Cats actually are quite hard for me to carve, for some reason. I decided to give this Sphinx cat a go because they are so interesting looking and I thought all the wrinkles would be fun. I also was experimenting with the two-tone, 18K yellow gold & 14K white gold, something I don’t do very often. The clasp has an Australian opal and the clasp loop has a pair of little diamonds as well.
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fantastic tourmaline insect
I made a sketch a while back that I knew I had to create, and then I spent much of last year’s Tucson Gem Show on the hunt for thee perfect stone for it. I think I found it in this fantastic bluish green elongated tourmaline.
5.79ct tourmaline, and .12ct diamond. 18K yellow gold.
Continue readingcicada #2 pendant
We had First Cicada, yes, but what about Second Cicada?
This version was inspired by the spread-wing cicada and amazingly, my client had extremely similarly shaped stones. The pink and raspberry colored stones are tourmalines, and the rest are diamonds she also had lying around, as one does. 18K yellow gold.
Continue reading‘E’ initial pendant
Hand-carved initial pendant carved with a blooming rose bramble vine. 18K.
Continue readingcicada #1
What better muse for a fantastic jeweled insect than a giant beautiful weird cicada? They have incredible wing structure and a slightly robotic look about them. A perfect candidate to recreate in 18K gold and multi-colored sapphires.
It is no fun to leave the backside plain. The chain used for this pendant was an antique watch chain; we did end up swapping out the circular spring-clasp for another swivel clasp to match the other side.
Many more photos after the click:
Continue readingfantastic insect pendant #1
This dreamy full spectrum opal I picked out of literal thousands a couple years ago at the Tucson gemshow. Let’s just say that this was not the first time I was unable to pass up a stone… Lately, I’ve been looking through my stock at these gems I’ve collected over the years and decided it was time to make something for them. I’ve always loved jeweled insects, and the weirder/wilder the better, so it seemed like a perfect match: design a series of fantastic insects for these singular stones I’ve acquired over the years. Here is the first I completed: Ethiopian opal & diamonds in 18K.
Continue readingsea holly pendant
The photograph below, taken by Susie Dranit, the woman behind one of my favorite Instagram feeds, @bobandmarge, inspired a doodle that eventually turned into this pendant. Apparently, I have a thing for circular, wreath-like pendants, as this is not the first I’ve made that have a round thing going.. I think the pendant turned out so cool; I love making metal lacy. 18K
Susie sent me some Sea Holly seeds early this spring to try out! I got them started a bit late due to a random really late freeze/snow, but the plants are doing their thing and hopefully I’ll get some of my own feather-spikey blooms soon.
Continue readingphoenix pendant
Phoenix pendant in 14K gold carved with roses, and set with rhodolite garnets in the tail feathers.
fern + pearl pendant
Gorgeous blue Tahitian semi-baroque pearl from Raiatea held by fern fronds and fiddleheads in 14K gold.
Continue readinglab portrait
This sweet chaser of sticks was a very good dog. 18K.
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