Silver Cuff Bracelet with Labradorite

I've had this idea to turn a ring I made into a new design for a cuff bracelet.  I finally got all the pieces to come together.  This is the ring that was the inspiration:

A sterling silver ring with rose cut labradorite stone that I made for a commission. I think this ring actually reads much larger in scale and thought it would translate beautifully to a cuff.  So I selected a stone:

This large labradorite cabochon -- 45mm (1 11/16")  high and 25mm (1") at its widest.  The blues and greens shimmer in the light.  I thought the scale set the right tone for design.  Once that was decided, I worked the silver sheet and heated and reticulated and textured and formed.  I added large sterling balls around the fine silver bezel and felt the cuff was really coming together.

I placed a few more balls for balance and the design was complete.  Set the stone and polished the bezel and baubles to a high shine and voila: 

Strength and beauty--I think it's a pretty spectacular piece! 

Autumn--Catching Up

I don't know where the summer went!  But it's fall now and it's been too much time since I last wrote.  So much has gone on--shows, sales, and events--with much more to come.  I'm back to weekly updates and goings on.  I'll share some of the commissions I was lucky enough to create this summer, as well as new directions for my jewelry. 

Here's a  selection of rings that I'm loving!  I call them bauble rings and are available with most any stone and made just for you! 

A Tourmaline Ring Rebirth

Here's a ring I recently gave a new design and life to.  It was inherited, and my client wanted to do something different--something that would show off the large, hot pink stone to its full advantage.  This is what we started with--yellow gold simple band with prong setting surrounded by tiny diamonds:

A shot to show the scale of the stone--LARGE!!!

We discussed some of my bauble rings and reticulated jewelry and decided to design something along those lines.  This is the approved drawing of the ring--featuring a bezel set stone, reticulated band, silver bubbles, and diamonds:

And the finished ring!  It's truly spectacular!  I LOVE it!

A few additional shots to see the whole design.  My maker's mark stamped in the band, along with the year and sterling (upside down).

The stone is set in a fine silver step bezel with an open back to allow the light to pass through and reflect on the facets. 

A couple of little diamonds from the original ring are tube set among the bubbles. 

A success story for sure!

Reticulation with Liver-of-Sulphur Patina

I love the look of reticulated metal and the jewelry I've made with it, but lately I've felt the need to play with it a little more.  So I thought it would be fun to really work with the texture by using liver of sulphur on the metal and then highlighting the baubles with a high shine.  The effect is wonderful!

This ring was the first experiment with the oxidizing effects of liver of sulphur and it's quite striking.  The apricot sapphire glows with the shine of silver surrounding it, while the blackened background sets a real mood. 

In this pin, I experimented with using less patina--I sanded away a lot of the black from the surface with steel wool, while allowing it to stay deep in the grooves of the highly textured surface.  I'm intrigued by the watery feel to this piece.

I'm loving this cuff!  The overlap, sprinkled peridot gemstones, and shiny baubles are set off by the blackened background.  I think this combination has a lot of potential and I'm eagerly looking forward to continuing with this new direction.