I can always rely on this client of mine to bring me the biggest and coolest opals to design pieces for, and this Australian boulder opal was no joke.

We decided to “go simple” on this one, you know, just a simple bezel setting, maybe a little action on the shoulders. I thought some detailing around the bezel might be cool since there was going to be so much bezel, so we decided to go with an inscription: “Astra inclinant, sed non obligant,” which means in Latin, “The stars incline us, they do not bind us.”

Just a veerry simple piece.

Turns out it’s hard to stick to simple with such giant opal awesomeness in hand. (A frillion more pics after the click.)

This ring was inspired by a few different things. First off, a neat terra-cotta cup in the shape of a pointy-snouted dog caught my eye at the Getty museum in LA last spring. After that, I felt like I was seeing these lanky dogs everywhere: in illustrated manuscripts, old tapestry images… Then I had this diamond I bought on a whim just because I liked it, an unusual shape for me honestly. Marquise-shaped stones always felt very ’80s to me somehow. However, turn it to its side so it’s oriented East-West across the finger rather than lengthwise, and it’s a whole new stone somehow. Now it’s one of my favorite shapes. Finally, I just really liked the idea of making a ring with dogs on it, out of the blue and for no special reason except for fun. So I did!

18K yellow gold & a sunny .66ct M/VS2 diamond.

This original ring has sold; however, I do have it in my shop as a made-to-order piece and can re-create it to size & with a stone of your choosing (though this stone has to be fairly close to original size/proportions–all these details are in the listing at this link).

This was a custom solitaire made for a woman from the Portland area, but who would be moving away to be with her new fiance. We decided to carve a Mt. Hood on one side, and Mt. St. Helens on the other (two prominent mountains you can see from the city here). The stone is a really pretty, very slightly peachy pink sapphire. 14K white gold.

This was a custom piece carved for this pretty forest-green emerald my client sent me. Laurel/Bay leaves & berries. Nice tapered shape. 18K yellow gold.

Flipping gorgeous pair of 1.25ct diamonds set in platinum. Off to a very lovely couple.

Forest of Trees wedding band, 14K white gold.