all about Gowri...

I have a delightful client (who I now consider a friend) that has been more than patient about me putting her pendant to the side, so I could finish all of the wedding jewelry that I have been bombarded with. Well, no more! It is now ALL about that client. Nothing else is on my bench but her pendant!

Now... I have been taking photos while fabricating this pendant. So, here are the most recent photos... but trust me, it will move along really quickly from now on!


This was right after casting. The spru is still connected to the pendant...



... And this is after you saw off the spru. There is a TON of filing and cleaning to be done.



But I just wanted to say thanks to this client... because she's been more than cool about letting this slide.

Maori Koru wedding bands

As lots of my clients like to do, these clients wanted to have a symbol in their wedding bands specific to their lives. They had the idea of incorporating a Maori Koru (similar to a fiddle head fern) because they will be honeymooning in New Zealand.

Her band is platinum with the hand engraved Koru pattern...



... while his is palladium with the hand engraved Koru pattern.



Now, we decided on the palladium because it resembles the platinum, but is less in cost. Unfortunately I had NO idea that palladium is a b(*&^ to engrave into. It's honestly like a flipping rock! So, if you notice that her engraving is slightly deeper and wider than his... and that's because of the difficulty engraving into the palladium.

But I like to think everything happens for a reason... because I think the 2 bands look beautiful together! I feel they balance each other so nicely... her's being slightly more feminine and his more clean and simple looking.

Deco Engraved Wedding Band

I was approached to make a wedding band that would compliment her engagement ring. The engagement ring was very classic... a 1+ carat round brilliant center diamond with tapered baguettes on each side. So, we decided on a deco styled band that could fit snugly with her engagement ring and would look beautiful on it's own.


The bands are hand engraved platinum. Pretty sweet, huh?

Colored Pearls...

A bit ago, Kelly introduced to to Harper at Seams. Harper makes custom Wedding gowns and things of that nature... everything is made of the finest fabrics and to the highest standards. Her work is beautiful!

Well, she just opened up new shop in Wenham, MA, and has room for jewelry. And what do brides love more than diamonds??? PEARLS! So I'm going to bring up a few strands of pearls with simple custom clasps.

This is a strand of silver-green freshwater pearls with a palladium 'S' hook... strung on silk.

And this is a strand of pink-lavender button pearls with a 14K green gold clasp with a bezel set 1/4 ct SI estate diamond, strung on silk.




I've been on a pearl kick lately... I do love them! So, expect to see some more down the road!

flower engagement ring...

The flower engagement ring is finished!

The flower is really subtle, but it's there. Look closely... the bead set diamonds on each side of the head create leaves down the shank along with a tiny leaf with a bead set diamond is on the front and back of the shank. Also, the head holding in the main stone is not at the normal 70 degree taper, it has a slight 'trumpet' to it.

But the main thing is that we tried to make this 'antique' style because the main diamond came out of the great grandmothers engagement ring. We wanted to keep true to the original.

The main stone was a .6 ct mine cut with VS melee bead set around it, set in 18K palladium white gold.

whoa.

Seriously... I don't know what to say about these rings. Are they deco? Are the contemporary? Whatever the hell they are I can guarantee that NOBODY else in this world has wedding jewelry like this!

Do you remember this ring (or 3 rings) I did last fall?


So I just made the matching men's wedding band...



Now, you may question me on how and why I think these match (other than the obvious blue sapphire, yellow diamond and white diamond motif.) Well... lemme explain. The women's wedding bands are two arches that wrap around the center engagement ring... so we created alternating arches engraved out of the men's ring... and 2 of these arches were set with stones (just like the woman's bands.) Get it?



All together I think it's a pretty insane group of rings... and I mean insane in the best way... the most creative way possible!

But, and this is just my personal taste, I love the men's ring without any stones... just clean and simple...

can't do it all!

Sometimes I really wish I could do everything myself.

Like so many industries, it's virtually impossible to do EVERYTHING yourself. In the jewelry industry, some specialize in stone setting, others casting, enameling, repairs, you get my drift. While I have some knowledge and skill in each of these areas (some more than others) I will never be a master of any of these skills. A master is somebody that has been practicing their one and only skill for years. I will never be a master because, as I have been told many times from older jewelers at the building, I didn't start when I was 9... I'm sorry, we have child labor laws in this country.

Well, another speciality is engraving. I can do basic engraving work (straight lines in metal or random stuff in wax) but nothing really beyond that. So when I have a piece that needs a great deal of attention, I pass it off to an expert. Well, sometimes it takes a few tries to find the right expert!

For my men's China Pattern ring I needed a nice clean engraved line...


But my first attempt at having it engraved turned out like this...


As you can see, it was an unfortunate attempt. The jagged wonky line was just painful.

Ugh... I learn from doing. And at least gold can be remelted. I just wish I could do it all myself!

men's china pattern band

So, to add onto the china pattern wedding band (a couple of entries down) I have a photo of the matching groom's band. His is much more clean and simple, but it is still obvious that they belong together!

all together now!

Okay... you've been wanting it... you've been asking for it... so here it is! All together now!

Asym Concave Bands

I just finished a pair of Asymmetrical Concave Wedding Bands. They are Palladium 950 with a high polish. Shiny.

where's the love?

So, I've been working on piles and bunches of jobs (as you all know) and as I was cleaning up some castings I noticed something... every one is white metal! Where is the yellow gold? Where's the love for the yellow gold?


Basically, I had pretty much every form of precious white metal (that I use) on my bench today. We have 14K and 18K Palladium White Gold, 14K and 18K Nickel White Gold, Palladium 950, Platinum and last, but not least, Sterling Silver.

Now, I am a Platinum Girl. It's not so much that it's the most expensive, it's the fact that I love how it wears and the gun metal gray and the weight! But I also really adore higher karat yellow gold. Gold is inherently yellow... that's the color it is when it's dug out of the ground... and alloy's have to be added to turn gold white.

But with that being said, white metal is in vogue. The last time yellow gold was in HEAVY rotation in wedding jewelry in the US and other western countries was in the late 80's early 90's. But high karat yellow gold has always be popular in Eastern Countries.

With that being said... I do make the occasional piece of yellow gold gold wedding jewelry. Some of my coolest pieces have been yellow gold! I think we should bring it back!

Okay... all of those pieces are currently in my tumbler (which helps prepare everything for the perfect polish!) So expect more finished photos soon!

Crescent Moon Wedding Band

Another finished wedding band! This is the crescent moon shaped ring to match the antique style engagement ring. I know you remember that ring...


Well... this is the match band that will wrap around it...


I'll get some photos of both the engagement and wedding band together when I deliver it to the client!

Crazy Eternity Band

I finished a completed a crazy eternity band (see... I told you finished project photos would be coming!) Because the client has a very classic solitaire diamond ring, we could do anything we wanted! So, after a bunch of deliberating, we realized that she loved the pattern on her wedding china.



So we decided the way to go was one engraved line that is super wavy, a second engraved slightly less wavy line with three groups of 3 diamond, and a third line... barely wavy... that runs asymmetrical around the ring, all diamonds.

It's cool, huh? You've never seen anything like this, huh? I love it!