Road To Morogoro

[VapidLapid]

Morogoro Spinel, cut by Gene Flanigan. 20kt gold, copperless alloy, slightly greenish.
It is SO's birthday.I've been making this ring on the sly for two weeks. Had to get friends of ours to take her on a road trip for a day to get a block of time to finish. Managed even to make the box!
Now you should know that SO was a Sculptor many years ago, then became a welder for an aerospace company, then she taught welding at a high school. My idea was that the entirety of the ring should be covered with welding ridges. After all the work proportioning, fusing (there are no soldered joints, all just fused) shaping and sizing I went back with a tiny torch to create the surface. I believe it is a size 6 1/2.

 

[VapidLapid]

 

[VapidLapid]

 

[VapidLapid]

 

[VapidLapid]

 

[VapidLapid]

 

[VapidLapid]

 

[chrono]

Amazing, VL! Simply amazing. She would be so pleased with both the stone and your handicraft/workmanship.

 

[NKOTB]

Love it!

 

[athenaworth]

WOW that is incredible!!

 

[JewelFreak]

You made the special box too! Fabulous all around!! Lucky girl.

 

[alexah]

Wow - that is Stunning! Both the ring and the box... What a wonderful, sweet and thoughtful thing to do!! Just *SWOON*.

 

[ephsea]

Wow VL, you're really talented! The box is the icing on the cake. How long have you been making jewelry?

 

[PaulaW]

You are beyond cool! Really nice work all around. A true labor of love.

 

[LoversKites]

Ahhh this is so cool! I'm sure she will love it.

 

[tyty333]

Really nice! I love the color and the organic feel of the setting...I would get lots of wear out of it!

 

[FrekeChild]

It's beautiful VL.

 

[innerkitten]

I love it! The high karat gold colored stone combo always looks awesome.

 

[innerkitten]

Question. What did the metal look like when you started? Was it scrap?

 

[dk168]

A very unique and thoughtful gift, and the stone is stunning, thanks for sharing!

DK

 

[PrecisionGem]

Vapid, I love seeing how my stones end up, and your work is so unique. Maybe we can meet up in person in 2 months. I'll be in NYC, in the village September 13 for a puppy mill awareness walk we are doing. I think it's in your neck of the woods. See www.walkwiththepack.org for details. It would be nice to see your work in person.

 

[mochiko42]

It's a beautiful piece! Thanks for sharing -- it's fascinating to see the entire setting process step by step.

 

[VirginiaZee]

So pretty - from the ring, to the stone, to the hand made box!

 

[movie zombie]

hard to beat hammered high karat gold...especially with a pretty stone!

 

[makeable]

Very cool to be able to see how it was made. Beautiful ring!

 

[kenny]

Wow!
Too awesome for words!

Wonderful story via pics.

 

[texaskj]

So VL...when are you opening an Etsy store?

 

[mariedtiger]

Such a lovely thought, gift, craftmanship. I like the contrast of the gold and the purple spinel. The best gift in the world.

 

[michellechan2211]

This is such a gorgeous and sentimental gift <3 Well done VL!

 

[VapidLapid]

WoW, thank you all so very much for kind and generous encouragement!

Ehesea: I am always making stuff, all sorts of stuff. Back when I was a teenager I made Shrinky Dink earrings of every page from Songs of Innocence, and Songs of Experience.

Innerkitten: The metal started as 24kt casting grain and 999 fine silver casting grain. I weighed them out and melted them together. then I flattened the ball with a few hammer blows so that it would start going through my rolling mill. I used the square wire part of the rollers till I had a piece about 8mmx8mmx 1inch. Then I continued using the mill to get the rough taper, putting the metal through only 1/3 of the way or less and backing it back out, then reversing and doing the other end; all with frequent annealing.

Gene, I look forward to meeting you on the walk!

Texaskj, you are really too kind to imply that my efforts are a salable quality. I dont have any plan to open an etsy store. I like to work on whatever ideas come to me so I might not be suited to contract work. However, I might enjoy the JAR business model, even if I dont produce JAR-like pieces. as if!