Tolkien was right, rings are forged on Mount Doom.
There is a side to making jewellery that no one sees. They don’t see the bleeding slices on fingers that come from a slip of the assorted and also very sharp tools. They do not see the white burned skin that can result from a soldering mishap (this does not actually happen to me any more… age, wisdom and all that) nor do they get to see the blackened coal miners face that ensues from a session of polishing. Sounds a little bit scary, but I am careful. I use proper ventilation and I am very cautious about the compounds that I work with but I cannot make myself work in a Haz-mat suit, and so I do get cut and I do get dirty (really really dirty). High glamour indeed!
I very much like making rings but forging a new ring does come with a lot of boundaries.
A ring is to wear: there are size and weight limitations, it must fit on the wearers finger, it should be comfortable and hopefully not snag on clothing. Creating jewellery that is really comfortable and wearable is very important to me. I like to make pieces that can really be lived in and this is one of the reasons why I most often choose to use cabochon gemstones for rings. Cabochon stones are smooth and when they are set with a full bezel setting the stone stays protected and it also stays clean. Nice.
The gems in this group of rings are a red garnet, a deep blue spinel, a bright green crysophase and a warm honey agate. None of these are pricey stones but they are very pretty all the same.
In this set of pictures is a “flip” ring that I made years ago. When I unpacked my studio boxes I rediscovered it. This piece is a reversible ring and I can hardly wait to make more! I forgot what a fun and surprisingly comfortable ring this is. You can turn the face of the ring from one side to the other or leave the ring flat to wear it as a pendant. I find it to be a very pleasing ring indeed (it needs a good polish though!).
When it was first designed this ring was going to be set with a lentil-shaped blue spinel… maybe it still should?
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