diamonds provided by client. This pendant was designed with a lily motif. The client’s daughter is named Lily.

Chain attaches seamlessly to pendant and to petal detail with diamonds.

I’ve been working on a custom design project for a client that wants me to create cremation pendant necklaces. I went to the cemetery for some motif ideas. Here are some beautiful textures and lovely quotes I found while on my outing. Stay tuned for the cremation pendants in a future post.

I love this quote so much. I feel it down to my bones…

From the same grave stone. It’s a sweet heart and fleur motif.

I should re-post this one for Valentine’s Day.

Another image from the same gravestone. I’m not usually into stars except the ones in the sky, but this one is beautiful with the leaf wreath.

A leaf shadow. Lovely.

As a metalsmith, I’m all about how surfaces change with age and weather conditions. Amazing.