Mothra by Leon Mege

[yssie]

@petrock<3 Thank you so much!!



@Resonance.Of.Life YES. A get together reprise needs to happen. One of these days!!

To be honest I’m still adjusting to not having this be a work in progress - every so often I’ll remind myself to catch up with Leon

Last yera he had this suite of light pink baby single cuts They were a shockingly reasonable price too. Long gone now. Still low key kicking myself for not stashing them. But I want a pink diamond band next, even if I have to settle for full cut melee



Thank you very much @Pinkmartini87! I went to that JAR exhibit twice, I’m so thrilled to actually own something that could keep *that* sort of company



@Calla-lilies Thank you!! On both counts!!

 

[yssie]

@CoolKat My Moth[r]af***ing treasure Thank you! ❤️



@Ibrakeforpossums I gigglesnorted, I admit it Thank you so much!!

This was my second custom request from Leon actually. My first was a band with lower-coloured single cuts - really small project. Back when I called in about that band he told me that there was basically no way I'd see the difference (compared to his colourless full-cut stock), so did I really want to spend extra; I said I'm going to be the exception to basically no way and yes, I did want the specialty stones sourced. And that was the end of that, and he made the band, and I love it and wear it regularly and most definitely do see the diff

So... When I asked about this piece he already knew that I'm the #particular sort. But also that... The things I ask for, I'm not just asking for the sake of asking, y'know? And for my part - I took final say regarding looks, for sure, but I blindly trusted his decisions on structure and function. Casing vs. hand-forging, gemstone selections, cuff width and depth, metals, ajour usage, motif attachment mechanics, I'm sure there are a thousand other things that I don't know about. OMG I can't imagine how painful this would have been for both of us if I'd been second-guessing all that stuff too, I did enough second-guessing with the aesthetics

He's for real really lovely to work with ❤️ Definitely opinionated, but he's got the expertise to back those opinions up, and outside of his work I find him to be an engaging, entertaining, and generous gentleman. I'd happily point family and friends (including PS friends!!) his way



@Eli22 Found another bug pic from the first bunch :bigmile:

 

[yssie]

Couple pics from yesterday evening - my very small Leon Mege collection

 

[icy_jade]

How is this not JOTW?

Anyway this is JOTY for me

 

[yssie]

And from today - I actually wore Mothra OUT y'all!!

Okay... Just over to a friend's place. But still. Up from Never Gonna Ever a week ago. Go me


Ignore the still-wet-hair-nest! I went with the most basic black dress I could find. And a very-very-nondescript carre eternity - which you totally can't see - and equally-nondescript baby bezel suds - which you also totally can't see. A little Mothra goes a looooong way...

 

[Tonks]

And from today - I actually wore Mothra OUT y'all!!

Okay... Just over to a friend's place. But still. Up from Never Gonna Ever a week ago. Go me


Ignore the still-wet-hair-nest! I went with the most basic black dress I could find. And a very-very-nondescript carre eternity - which you totally can't see - and equally-nondescript baby bezel suds - which you also totally can't see. A little Mothra goes a looooong way...

Yeeeesssss!!!! A black dress and Mothra! What else do you need?!?

 

[yssie]

How is this not JOTW?

Anyway this is JOTY for me

You're so sweet. Honestly though, I guess I can say this on the literal page six of this thread, between Leon not being a PS-the-business' valued vendor and the AGTA debacle - and quite possibly my own history of rather critical commentary of some staff contributions - I would've been completely shocked if this thread had been highlighted But that's okay!! As long as I get to keep sharing sparklies with like-minded friends, I'm good

Yeeeesssss!!!! A black dress and Mothra! What else do you need?!?

Coach cover for when the attention is a bit much?

Seriously though, I think this bracelet got more attention in one evening from thirty-ish people than everything else I've ever worn combined And I'm wayyy too wallflower for that

 

[Eli22]

@Eli22 Found another bug pic from the first bunch :bigmile:

TOO CUTE! I had a little ladybug collection from my travels (my husband said they weren’t coming with us on our last move- dust collectors he calls them…now I’m just replacing them with jewels. Who’s laughing now LMAO). So I’m obsessed with your ladybugs!

Here are some I found during a trip to Lake Garda


Love that you’re wearing it out and about! You can’t go wrong with a LBD and art on your wrist!

 

[yssie]

my husband said they weren’t coming with us on our last move- dust collectors he calls them…now I’m just replacing them with jewels. Who’s laughing now LMAO).

Oh he *really* should have foreseen this, that's on him

I'm afraid I've never had any especial affinity for ladybugs myself! I mean, they're super cute, but... Well, I feel like a bit of a fraud and I need to confess. Moths, on the other hand, now those I do have A Background with: Apparently when I was little I'd catch them and eat them. Much to my mother's horror - past and present. (And okay, I should explicate that I've not eaten a moth in many many years now ) I almost asked Leon for the looking glass' bread-and-butterflies, actually. Almost. I know exactly what he'd have said - "I'll do whatever you want me to"

 

[Neptune]

And from today - I actually wore Mothra OUT y'all!!

Okay... Just over to a friend's place. But still. Up from Never Gonna Ever a week ago. Go me


Ignore the still-wet-hair-nest! I went with the most basic black dress I could find. And a very-very-nondescript carre eternity - which you totally can't see - and equally-nondescript baby bezel suds - which you also totally can't see. A little Mothra goes a looooong way...

Jewel Of The Year!

 

[icy_jade]

You're so sweet. Honestly though, I guess I can say this on the literal page six of this thread, between Leon not being a PS-the-business' valued vendor and the AGTA debacle - and quite possibly my own history of rather critical commentary of some staff contributions - I would've been completely shocked if this thread had been highlighted But that's okay!! As long as I get to keep sharing sparklies with like-minded friends, I'm good

I know, but I still wanted to say that Mothra is more than deserving.

Always much harder for cs and pearls to make JOTW so you are in good company!

 

[icy_jade]

I think it was about mid-year that we finalized the butterfly: Four pear-shaped moonstones with pave surrounds and a diamond outline. We compromised on a size, too, somewhere north of Leon’s ideal and south of mine. (I’m *massively* condensing this story by eliminating the lion’s share of my angsting, just so y'all know )


(The 68000 down there, I turkey-gulped when I saw that but it wasn’t meant for me!!)





So things, y’know, went on. Leon sourced the butterfly moonstones, found the marquise body, moulded the wax, and sent me this photo:



And… How do I say this? It was not #LoveAtFirstSight.

What had looked lovely in paper on clay didn’t translate at *all*. Too big, just as Leon had said it would be. But it was also too cute. Too Too sweet. Like, cloyingly sweet.

Fortunately Leon also felt it was rather monstrous. To his credit he limited the I Told You So to “I was afraid you might like it” And as I was trying to explain what I was thinking - I was definitely rambling - he had this epiphany: "You want a moth".

"I do?"






Well, okay, yeah, that’s apparently exactly what I want. A common and declasse moth. Who'd have guessed.

In the spirit of embracing the declasse I requested the moth have a chunk taken out of one wing, like something had bitten it. “No.” “But it would add realism, no?” “No. I mean if you really want to, I’ll do whatever you want me to…” “No, I’ll l take your recommendation, we won’t maim the moth.”

(As an aside - I’ve come to the conclusion that Leon’s “I’ll do whatever you want me to” mostly translates to “this is a bl**dy bad idea”. “What do you want?”, on the other hand, seems to mean “I don’t have a strong opinion on this topic”, and “what do you think of X” means “you should really do X”…)




Moth evolution

The wax was hand-carved to introduce slight inconsistencies, and my friends and I were split in pretty much equal numbers on melee colour distribution so I left that up to Leon. He chose the most unexpected one - which (surprise surprise) I’d sort of favoured myself (most of the time)… But honestly, I really think any of them would have been stunning!!

This discussion actually made me observe the shape of butterfly wings more closely during a recent visit to a butterfly aviary…

 

[Tinkybell]

I am absolutely mind blown at the level of skill it took to pull this off! That is a museum worthy bangle! It looks beautiful on you and those earrings are glorious! Congratulations on this masterpiece!

 

[glitterata]

That is the perfect outfit for this astonishing jewel, and you look amazing wearing it.

 

[Eli22]

Moths, on the other hand, now those I do have A Background with: Apparently when I was little I'd catch them and eat them. Much to my mother's horror - past and present. (And okay, I should explicate that I've not eaten a moth in many many years now ) I almost asked Leon for the looking glass' bread-and-butterflies, actually. Almost. I know exactly what he'd have said - "I'll do whatever you want me to"

Omg not in a million years would I have guessed that was your connection to moths haha! Bread-and-butterflies with berry ladybugs would be a psychedelic twist!

 

[yssie]

Jewel Of The Year!

Whoa. Girl you’re so far outta my style league. I drool over the glimpses you share here. And this piece called you hither - heck yeah I did good

 

[yssie]

@icy_jade That is such a good photo of something very tiny!!

And samesies!! My last visit to a butterfly exhibit (not an aviary… The insect drawers at the museum, a bit macabre TBH ) - it was the first time I’ve ever legit paid attention. But yeah. I’ve swallowed *so* much trivia about butterflies and moths in the past three years.

Turns out body shape really isn’t much of a distinguishing factor at all I definitely think of butterflies as being more boxy and having fuller back wings, but there seem to be plenty of moths shaped that way too. So there’s a bit of #PoeticLicenseInHindsight there. But there are some actual differences that we capitalized on!!

- Moths have six legs. Butterflies have six legs too, but in many types the frontmost legs are super underdeveloped, so they look like they’ve only got four. Mothra has six, properly
- Most moths apparently rest with wings flat, whereas butterflies (mostly) rest with wings vertical and together. Who knew.
- Moths, they’re night critters, aren’t they? And moonstones are night gems. Having a multicoloured butterfly would really have ruined the dreamy peacefulness.
- Here’s an interesting one. Very early on I asked to have the front and back wings separated, front window raised a little higher over back. Leon was on board, but after talking it over a couple times we nixed it (in favour of keeping all moonstones on the same plane). This was way back in the butterfly plan days. Well, I later learnt that moths have something called a “frenulum” that joins front and back wings together, so that they act as one surface in flight… Whereas butterfly wings are decoupled and can move independently during flight. So - in some obscure and esoteric ways - were making making a moth right from the start, without even realizing it ❤️

This piece is my own jewel of the year!! If anyone had noticed that I’ve been more quiet than usual on the SMTNewThing front this year. The idea of having it finished just kinda steamrolled over most any other potential projects. Right call there, the reality of having it finished definitely would have steamrolled over most any other potential project

 

[yssie]

Omg not in a million years would I have guessed that was your connection to moths haha! Bread-and-butterflies with berry ladybugs would be a psychedelic twist!

Can I just say that IMO Anabela Chan is the queen of psychedelic done right

I am absolutely mind blown at the level of skill it took to pull this off! That is a museum worthy bangle! It looks beautiful on you and those earrings are glorious! Congratulations on this masterpiece!

Thank you so much!! The bracelet is definitely the centerpiece of my own personal museum, such as that is ❤️

And the earrings, they’re really special too. I didn’t do them justice in this thread. The rubellites are a lovely rich colour, and so saturated despite the incredibly unforgiving faceting - it’s beautiful material

That is the perfect outfit for this astonishing jewel, and you look amazing wearing it.

❤️ Thank you love!

I think this piece does actually look nice on, in-person. It’s very Big and Protuberant, but it’s genuinely flattering on the wrist. I have a few pieces that aren’t that way, they’re gorgeous in the box but they just don’t look nice on me - they’re not properly proportioned for the body parts they’re intended to adorn. Rings, mostly. I have a hard time with rings.

So at some point I’ll put some reset projects on the books. None of which has any bearing on these pieces, both of these will stay exactly as is for as long as I’ve got ‘em

 

[yssie]

@LilAlex So here’s where I ended up

The pluck foam perforations weren’t quite fine enough for this (smallest I found was 10mm increments) but turns out a plain ol’ block of polyethylene foam is superbly easy to cut, and polyurethane memory foam inserts keep the pokey bits well-protected.

Ugly as sun but is much more protective than anything ready-made; I’ll take the win

Thank you again for the suggestion!

 

[yssie]

Sin. Not sun. Sin is a word, phone

 

[2Neezers]

Mothra is the most beautiful piece of jewelry art I have ever seen
It’s gorgeous and looks stunning on you!

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

Phrase for this: f-ing spellchicken.

 

[Pomelo]

And from today - I actually wore Mothra OUT y'all!!

Okay... Just over to a friend's place. But still. Up from Never Gonna Ever a week ago. Go me


Ignore the still-wet-hair-nest! I went with the most basic black dress I could find. And a very-very-nondescript carre eternity - which you totally can't see - and equally-nondescript baby bezel suds - which you also totally can't see. A little Mothra goes a looooong way...

What a piece, and such an epic story behind it! Thank you for sharing it with us

 

[vintagelover229]

Holy freaking crap Yssie, i know I’ve been gone awhile but to come back and find this work of art that belongs in a museum is mind blowing. So thankful for your vision and his meeting to create this masterpiece. Wow wow wow

 

[LLJsmom]

You're so sweet. Honestly though, I guess I can say this on the literal page six of this thread, between Leon not being a PS-the-business' valued vendor and the AGTA debacle - and quite possibly my own history of rather critical commentary of some staff contributions - I would've been completely shocked if this thread had been highlighted But that's okay!! As long as I get to keep sharing sparklies with like-minded friends, I'm good



Coach cover for when the attention is a bit much?

Seriously though, I think this bracelet got more attention in one evening from thirty-ish people than everything else I've ever worn combined And I'm wayyy too wallflower for that

You dared wear that cuff among that many clumsy humans??? You brave soul. I guess you mean it when you say you’re gonna wear it. I wish I could see it IRL.

 

[Spring Day]

Ok, you're bringing that beauty to Vegas this year so I can just stare at it cuz I don't even think I could even hold something that beautiful in my hands without fear of dropping it. Or, you can bubble wrap me, lay me on the cushy bed, put pillows on top of me and only then can I play with it.

This is soo soo soo gorgeous, I am beyond words! You always have such an eye for detail. I loved the first rendition but the second is chef's kiss. I really love that you set two ladybugs side by side together in the end. Just WOW.

Side note- wonder why I didn't get a notification that I was tagged. I would have responded sooner. I haven't been on PS in a while, is this a glitch that's been happening often?

 

[caf]

Iconic! Bracelet is a work of art. Love the earrings too.

 

[Inked]

OMG, i dont even know what to say - this is beyond stunning. I was looking at it and literally got tears in my eyes!! Just absolutely incredible. I first saw it mentioned on the "hall of fame" thread and I had to come find it! I read what you're going through on that thread and then opened this up to see ladybugs and butterflies and it's all about renewal and hope to me and it made me so emotional! I am SO SORRY for what you're going through with your mom and grandmother. I am a CPA and one of my clients is a not for profit cancer charity and I just wanted to say that MIRACLES HAPPEN EVERY DAY!!! I see it! I am thinking of you and wishing you all the strength and hope I can send through the internet!

Again, this piece is just absolutely emotionally moving to me! Thank you for sharing it with us!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I'm only about 5 weeks late posting here...just crazy busy and so far behind! As you already know, I think this is an incredible original work of art! The butterfly and moth are out-of-this-world beautiful...it was interesting to see the inspiration flower ring. I surely would love a smaller version even though I don't wear rings much either!

This is definitely high jewelry, and I think if you had bought it at VCA instead, you'd still be paying on it! But it's amazing, and you have unbelievable patience considering all that was involved. Heck, it wasn't even mine and I was getting impatient!
It looked fabulous with the black dress. That's the perfect thing to wear with it!

(And yeah...Jewel of the Year, at the very least!)