Do You Have a Favorite Gold Designer?

[AGBF]

megeve,

That rings looks incredible on your finger! I rarely expect a so-called "hand shot' to enhance the appearance of a ring so much, but on your hand the ring looks so much better than by itself! (And I love the rolling ring, even when it is not the authentic Cartier one, anyway.)

I am extremely envious that you have a husband who would buy you a Cartier bracelet. Even in the early years of my marriage my husband had to be cajoled into buyig me any piece of jewelry, no matter how inexpensive, let alone a piece by Cartier. He would certainly never have bought me something of his own accord!

Wear your beautiful new bracelet in good health!

Hugs,
AGBF

 

[Christiana]

Date: 1/9/2010 10:40:48 PM
Author: AGBF


I wanted to provide a link to a site mentioned above by Christiana: Zolotas.


AGBF

I''m glad you appreciate my taste, AGBF!

Both Lalaounis & Zolotas come from old Athenean families. They aren''t just common jewellers, they also offered a lot in art, culture and politics. Xenophon Zolotas himself was once a Prime Minister (for 6 months, November 1989- April 1990). They are both the most well-known Greek jewellers. For example, when the French Vogue decided to dedicate one of their issues to the elegant ancient Greek style -back in the 50''s, if I remember rightly- they picked a necklace and a pair of earrings designed by Zolotas for their cover.

Other great Greek jewellers, that might not be as well-known, are Stavros Papadopoulos, Vourakis, Iosif (a very young and innovative man, a real artist, if you ask me), Michalis and Costas Kessaris. Also, Thallo, who uses dried flowers and covers them with gold, a very special technique. I''m sure you haven''t seen anything like this before. Check them out

 

[Christiana]

Date: 1/9/2010 3:23:51 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 1/9/2010 12:19:01 PM
Author: Christiana

Since we''re talking about yellow gold:

My all-time favorite designers are Zolotas and Ilias Lalaounis. Their jewels are mainly inspired by ancient Greece.

I started out by visiting the website of Ilias Lalounis. It is a great website. I particularly enjoyed the photographs of how their artisans work with 22K gold to do granulations and weaving. If this link doesn''t take you directly to the area that shows it, look around the site a bit. It is worth looking for. Thank you for pointing out this jeweler, Christiana. I never really loved granulated jewelry, but seeing how it is done makes me appreciate it!

AGBF

Wow!

They updated their site!! Where have I been?

Thank you so much for the link!!

The Minoan & Hellenistic pieces are to die for!!

 

[Christiana]

Date: 1/9/2010 10:35:10 PM
Author: tradergirl
Yes to both. Probably going with the Greek head. The other is kinda masculine looking.

Tradergirl, I like both, but I like the Greek head more. I guess it''s because of the orange stones, they just make it more impressive. Any idea what kind of stones are these?

 

[chrono]

A 22K pendant commissioned as a wedding gift.

 

[chrono]

Against a dark background.

 

[AGBF]

I did a search for 22K gold on Etsy today and found these necklaces by a vendor called stonecraft whom I had never noticed before. I thought that this website needed a link in this gold thread! I haven't explored it yet, myself, so I am going back to do that now!

AGBF

 

[Rachel9]

Beautiful pieces, is that a Calla Lily? I really like it.

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/19/2010 12:32:50 PM
Author: Rachel9
Beautiful pieces, is that a Calla Lily? I really like it.

I have no idea what flower it is supposed to be, but thank you, Rachel.

 

[Rachel9]

You are welcome Chrono

Do not mean to scare anyone with this post, hmm a 24k gardenia

.....CarolynTyler made this for me in '94 that girl isn't shy, everything she makes is oversized. Love her earrings though

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Always more gorgeous gold pieces to oogle--thanks for sharing, all!

cheers--Sharon

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/19/2010 9:33:01 AM
Author: Chrono

Against a dark background.

It's beautiful, Chrono. All the postings have become very mixed up and I cannot see what I want to as I write. I believe you said that this was commissioned as a wedding gift for you. (I will have to go back and look after I have posted.) I love its richness and solidity. How big is it?

AGBF

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/19/2010 4:43:38 PM
Author: Rachel9
You are welcome Chrono

Do not mean to scare anyone with this post, hmm a 24k gardenia

.....CarolynTyler made this for me in ''94 that girl isn''t shy, everything she makes is oversized. Love her earrings though

A substantial piece with a lot of fine filligree work!

It comes with matching earrings too?

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/19/2010 8:06:15 PM
Author: AGBF
It''s beautiful, Chrono. All the postings have become very mixed up and I cannot see what I want to as I write. I believe you said that this was commissioned as a wedding gift for you. (I will have to go back and look after I have posted.) I love its richness and solidity. How big is it?

AGBF

Deb,
Thank you. Correct, my late grandmother commissioned this as a wedding gift to me. The height of the piece is about equal to a quarter (US coin for those who are unfamiliar) and so is a decent sized pendant.

 

[Rachel9]

Date: 1/19/2010 9:25:43 PM
Author: Chrono

A substantial piece with a lot of fine filligree work!

It comes with matching earrings too?

Nope

too much for me [66gr pendant alone] shocked with it's size still, decided to keep it since she was going to stop the 24k production. A year later I ordered a pearl bracelet in 21k from her, delicate enough to wear.

* What a wonderful gift from your grandmother how neatl!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/19/2010 9:31:06 PM
Author: Chrono

Thank you. Correct, my late grandmother commissioned this as a wedding gift to me. The height of the piece is about equal to a quarter (US coin for those who are unfamiliar) and so is a decent sized pendant.

I can see it in my mind's eye now, Chrono. It was a truly lovely gift. I do think that it is a lily of some kind. I don't think there can be any doubt about that. The flower is long and graceful and looks exactly like a lily. One can see the detail clearly. I am not a flower expert, though, and I would never have been able to distinguish a Calla Lily from any other lily!

Deb/AGBF

 

[AGBF]

Chrono, I got curious and looked up lilies on-line. This photo of an Easter Lily looked like the flower represented in your pendant (at least to me). (Calla Lilies appear to have only one stamen and the flower on your pendant has two.)

AGBF

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/20/2010 8:58:14 AM
Author: AGBF


Chrono, I got curious and looked up lilies on-line. This photo of an Easter Lily looked like the flower represented in your pendant (at least to me). (Calla Lilies appear to have only one stamen and the flower on your pendant has two.)

AGBF

Deb,
It actually has 3 stamens; I broke the longest one in the middle.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/20/2010 9:48:13 AM
Author: Chrono

Date: 1/20/2010 8:58:14 AM
Author: AGBF


Chrono, I got curious and looked up lilies on-line. This photo of an Easter Lily looked like the flower represented in your pendant (at least to me). (Calla Lilies appear to have only one stamen and the flower on your pendant has two.)

AGBF

Deb,
It actually has 3 stamens; I broke the longest one in the middle.

Hmmm. I don''t think that that means it cannot be an Easter Lily. I think that it means that you have to be careful with your stamens . 22K stamens are not a dime a dozen, Chrono, dear.

Deb/AGBF

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/19/2010 4:43:38 PM
Author: Rachel9

Do not mean to scare anyone with this post, hmm a 24k gardenia

.....CarolynTyler made this for me in '94 that girl isn't shy, everything she makes is oversized. Love her earrings though

Nice stamens, Rachel. I like the size. I mean, the more gold the better! Now who is Carolyn Tyler? Have you spoken of her before? (Memory like a steel colander here.) I shall take a look back.

AGBF

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/20/2010 12:40:01 PM
Author: AGBF


Now who is Carolyn Tyler? Have you spoken of her before? (Memory like a steel colander here.) I shall take a look back.

OK. I did look back in the thread and although I may have missed it, I did not see any mention of Carolyn Tyler, so I looked her up on the ''net. When I saw her website I was sure of one thing, that if I had ever visited it before (which is possible, although not probable), I had never seen her gold wedding bands before! I would never have forgotten them! They are just gorgeous beyond belief! And with my new appreciation of granulation techniques, I love them all the more! Take a look here. (If you do not land on the wedding bands, navigate around until you find them!)

I happen to have ordered a 24K gold satin wedding band (2.5mm in width) and a pair of 4mm 24K earrings from a vendor on Etsy today. I already have (and wear daily) a 24K hammered gold wedding band that is about 2mm in width. Those wedding bands are just the kind of thin, simple band I like!

AGBF

 

[Rachel9]

Glad you looked her up. Due to my weird personality I seldom throw in names

Carolyn was one of the few willing to melt gold I brought from overseas. Loved the fact that she didn't use wax/casting, 100% handmade, for those reading, take a minute to check out her enamel if you like color blended w/high karat. Haven't spoken to her in years, last I heard she was extending to silver and adding huge [her usual] gems to rich gold, still doing private showings.
Glad you liked her.......If you ladies want, I could reach out for some her pieces for you.
Congrats on your purchase now.......I WANT a hammered band

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/20/2010 1:33:53 PM
Author: Rachel9

Congrats on your purchase now.......I WANT a hammered band

Well, then you should get one! I almost got the satin one I just mentioned from dianafinejewels on EBay, where I could have gotten one for a fraction of the cost of the one I am having made on Etsy. (I believe that my hammered gold ring was from one of the eBay vendors in Turkey.) The only reason I did not was that while I was corresponding with dianafinejewels I was not sure that they understood English well enough to give me the correct size. I probably underestimated them; after all a ring size isn't that hard to understand, but I was worried. (I had never used the relatively new dianafinejewels before.) I might have gotten the hammered ring from Atlantis (Turkish vendor selling on eBay) or maybe it's a Gurhan one I got from minata.

AGBF

The rings pictured below are from dianafinejewels and are sold on eBay.

 

[coati]

Date: 1/12/2010 7:50:52 AM
Author: megeve
to match the trinity ring which I have already......

megeve-you have a stunning collection!!

...you hooked me awhile back with that ping-pong ball of a pearl

 

[coati]

Date: 10/20/2009 2:08:54 PM
Author: canuk-gal
HI:


Once again I can delighted with Signed Pieces. Took advantage of their latest sale and picked up two items: Cartier Trinity ring with diamond, sapphires and rubies and a rose gold Gehry Torque Bangle. Both in 18K. I should have taken Heather's advice and bought the whole lot of bangles---oh well, next time....

.


cheers--Sharon

Sharon-yer killin' me! Gorgeous pieces!
Well done, lady! I adore your entire collection.

(I've got some gold to share...in due time..)
I don't wear white metal anymore, (engagement ring notwithstanding) so you could say I've been collecting...and resetting mwah ha haaaaaa

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 1/24/2010 2:10:36 PM
Author: coatimundi

Date: 10/20/2009 2:08:54 PM
Author: canuk-gal
HI:


Once again I can delighted with Signed Pieces. Took advantage of their latest sale and picked up two items: Cartier Trinity ring with diamond, sapphires and rubies and a rose gold Gehry Torque Bangle. Both in 18K. I should have taken Heather''s advice and bought the whole lot of bangles---oh well, next time....

.


cheers--Sharon

Sharon-yer killin'' me! Gorgeous pieces!
Well done, lady! I adore your entire collection.

(I''ve got some gold to share...in due time..)
I don''t wear white metal anymore, (engagement ring notwithstanding) so you could say I''ve been collecting...and resetting mwah ha haaaaaa

HI:

Tease! Oh the torture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cheers--Sharon

 

[iluvcarats]

Date: 1/24/2010 2:10:36 PM
Author: coatimundi

Date: 10/20/2009 2:08:54 PM

Author: canuk-gal

HI:



Once again I can delighted with Signed Pieces. Took advantage of their latest sale and picked up two items: Cartier Trinity ring with diamond, sapphires and rubies and a rose gold Gehry Torque Bangle. Both in 18K. I should have taken Heather''s advice and bought the whole lot of bangles---oh well, next time....

.



cheers--Sharon

Sharon-yer killin'' me! Gorgeous pieces!

Well done, lady! I adore your entire collection.


(I''ve got some gold to share...in due time..)

I don''t wear white metal anymore, (engagement ring notwithstanding) so you could say I''ve been collecting...and resetting mwah ha haaaaaa

I am on the edge of my seat

...
Pretty please?

 

[innerkitten]

Those stonecraft pendants are very pretty but in general I'm not a huge fan of metal clay.

Chrono, I love that flower.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/25/2010 2:48:30 AM
Author: innerkitten

Those stonecraft pendants are very pretty but in general I''m not a huge fan of metal clay.

innerkitten, I have never heard the term, "metal clay". I am going to look it up. Would you, please, tell us what you know about it?

Deb/AGBF

 

[innerkitten]

It''s a clay you can buy in silver or gold. You mold it or cut it into the shape you want and fire it in a kiln and you have jewelry make of 22k or 99.9 sterling. I know woman who''s a potter and also uses her kiln to make metal clay jewelry. I''m not a huge fan because usually right away I can always tell it''s metal clay. Not sure why it bugs me but it does.


http://www.art-clay.com/gold_clay_type.html