Category Archives: Rings

tanzanite and poppy solitaire

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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.

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hattaras point wedding bands

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Hattaras Point wedding bands, custom carveed

These wedding rings were really interesting and fun rings to carve. The groom was from Hatteras Island, NC and wanted his ring to have the types of waves seen off Hatteras Point carved around his band. There seems to be something of a convergence zone with two currents coming together and so the waves often come up into little splashing peaks. A photographer named Daniel Pullen has a series of photos of these waves in his “Cape Point” section.

For the bride’s ring, we did a more of a swirling stream with leaves floating along. Both rings are 14K gold.

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scattered ginkgo & diamonds

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Custom carved ginkgo leaves and pear diamond ring

This was a ring using the center diamond from my client’s maternal grandmother, and the side stones came from her paternal grandmother. I’ve never made this ring using anything but a round center stone, but the pear shape seemed like it would work all right so we went for it.

And I love how it turned out. The shape really is perfect in this ring. I really love to put together a ring with antique or sentimental family stones; it’s fun to muse about where the stones might have come from, all they might have seen, and having them together in a new piece is a nice reminder of the women from whom they came.

Custom carved ginkgo leaves and pear diamond ring

And of course ginkgo leaves are one of the best design motifs ever—interesting biological history + aesthetically pleasing = a perfect combination.

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crowned heart + dancing ladies

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Crowned heart + dancing girls custom carved ring, black diamond + rose-cut diamonds

Epic Crowned Heart & Dancing Ladies ring featuring an amazing 6.86ct 14mm+ black diamond heart, a tidy passel of rose-cut diamonds, an Old European cut diamond, and a little ruby. This ring was designed around this cool black heart and went through a lot of iterations en route to the finish line. It was so worth it—it turned out SO nicely!

Crowned heart + dancing girls custom carved ring, black diamond + rose-cut diamonds

Crowned heart + dancing girls custom carved ring, black diamond + rose-cut diamonds

Here’s a video of that stone in action too; it’s a glitter monster.

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epic snake cocktail ring

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14K snake cocktail ring + boulder opal & OEC diamond

More snake rings: BIGGER snake rings. This ring I carved around a sweet boulder opal I just couldn’t pass up because I thought it was like looking down upon a little tropical inlet, like maybe in the Baja perhaps, specifically around here… I got a nice little Old European cut antique diamond to accent the piece and finished it up a couple of weeks ago! LOVE how it turned out. I was hard pressed to let it go, and honestly, if it weren’t one of my favorite clients who bought it, I may have had to keep it myself.

This is, however, a new studio piece and I can customize (different stones, change up the diamond, 14K, 18K white or yellow gold, etc.) and adjust for size. It’s now listed in my Etsy shop!

14K snake cocktail ring + Boulder opal & OEC diamond

See how amazing this ring is? It makes even my ratty old studio sweatshirt look chic! (I kid.)

The other ring in this photo is my Coiled Snake Solitaire—also available in the Etsy shop.

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tapered poppy band

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Poppy Band wax-carving

Completed wax carving for my tapered poppy band.

18K carved poppy wedding band

And the finished ring in 18K white gold! I love this ring!

I made this design as a replacement for a customer who was finding the evenly wide, fully carved-all-the-way-around band uncomfortable between her fingers. The tapered shape is perfect because you get lots of carved action up top, but the underneath is smooth, uncarved, and comfortable when you close your fingers. I kept the sides fairly low-action but still detailed.

18K Carved Poppy Band + Rose Bramble Ring

Oh hey. I see it pairs nicely with the 12mm wide rose bramble band. Figures.

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