gramma's ring

This was my grandmother's ring, it means the world to me. It's made with the diamond from her engagement ring and the stones from her mothers wedding ring. You didn't know her but she was very glamorous and had this made in just her style.

the 500 rings deadline is today!

Holy crap! I just looked at the calendar and the deadline for the Lark 500 Rings book is today! I know what I'll be doing for the rest of the afternoon.

(The RAW kinetic rings are coming, some folks are just a little past deadline.)

12/52 kinetic

sterling silver, 14k gold, quartz

We had our first Ring a Week challenge to create kinetic rings last week, many participated and I will blog all of those rings tomorrow. Here's my kinetic piece, the two gold balls roll around beneath the quartz cab, one is contained in a silver arc and the other moves around the sterling square post.

my revonav earrings

I've featured David Vanover (Revonav) in the past, his work is impeccable. He made my new sterling earrings and I love them, so elegant and a little sexy.

David makes them in three sizes and you can order a pair here.

He also made these fabulous earrings with sterling and polymer clay, the red dots are raised above the surface and add great dimension. I love them, what a talented artist he is.

11/52 regal prong setting

Phew. This one is late because I made the setting three times. I worked on it for four hours on Sunday and then broke it. So I spent three hours remaking it yesterday, forged the band and got it ready to solder, and then couldn't find the setting. ANYWHERE. Surely it's somewhere in the bowels of my studio but I finally gave up looking and remade it today, in about two hours.


The piece is sterling and I think the stone may be lemon quartz or prehnite, but I'm unsure. It has a nice silky look to it. I made the ring with 16 gauge sterling silver sheet and my handsaw, it's the most complicated setting I've made to date and overall I'm pleased with it. I learned a lot and know what I will do differently with the next one.

the jewels I wore today

Star rose quartz ring by Melissa Moloney, polymer and silver earrings by Revonav, vintage modernist bracelet by Henry Steig, turquoise ring by me.

And a little bit of mod jewelry history - this famous scene from The Seven Year Itch was shot in front of Henry Steig's workshop in New York.

featured: antique art nouveau

Gold, Turquoise French, c.1900

Naiads Ring from the collection of the Tadema gallery. In Greek mythology, the Naiads or Naiades (Ναϊάδες from the Greek νάειν, "to flow," and νᾶμα, "running water") were a type of nymph who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, and brooks. (wikipedia)

featured: gustav reyes

Gustav Reyes is making a limited edition of 50 of his The Beam Narrow ring, made of bent wood and finished with natural bee's wax. I love it.

featured: karl rothmuller

Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, circa 1904

Octopus Ring made by Karl Rothmuller of Germany, from the collection of the Tadema Gallery.

10/52 turquoise

sterling silver, stone mountain turquoise

This stone is a super special piece of untreated turquoise from the Stone Mountain mine in Nevada and I wanted to protect it so I chose this setting over a thin bezel. I have only made a setting like this once in the past and I have a lot to learn.

featured: zelda bauchampet

Handscapes
sterling silver

Scandinavian designer Zelda Bauchampet made these wonderful and whimsical landscape rings. Her website is down right now, but will hopefully be back up soon.

featured: carrie bilbo

Silver, 24k gold plated bronze, sapphire

Cone Rings by Carrie Bilbo - YUMM!

featured: kim rawdin

18k gold, Opal, Diamond

A GORGEOUS piece by Kim Rawdin.

the jewelry i wear

This month EtsyMetal members are writing about the jewelry we sport outside of our own pieces as well as what we collect. Many of you already know that I collect vintage modernist jewelry and I love wearing it. I also wear a lot of work by metalsmith friends, one of my favorite and most dear pieces is a locket made for me by Norsola Jonson, I blogged about it at the bottom of this post. Today I want to show you some of the pieces I wear regularly, we'll start with a few made by friends.

star rose quartz and sterling silver
Melissa Moloney

This is actually a new piece but I know I'll be wearing it daily for a long time, it's really special. Melissa dug the rose quartz herself at the Hogg mine in Georgia, the stone has an amazing 6 pointed star that I wasn't able to catch on camera, it glows from within. I always thought jewelry and stones carried magic power when I was a kid and this ring gives me that old feeling.

Double Wish Necklace
Victoria Takahashi

My friend Victoria made this piece with stones she collected in her home state of Washington. I wear it all the time, I love that it's articulated and moves as I do. The small pins in the chain on the right are such a special touch - even the clasp is beautiful.

sterling silver bracelet
Tootsie Bell

Memphis jeweler Tootsie Bell made this bracelet years ago, I love the design and it fits me like a glove. I doubt I will ever find or make a cuff I like more. I mainly wear it alone, but it also looks great stacked with other bracelets.

silver, chrysoprase
Sweden, 1954

As for vintage jewelry, I wear this ring A LOT, chrysoprase is one of my favorite stones.



sterling silver, eilat stone
Israel, circa 1970

This large piece has been a favorite for years, the stone is huge and magnificent. Eilat is the national stone of Israel, it's a mixture of chrysocolla, turquoise, and malachite.

sterling silver, turquoise, lapis lazuli
Tono of Taxco, Mexico, circa 1980

I am so in love with this bracelet. Inlaid turquoise and lapis in an amazing organic design, it's over one inch wide.

sterling silver

This amazing hand forged piece is fully marked, but I can't find any info on the maker. It is beautifully and skillfully made, it weighs two ounces.


In addition to mod pieces I also collect vintage and contemporary Native American jewelry, these are some of my favorites. The largest pendant is nearly three inches long and holds the prettiest piece of variscite I have ever seen.

I love jewelry!!! Check out what my EtsyMetal friends like to collect and wear:

Rebecca Bogan

Nodeform
Inbar Bareket
Twigs and Heather
2Roses
Quercus Silver
Beth Cyr
Michele Grady

9/52 agate

fortification agate, sterling silver

This gorgeous agate was cut by my friend Beth Day, she does great work and she taught me how to cut my first cabochon. I plan to make a stand for this ring at some point so that it can be displayed when not worn, or maybe a display the holds several rings.