Pictures and AI

There’s been alot of controversy about AI and art. I think AI is here to stay, and it’s up to us how we engage with it. I recently started playing around with a photo processing app - I admit it, I fell into the FB advertising, and got sucked in! Anyway, the app uses AI to cut out your object and then you can put it onto a new background. So far, it’s been great at picking up on the object and I can quickly place it on a new, interesting background. What do you think?

These were both taken just sitting on my wooden bench, and the transformation is pretty startling!

Wedding Rings

It’s so amazing when people ask me to design their wedding rings. This couple came into the studio with a pile of family jewellery, a very modern engagement ring and an assortment of old gold, along with a pretty well developed vision of what they wanted. These are the result!

14kt yellow gold incorporating some old sentimental gold allowed with new gold, and re-use of diamonds (again, from sentimental family jewellery). The quality of the stones was amazing, and the new design really highlights them, and will endure for ages!

The groom wanted a sand cast ring in sterling silver, set with this large diamond, and smaller diamonds flush set into the band, for an extra blingy (but subtle) sparkle! The silver was new, but like the bride’s rings, the stones were all re-used from sentimental family jewellery.

The joy that I feel when I get a comment like this:

“Robin we cannot thank you enough for all the incredible craftsmanship and beauty you have poured into these rings. They are so beautiful!!! You made the whole process seamless all the way across Canada!”

is indescribable!

Yellow gold brooch to White Gold Bling!

I love interesting custom re-designs of jewellery. This is one I did recently. The client brought in this sentimental brooch, with the intention of making it into two new pieces, this is one of them.

Original brooch

Now, she’s not particularly fond of yellow gold, and she’s not really what I would call very traditional, which is always fun! So, the brief was that she wanted a white gold ring, re-working the sapphire and diamond cluster. She said that she liked negative space, and I knew from previously that she liked architecture. She also liked the Diana-esque esthetic, and wanted something that would nod at the Princess Diana engagement ring. The sapphire was also particularly lovely in colour, but wasn’t very lively, partly because of the setting it was in, so I tried to do something about that as well.

trying out a wax element

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Trying out the wax some more!

Finished ring before setting

Finished Ring

Finished Ring - Side view

So, the final ring, with an exploded halo on levels, which allows some light around the stone, with a modern feel to a classic!

Have something hanging around your jewellery box that you’re not sure what to do with now? Let’s start a conversation!

I love a good story!

I love doing custom work with a good story behind it. It’s indescribable the joy I can get from helping someone realize a vision (even one they didn’t have), while salvaging sentimental bits. The client for this project came in with a broken engagement ring, that had been sitting in a drawer for many years (it had cracked down the sizing join). She decided it was high time to have it re-done. She also had a number of different rings from her parents and grandparents, including a number of other diamonds, in addition to the lovely trillion garnet in the original ring. After some back and forth, we settled on a spectacular statement ring, incorporating all the diamonds and the trillion garnet, as well as bits of gold from all the rings that were very sentimental for her (including the original engagement ring!). The rest of the gold was refined from broken bits that she had rolling around her jewellery box.

All the rings that contributed old gold to the new ring! It was a bit of a mishmash of different karat weights!

We settled eventually on a design of a Faerie Leaf Crown, of oak and ivy leaves— this totally suits the client’s pagan sensibitilites!

Once the carving was done, I cast the ring in two pieces - the base ring and the crown.

Here they are, fresh out of the casting flask!

Then it was just clean up, joining the two, and getting the stones set. The final ring was amazing, and the client loved it!

Here it is on her finger :)

Here’s a closer view, there are some small diamonds nestled into the leaves at the sides!

Got stuff rolling around the bottom of your jewellery box that you can’t part with, but wish you wanted to wear more? Send me an email and let’s talk about what can be done! this ring was almost entirely paid for with the sale of old metal that the client had hanging around.

New Custom Engagement Ring

Recently, I had the extreme pleasure of being asked to make my very first bespoke engagement ring! I loved being able to be part of this special event. There was a bit of back and forth with the client to map out the specifics of what they wanted: something bi-colour, preferably a green tourmaline, nothing too wide, and they said they liked asymmetry. I then designed a ring that incorporated those things, but also that reflected the recipient’s love of botany (aka gardening), and where the couple met and fell in love-Edinburgh. What I came up with was an inlay with Scottish thistles, a bezel-set green tourmaline and an asymmetric band around the setting.

Make it stand out

Rendering of the ring design in two different metal arrangements, and a test cutout for the Scottish thistles.

We settled on the main metal being white gold, with the inlay in yellow gold, and I set off to construct the ring.

Make it stand out

I decided to cast the white gold components in 3 parts: the main band, the outer band and the bezel setting.

Make it stand out

Cast components before clean up

Make it stand out

The white band is mostly put together, and it’s the start of the yellow gold inlay.

Make it stand out

The ring is all put together-just the finishing left!

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Make it stand out

Doesn’t it look fabulous on the recipient’s hand???

Getting ready to take the plunge with your special someone? Why not have something unique and special designed for the occasion-- after all, it will be with you for a lifetime (being optimistic!).

I hope this it the first of many special ring designs in my future!