Monthly Archives: October 2016

ooak pearl drop earrings

OOAK rose-cut diamond & baroque pearl drop earrings, 18K

I don’t make earrings very often, but pearl drops are so perfect for them, and I love pearl drops. Also I love translucent colored diamonds and 18K gold. So, I made these earrings, and I love them! They are one-off carved pieces with a 6mm+ 1.23ct black high-domed rose-cut diamond in one, a peachy-golden 1.38ct rose-cut in the other, also just over 6mm with a nice high dome. The black diamond has a baroque golden pearl drop, and the golden diamond has an awesome Tahitian black pearl. The ear wires secure in the back of the earring behind a hook for security. These are located downtown PDX at French Quarter.

ooak 18K rose & baroque pearl drop earrings

Once I broke the mind-barrier with the above earrings, I went to town with these ginormous white Chinese freshwater baroque drops. I carved two little roses (they are both just free-handed, so each a tiny bit different) for these in 18K. I have a photo further down of the backs of the earrings so you can see the ear wire hooks. These pearls measure approx 18mm in length by 13.6mm width.

18K floral black & white pearl drop earrings

These little black & white pearl drops are dangled from little floral carved cups. Also 18K.

LOTS more photos after the click: Continue reading

Announcement: Christmas 2016 deadline!

Custom carved pile of 18K diamond Tahitian pearl rings

Hi all! That time of the year has crept up once more and I want to let everyone know that I’ll be accepting new orders up to the second week of November (Nov. 9th) IF you would like a by-Christmas delivery. Otherwise, I’ll be taking the usual couple of weeks off from mid/late December to after the new year and if you are not particular about when your rings are ready, new orders may be accepted at any time. Just allow a little extra time for me to complete your pieces. My email address is: cheyenneweil@gmail.com if you have any questions about a piece, and if you would really like to do your research, here’s the FAQ!

Thanks again for an excellent year filled with interesting and amazing custom pieces!

coiled snake drop pendant + tahitian pearl

Coiled snake pendant + Tahitian pearl 18K

More pearl drops! This time a ginormous perfect drop-shaped Tahitian black pearl with a hint of green and bronze to it. It’s held by a tiny coiled snake in 18K gold with an 18K gold chain. This pearl, the Art Nouveau snake below, and a few other pieces have actually been placed in a shop in Downtown Portland! First time for me to have my things in a shop. I’m a little nervous to see how they do, so here’s hoping it works out.

Coiled snake pendant + Tahitian pearl 18K

All sides of the snake are carved in full detail. More pics after the jump: Continue reading

art nouveau snake pendant + pearl

art nouveau snake pendant + Cortez pearl 18K

I just finished this one and I love it! I went full-on art nouveau inspired on this one and added a rainbow pearl drop from the Sea of Cortez. This one is 18K gold, and I’ll be listing it in my shop soon. (But send me an email if you don’t yet see it and would like pricing info.)

art nouveau snake pendant + Cortez pearl 18K

The amazing thing about these pearls is the variety of color in each pearl. Generally with Tahitians, you see one dominant overtone color, like green, or magenta. With pearls from the Sea of Cortez (a completely different species of saltwater oyster—different genus, in fact), you tend to see a variety of rainbowy colors: pink, green, lavender, blue all on the same pearl. Colors change depending upon the light, the background color they are next to, etc. They tend to also have a lighter bodycolor as well. I absolutely love them.

art nouveau snake pendant + Tahitian pearl 14K

I also made a version in 14K gold with a Tahitian black pearl drop. Yum!

I’ll be offering this pendant in 14K or 18K white or yellow gold, with your choice of pearl drop. The above two are ready-to-wear as is.

art nouveau snake pendant + Tahitian pearl 14K

Me wearing the 14K/Tahitian pearl version, to give you a sense of scale. Many more pics after the click: Continue reading

baroque pearl drop + snake

OOAK baroque Tahitian pearl w/carved 18K snake pendant

This giant baroque pearl from Tahiti was just so damned cool there was no way it wasn’t coming home with me. Because if its unique shape and overall spectacular coolness, I had to create something custom for it and only it, as it wouldn’t fit in any of my more “normal” sorts of pearl cup mountings, nor would a simple bail do it any sort of justice. Not surprisingly, I decided to go with a snake, as a means of feeding my several years’ long snake obsession, and because they are cool, but also because snakes are very forgiving motifs—you can drape and position them whichever way you please. Perfect for this blobular pearly awesomeness.

OOAK baroque Tahitian pearl w/carved 18K snake pendant

This baroque Tahitian drop measures an insane 17.5mm x 12.7mm. I really love this pearl; it has a gorgeous lustre and an incredible silvery oatmeal color. I have a particular affinity towards the lighter toned pearls—silvers and golden colors—over the more classic black Tahitians, and this one just kills me. The snake & chain are 18K gold.

This guy is for sale, by the way. Send me an email or check my Etsy shop for details. Thanks!!

Many more images after the click, ya’ll…

Continue reading