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.

Here is a lovely testimonial from a very happy client.

“I am always having to take my wedding ring off because people who see it want to look closer at the intricate detail and craftsmanship. It makes me so proud to have others take notice of the beautiful piece of art that is my bec wedding ring!”

The gold, rubies and diamond are all from my client’s discarded fine jewelry in her family. She sent me a bunch of old jewelry to get some ideas and instructions to use the diamond. I loved the little rubies in an old broken ring and thought they should definitely be part of the design.This ring was a collaborative effort between the designer and client. It turned out to be a wonderful piece. All involved are very happy with the results.

I encourage my clients to bring their old fine jewelry to use as materials for a new custom design. It helps the environment and hefty cost of materials.

My latest custom design for a client using her emerald cut diamond and yellow gold from her old discarded jewelry. Beautiful emerald cut diamond nestled in a hand-carved low profile bezel oriented horizontally. The shape of the ring from above has a slight octagonal look with double bands in soft planes. I’ve been making a few of these cutout rings lately. I think this one turned out quite nicely. Soft, yet geometric to make it just a bit different.

I just recently made a bark texture style man’s wedding band for a client that found me on my website. He had such wonderful thoughtful things to say about my work, I had to share it. It tickles me pink, to make someone happy with something I’ve made.

“Last night I received the ring and it is beautiful! It is better than I thought. The color is not completely white or yellow but white with a hint of yellow which is very special. And I didn’t even think about the weight. The ring is not light, it has presence and I love it. Thank you very much for making it for me!”

Bark Band is part of the Manlier Collection in my shop.

Man’s wedding band with a texture inspired by glaciers. Shown in 14K White Gold, using repurposed gold from client. To find out more about this man’s ring along with others, check out the Manlier Collection in the shop.