I finally got to make an orchid ring! I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. Here I carved a sprig of phalaenopsis across the top, 14K rose gold.
I have a ton more photos after the click: Continue reading
orchid ring
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photo shoot!!
https://vimeo.com/260884774
I was invited to participate in a photoshoot! I’ve never done one before, so all the action was super interesting for me. The videos were shot & assembled by Glitch Films.
The behind-the-scenes video is also really cool:
https://vimeo.com/260884597
I’m even in it! I feel he captured my natural flailiness quite well.
More after the click: Continue reading
morning glory band III
Hand-carved morning glory tapered band, this time a little wider than before at around 12mm width up top. It is cast into 14K rose gold and set with little purplish-pink diamond accents.
I love how this ring turned out.
More photos after the click: Continue reading
tentacled earrings
A pair of 18K white gold tentacled drop earrings holding a pair of insane Tahitian baroque pearls. More pics below: Continue reading
double twisted snakes solitaire
Hooray for more snake rings! This was a fun one: two snakes in white gold flanking a center Montana cabochon sapphire. The stone was clear with a pale lavender tinge and a flash of orange across it; very unique. Two very small 1mm diamonds are set in the eyes of the snakes. I think I need to start making larger snakes because 1mm is not my flush-setting comfort zone…
I carved in scale texture for one of the snake’s bodies and left the other smooth for contrast.
More pics after the click: Continue reading
lilac ring
Lilacs in rose gold! The center stone is a lovely heart-shaped lilac sapphire, and the smaller guys are little light green diamonds.
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mermaid ring II
Mermaid ring revisited! This time the ring is a bit more organic and free-form in styling. She’s also in my Etsy shop as a customizable piece: choose your metal + stones & I’ll make you one in your size.
Lots more photos around the band after the click: Continue reading
calla lily ring
Calla Lily ring in 14K rose gold with a really cool blue-green Montana Sapphire. Annoyingly, my photo light box made this stone look really boring. Here is a video of it outside in the shade where it looks awesome and lively. The stone did, however, change color dramatically depending upon the lighting: sometimes more greenish/aqua, and other times more smoky blue. More pics after the click! Continue reading
tucson gem show 2018
Another year’s gem show is in the bag. I managed to break out of my usual AGTA/GJX “rut” and see some new venues. I spent close to three solid days on my feet from open to close, running on manic fumes the entire time, dismissing lunch (that’s for amateurs!), and sustaining myself with furtive bites of Lara bars. By the end of each day I would be a glazy-eyed dehydrated spazz. YAY! Man, I love this show.
The above lovelies are from a Holidome vendor. That is a vast and confusing venue with 5-ish ginormous football field-sized tents filled to overstuffed with largely gem beads and costume jewelry, though there were some good loose stone vendors for sure. I’ll make a post of what I DID actually buy soon. (Spoiler: I got one of those emeralds!)
Natural color Japanese Akoya pearl strands. I typically ignore Akoyas because I find the classic white “Mikimoto” style pearls a bit of a yawn, but these silvery blue-ish baroque guys were totally my speed. Please someone, give me a reason to call this guy up and order one of these strands!
Many more pics after the click: Continue reading
snake cocktail ring with different stones
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!
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.
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.
More pics after the click! Continue reading