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The day is here! I’ve been quietly working away on these for 6 months. When I first started these, it felt like Christmas was so far away and HERE WE ARE!
These rings are made of 14k and feature and assortment of precious gems like diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, spinels, and topaz.
I will be posting one a day to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas (early)! They will all be posted to my website on December 13th but if you see one you like, you can call dibs on it beforehand!
On today’s lesson of what to do with leftover stones from old jewellery you’ve had taken apart: make a stunning bezel cluster necklace and then find the perfect light to take a photo in!
I work with some amazing people! This lab-created sapphire was cut by the talented Evan Gross and the ring was engraved by Warren Smith.
This ring was actually for Evan and I’m honoured that he picked me to make it! I used an old silver ring he had and turned it into a signet ring.
You can see what Evan has in stock in his Etsy shop here, and you can see more of Warren’s amazing engravings at his website here.
Family door pendants: they can represent you, your home, or be a magical door into your own little world. I’m not sure what compelled me to make Ferin and her kids these little doors but I love them. (Hopefully she does too!)
At one point I wondered if I made the right choice (as I always do during these projects) but then Ferin posted a photo on her Instagram of these little gnome figurines she gifted her daughter. They move them around the house like elf on a shelf, resulting in endless joy when her daughter sees that they’ve moved. If they have little gnomes, these little doors have made it to the right home: one full of wonder and magic.
I first thought to make Ferin earrings but she already has quite the collection. She is a beadworker that makes beautiful earrings (see her Instagram here) and who avidly supports other makers of earrings . I settled on the idea of a necklace and from there landed on a door design inspired by cartouches (a cartouche is basically an ID made from Egyptian hieroglyphs). My idea for the cartouche came from some of the things Ferin explained to me about the significance of each piece of jewellery. Although this new-age iteration doesn’t spell her name like a standard version, I made it with the intention of representing who she is. Although our names identify us, it’s our experiences that shape our identities.
I wanted to incorporate another stone alongside the oval sapphire, but all of the stones she liked weren’t working with my ideas (insert panic). I searched for a stone that was a bit matchy matchy but also hit the earth tones she seemed drawn to. I picked a rustic sapphire that has a bit of browny gold that ties into the yellow gold elements of the pendant.
I normally only make one piece of jewellery for metamorphosis but I could clearly envision using her pear-shape sapphires in mini doors for her kids. Plus, the pear-shape sapphires were a gift from her husband and the yellow gold a gift from her grandparents, so it just seemed like the perfect way to pass down some family heirlooms to her kids who will one day carve their own paths, opening their own doors, whilst on their own adventures.
Multi-gem cuff
I knew I wanted to make Aleksandra a cuff from the moment she left my office. I had originally wanted to make a reptile-esque pattern on the cuff but in order to successfully do that, I would have needed to make a wax model which I didn't have time for. I tried carving that pattern into the metal but it looked terrible so I had to start the cuff over. I opted for a simpler pattern which actually highlights the stones better.
I'm always stressed about metamorphosis jewellery but this one was extra stressful. Once it was done, I couldn't decide if it was actually vintage-looking/vogue-ish. Also, she prefers white gold but I was drawn to making this cuff in yellow. Lastly, combining stones can be a personal thing so I hoped she would be into the purple and blue combination. Thankfully, it was a success and she liked it!
