#JOTW My heart by Van Craeynest

[Love in Bloom]

What an odd looking box. I wonder what''s inside....

 

[Lady Lulu]

Are you teasing us?

 

[Love in Bloom]

It was forged all the way on the other side of the country from where I grew up. Although I have been in love, I have been waiting a long time to see how my heart would look...

Would it be sparkly?
Would it be flowery?
Would it be heavy?

Will it look silly with my wedding dress?
Will my heart have character ?

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/13/2007 3:10:07 PM
Author: Lady LuLu
Are you teasing us?

 

[Love in Bloom]

hmmm......

 

[Love in Bloom]

I think it looks like a sapphire flower

 

[Love in Bloom]

Nessled in some golden leaves...

 

[Love in Bloom]

Being hugged by scrolls...

 

[Love in Bloom]

Dangling from a bail that is reminiscent of the shoulder of a knight''s armor...

 

[lyra]

Wow! That is absoutely stunning, and is sure to become a family heirloom piece. How beautiful!

 

[Love in Bloom]

...taking in some sun...

 

[Nicki]

Wow...I can honestly say that is one of the most beautiful necklaces I''ve ever seen. Such a wonderful, unique piece!!! Congrats!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Thanks Lyra! I''m hoping it will

 

[Love in Bloom]

 

[Love in Bloom]

 

[Love in Bloom]

Under the Pink...

 

[poptart]

WOW! That is gorgeous!!

*M*

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/13/2007 3:37:46 PM
Author: Nicki
Wow...I can honestly say that is one of the most beautiful necklaces I''ve ever seen. Such a wonderful, unique piece!!! Congrats!

Wow, thanks Nicki! I helped out a little in the design, but the artist(s) added the tiniest details I never thought possible!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Hey Poptart! Thanks...how is the job hunt going?

 

[ayala_jessica]

Your pendant is gorgeous LIB and very original ! I never saw such a design ! Congrats !

 

[Hest88]

Wow LIB! Soooooo, can you tell us how the process went?

 

[Miscka]

I love the intricate details! Stunning. We need a neck shot!! How big is it?

 

[Sundial]

What a beautiful and unique pendant! It already looks like a fine family heirloom. We really need to see a neck shot please.

 

[Skippy123]

Wow, it looks so romantic!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Ayala_Jessica - I so wish you could see the design in person...it is the most fascinating piece of jewelry I have ever seen!

Miscka - The pendant is about 20mm wide and 20mm tall; 28mm including the bail. I have a really heavy heart...it weighs 8
grams!

Sundial - Thanks you Sundial. I''m not keen on neck shots but I''ll see what I can do...

Skippy - OOooh I love that description. Lol, I''m hopeless, and my necklace is romantic...ya know what that makes me right?
Hehehe

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/13/2007 4:15:36 PM
Author: Sundial
What a beautiful and unique pendant! It already looks like a fine family heirloom. We really need to see a neck shot please.

I can''t get my neck shots to look clear. How about a sweater shot until I can figure it out?

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/13/2007 4:02:41 PM
Author: Hest88
Wow LIB! Soooooo, can you tell us how the process went?

LOL, I thought you'd never ask

First just let me say I am totally enchanted by your wedding set, Hest88. It is just dreamy!

So the story of how my heart came to be is a very long one, but here it goes...

Part I - The Mingling of Voices

It all started when I was looking to reset my engagement diamond and find a matching wedding band before my wedding this year (2 more months,

). A whole constellation of problems with my old setting had emerged. It had bead set diamonds on all three sides that fell out on a weekly basis, a poorly constructed basket of crooked prongs, and was resized using the wrong solder for platinum resulting in black bands on my ring

. After seeing and, worst of all, experiencing what poor craftsmanship was like, I knew I needed something durable but I also wanted something inspired by nature.


I was fortunate enough to be able to work with Van Craeynest directly because there are no retailers where I live (in the middle of nowhere). Oh how I long for the west coast! So I purchased both a wedding set for myself and a band as a surprise for my fiance ( The Elusive Van Craeynest Wedding Set ). The buying process was very easy, but the wait was, of course, excruciating. I would call Larry and ask him arsenal upon arsenal of questions about construction, design, history, basically anything I could think to ask him because I am nuts and I easily fell in love with the inflections and intonations of his voice (he has a really good one). I was also very interested in the whole die-struck/cold forged process

. He answered all of my questions and talking with him was always interesting...

 

[Selkie]

Whoa. Now THAT is a gorgeous piece of jewelry. Love the Art Nouveau look of it, and those sapphires are astounding. Did VC source them for you?

 

[angeline]

LiB, that is just so perfectly gorgeous!!! It turned out beautifully. What a delicious design, I am so jealous! Just what I need to throw me back into a VC obsession!

Can''t wait for neck shots! Congrats,

a

 

[Love in Bloom]

Part II – The Mingling of Ideas

Once my rings were done and my eyes finally beheld their effulgence, I looked at the world through "Van Craeynest" colored glasses. From talking with Larry I just picked up a new way of thinking. I was folding an origami orchid one day and found that it looked kind of like a heart. I added pleats to make the leaves stand out more and then drew a sketch of it to look like a heart. I drew a frame around the outside with some scrolls too. It actually started to look like a piece of jewelry at that time. I had also just seen The Illusionist and was obsessed with the heart locket from that movie. I even called and asked VC if he thought such a locket could be constructed. It was all very silly and I am probably the craziest customer Van Craeynest has ever had

.

I really wanted to send a thank you card and a gift, but not knowing Larry except for talking on the phone, I had no idea what gift to send. San Francisco has everything the middle of nowhere doesn’t have

…so I ended up just sending a copy of The Illusionist and the sketch of the heart I had drawn. My ‘thank yous’ are always quite cheesy

.

I rang VC to see if he had received my package. He had and I forgot about it until I called to ask about the finish on DF’s wedding band. By then he had watched the movie and seen my drawing. He even reworked my idea into a more exalted design and commented that he could make it for me. I was so touched! He addressed how the bail would be attached and faxed me a sketch of it. I thought it would be perfect to wear on my wedding day. I told him I needed something blue...