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!
Making a statement- Sapphire and Diamonds
I love remodeling old jewellery and reusing stones for clients to make something fresh and new that they love! These two rings are part of these efforts—I recycled some gold from the client, and used their diamonds/sapphires to make these two new, unique pieces in sterling silver.
I love the asymmetric look, and the chunky feel to them!
How about you? What’s your favourite style? Dig through that jewellery box and renew those pieces you used to love!
Make a statement-- How I helped to bring vision to reality in earring form
I love doing custom pieces. It can be so rewarding bringing something new to life in collaboration with a client. I recently finished a spectacular pair of earrings. Some pieces are quick, and some are not so quick. These were the latter. This story starts about six months ago….. A lovely lady wandered into the studio with a fist full of stones removed from jewellery and a bunch of other jewellery that still needed to have the stones taken out of, and some quick sketches on a piece of paper. She had a clarity of vision that was spectacular! I did some sketches, and then we had a meeting. One of the first things she said to me was “I have big hair, I need big earrings”. Well, she got her wish!
The brief was for broken and run down wheels, incorporating as many stones as possible. These guys are massive- about 3.5 inches long! With some pretty big stones. The challenge was to incorporate lots of stones, but still keep them wearable. In the end, I suggested extending the wheels a bit, to incorporate a cluster of stones on a post, this allowed me to make them so that the stick and wheel units could be taken off the clusters, making the earrings more versatile. So, the client can wear the clusters as much as desired (because they’re a reasonable weight), and put on the dangling wheel on special occasions when she really wants that wow! factor.
Next, I prepped the waxes, and cast them (you can see them here with the stones placed. Each setting was done, and then I played a bit with the wax weight to try and keep the overall weight down. I didn’t worry so much about the finishing at this point, as I knew that I was going to have to modify them alot in the metal.
The stick units, ready for setting with their stones! I added posts and omega clips, as well as jump rings to the different units, and ate away at the metal to give it a distressed or aged look. Then it was time to have the stones set! Once that was done, I did some more work on eating away at the metal, and the oxidised them to give them an aged look. And voila! Finished earrings.
Mission Accomplished! These were so much fun to make, and the client was delighted with them. Diamonds and garnets and sapphires and topaz, oh my!
Do you have jewellery lurking in your box that you used to love, but don’t anymore? I can help you love it again! Drop me a line, let’s have a conversation.
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!
Giving old jewellery new life-Earrings
When you love stones and pearls, but you’re a bit tired of what you have, you can always have them remade into something new and fresh! As a goldsmith in Toronto, being able to create a fresh look through custom jewellery in a unique way is important. This client loves pearls, and she had these sets of earrings, one set was a bit dated, and the other two were four separate pairs of earrings in various states. She came in with a very definite idea of what she wanted: everything remade in white gold, and combined in a more pleasing manner. As you can see, she got three pairs of elegant “new” pairs of earrings.
These pearl and garnet earrings had quite dated look, and they were okay in yellow gold, but not in the client’s taste. I took the earrings apart, recycled the yellow gold as a credit against the order, and remade the earrings in white gold, with a new and pleasing arrangement.
These peacock pearls and amethyst studs combined to create a lovely purple combination of stone/pearls in white gold with omega clips.
Similarly, these grey pearls and white studs set into slighly more pronounced cups give this combination an elegant and timeless look. Also set in white gold with omega clips.
Have some things in your jewellery box that you used to love, but don’t anymore? Contact me, and let’s have a conversation about what could be done to give them a new lease on life! All quotes are free and no obligation from contemporary custom art jewellery or Scottish kilts!