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"Parade of Awkward Shapes" Ring

Tanzigrrl

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
744
Today is my birthday and this is what I received! This ring was handmade by my husband and my friend who also just happens to be his jewelry/metalsmithing teacher!!! My husband has been taking jewelry making lessons for a couple of years now and has moved from copper to silver and now, on to gold. This ring represents his first ever foray into working with gold! I selected these stones several years ago, actually, for a different project. There was once a “twin” to the ruby but it was lost in my backyard last summer while it was being photographed in the afternoon sunlight. I was originally going to do a 3 stone ring with the 2 rubies and the sapphire, but, through several reworkings (after the loss of the other ruby), I decided I wanted a stack ring instead that made good use of my stones, and so I welcomed the spessartite to my collection this past spring. This actually made for a much more interesting ring project as it turns out!

The marquise weighs 1.98cts, and is a natural yellow sapphire from Ceylon (heat only, no BE treatment). The ruby is a .44ct Burmese pear (heat only), and the spessartite garnet is a .98ct trillion from Nigeria (no treatment). All sourced from AJS gems. I have a “thing” for the awkward shapes - particularly pears - so when I was talking to my husband and his teacher Courtney (of the Tanzanite necklace fame: https://www.pricescope.com/blog/jewel-week-vintage-inspired-custom-tanzanite-necklace), I said that I thought it would be fun to put these stones together in a hand-hammered 14kt “rough hewn” style stack ring. Here is what they came up with together! Courtney says that my husband made most of it all by himself, but since this was his very first time working with gold, she supervised and made the bezel for the pear ruby.

I’m not the most sentimental person when it comes to jewelry. I buy, sell, and trade pieces frequently (except for my custom-made pieces). This ring is very special to me because the two of them made it together by hand for me, with my funny little stones that I chose myself, and presented it to me for my birthday. It’s very personalized and significant to me. I’ve named it the “Parade of Awkward Stones Ring” and plan to enjoy it for many years to come.

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NKOTB

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
2,116
What a lovely gift! It looks great on your hand! Love the sentiment, and the name. :) Happy birthday, enjoy!
 

JewelFreak

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 3, 2009
Messages
7,768
How cool can you get?? That's fabulous & extra special because your DH made it for you. Happy Birthday!
 

kama_s

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
3,617
I absolutely love it! Your hubby is a darling!
 

Indylady

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
5,636
Lovely ring, and happy birthday!
 

movie zombie

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 20, 2005
Messages
11,879
I like it a lot AND I THINK IT LOOKS GREAT ON YOU! :love:
 

indigoblue

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Dec 7, 2012
Messages
344
Gorgeous! And great story too. Except for the part about losing the ruby. Do rubies fluoresce? Can you look for it at night with a black light?
 

minousbijoux

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
12,688
There is nothing not to love about this thread. Amazing ring which looks fantastic on you. I cannot believe your husband is so talented, so creative, and so incredibly thoughtful. More photos please. :praise:
 

sfilly

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
21
I love it! It looks so good on your finger and I love the story behind it :)) so sweet!
 

chumleygirl

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Messages
102
Happy birthday!! What a beautiful contemporary design! Looks really awesome on your hand. =)
 

Rena7

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Messages
467
Happy Birthday. What a beautiful ring. That is such a special gift. Enjoy it.
 

marcy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 27, 2007
Messages
25,489
Re: "Parade of Awkward Shapes" Ring

Very cool looking ring. I like it. Happy Birthday!
 

Kelli

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 27, 2008
Messages
5,455
I absolutely love that, and I'm so jealous your husband is able to make something so cool!
 

the_mother_thing

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 2, 2013
Messages
6,292
Beautiful ring and such a special birthday gift! Congrats & happy birthday! :appl:
 

wordie89

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
572
Tanzigirl,

What a lovely bday present and reminder of your husband's love. Oh, I felt for you when you said you lost one of the stones in the lawn!!!!Yoiks. Good recover. Wear it in beauty and health.
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Messages
38,227
This is so incredibly cool! I love how the ring(s) turned out; the colours and shapes work well together. :appl:
 

Tanzigrrl

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
744
NKOTB - thank you! I like to name my pieces!

sparkleismyfavcolor - thank you!

JewelFreak - I'm very surprised by how far he has come in his jewelry making in such a short amount of time.

kama_s - thank you! He is indeed!

IndyLady - thank you!

mozo - thanks! It's not my "usual" style and it is a lot of fun to branch out

VirginiaZee - thank you!

indigoblue - the other ruby is lost forever, I'm sure. It has rained and snowed and everything since it was last seen. Since rubies are so dense, I know it slipped between the slats in the deck and landed below in a bed of straw. I did tell my friends that the person who finds it in my backyard gets to keep it. No one has seen it yet.

minousbijoux - thank you. I posted a few more for your enjoyment! :)

LoversKites - thank you!

sfillly - it really is a great story, isn't it?!

chumleygirl - it's odd for me to wear something this contemporary but I love it!

Rena7 - thank you!

marcy - I'm enjoying it!

Kelli - usually he makes what he wants to make, not what I would like made with my stones, etc. This was very special!

JoCoJenn - thank you!

wordie89 - happens to the best of us doesn't it? I can now say that I have lost a stone in my backyard and shattered a diamond. Moving along, right?!

Chrono - thank you - it's always hard to figure out what to do with a pear, marquise, and a trillion! Put them all together, I say!
 

swissmiss

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 4, 2013
Messages
234
Gorgeous ring!!! Love the name, love that it was lovingly crafted by your husband, love the colors, just :love: :love: :love: !!!
 

velouriaL

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Oct 21, 2004
Messages
1,178
I really love this. The colors, the shapes, the setting, the synergy. LOVE! And thank you for the process photos. I really enjoy seeing them.
 
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