Monthly Archives: January 2018

snake cocktail ring with different stones

Hand-carved snake cocktail ring with a smoky black opal and OEC diamond, 14K gold

It has been really fun to see how this ring transforms with each new and totally different stone I make it with. I’ve been lucky enough to get to try it with the original boulder opal of course, this glossy and awesome smoky semi-black Lightning Ridge opal, an insanely gorgeous carnelian that looked like jelly candy, and a gorgeous white opal with a flash of turquoise running through it. I love the different vibes each stone lends this ring. I’m ready to make more!

Hand-carved snake cocktail ring with Carnelian and OEC diamond, 14K gold

This is the nicest carnelian I’ve ever seen; it is all natural color and actually the original stone was larger and I had it cut down to fit this setting. The diamonds in this and the smoky black opal above are both antique Old European Cut diamonds.

Hand-carved snake cocktail ring with opal and paraiba tourmaline, 14K gold

Pairing a bright green-blue paraiba tourmaline with this opal was a brilliant idea. It looked so good against the yellow gold and really brought the blue and green flashes out of the opal.

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tanzanite and poppy solitaire

Hand-carved Tanzanite solitaire with poppy motif, 18K

Giant oval Tanzanite set in an 18K white gold bezel solitaire carved with poppies! I gave this solitaire a nice prominent height, and carved poppies all the way around the bezel. I’m always up for carving my favorite flower, and this ring turned out so nicely.

Hand-carved Tanzanite solitaire with poppy motif, 18K

Hand-carved Tanzanite solitaire with poppy motif, 18K

Tanzanite is a cool stone: it shows slightly different body colors depending upon the type of light you view it in; sometimes more purplish violet, sometimes more blue. When it comes out of the ground, it shows three distinct body colors depending upon the axis from which you view it: blue, purple, and a reddish brown. The rough crystals are then heated to remove the reddish/brown color and you are left with a blue/purple stone that is what you typically see in jewelry.

MORE photos after the click: Continue reading

ATTN: Custom Design Clients!

Custom-carved jewelry

Hello!

I’m headed *very* soon to the Tucson Gem Show, where I will have the opportunity to purchase special and unusual stones for custom pieces. I have a number of you on my to-shop-for list, but I feel like I am forgetting someone! Please check in with me if you have not corresponded with me very recently regarding shopping @ the gem show for your piece.

If you are a new client and are interested in having a piece made using something unusual (unique rose-cut diamonds, colored stones, pearl, etc.), now is a really good time to get things cooking. I do have a lot of contacts for many of the stones I use, but nothing beats me being able to see everything at once in person and pick individual stones out of thousands.

Contact me at my email address: cheyenneweil@gmail.com and we’ll talk!