Have never done this -- posted a "making of" thread -- but it looked like fun and the professionals did such a great job on this project that I can't resist! This was a custom piece with a stone sourced from Inken and amazing metalwork by Gary Roe in Maine. Inken was kind enough to point me in Gary's direction for the very specific type of carving/engraving work I had in mind.
It started with this spinel from Inken. I had been looking for a vivid orangish-red spinel in a cushion or step cut (with an entirely different project in mind) when Inken alerted me to this one -- while acknowledging that it was not at all what I was looking for but was still very cool. Definitely an unusual color and shape -- but I liked the "racetrack" oval instead of the more conventional oval. The color is not super-saturated and maybe even a hint of gray but it's appealing and even more so in person -- a kind of dusty rose outdoors and a more coppery color in incandescent light and, oddly, under fluorescent light, too. I checked with spouse and kids and no one felt it was particularly unmasculine (showing my insecurity here). And it's big -- over 5 ct and 15mm (!) across. Shallow but no window and well-cut and very clean.
I had admired Gary Roe's amazingly detailed botanical-themed, hand-engraved, Art Nouveau-looking metalwork (his IG is gary_roe_ ) and I was always struck that the leaves resembled dragonfly wings. (See this example below with emerald and YG.)
So I asked Gary if he could do something similar to this ring, above, with this spinel but stylize a dragonfly wing/body motif. He was super-excited about the idea and we were off and running. We each sketched a design and I sent him mine -- and we were on exactly the same page, idea-wise (although mine looked like it was drawn by an impatient five-year-old.) Two segmented bodies along the shank and pairs of wings meeting/overlapping at the half-way point around the stone. I was a little reluctant about proceeding because there is so much hokey dragonfly stuff that looks nothing like an actual dragonfly. I love nature and insects and natural history and it figures in my job so I did not want a fakey dragonfly. (I know they have a role and a place but it was just not what I wanted to stare at on my finger.) I sent Gary some inspo photos and diagrams of actual dragonflies and the shape and wing-veining -- plus some examples from an Art Nouveau jewelry IG of priceless museum and "private-collection" jewels that a PSer pointed me to last year (IG bijouxancienslyon). I did not need to do all this -- Gary was way ahead of me. He reassured me that he was "very confident" (his words!) in his ability to carve and engrave a dragonfly. And I don't think I said another word!
I initially wanted rose gold but he prefers his "royal" alloy and of course gave me the choice. I thought it might look more authentic Art Nouveau-y in YG over RG.
So my jaw dropped when he sent me these photos from the almost-completed ring (before mounting the stone).
I love the "architectural" look of the body segments -- they extended around the entire shank and meet on the palm side. And it contrasts so nicely with the intricate wing engraving.
I held my breath for the bezel mounting since wavy/wobbly bezels are a pet peeve of mine -- and could be super-obvious on a near-precision-cut stone like this one and with such long straight sides. I also briefly wondered if the ring was too "nice" for my funky-but-not-top-of-the-class spinel -- but he assured me it would look great with that stone.
Here are some shots of the finished ring -- showing the clean bezel first. All photos are from Gary and/or his IG. Only the last two mediocre ones are my on-the-finger shots. I love how it's "accurate" but not Gothic/creepy (in my eyes). Spouse is kinda sensitive to bug stuff and she loves it -- she encourages me to wear it!
And closing it out with a terrible outdoors-in-the-shade hand shot of mine until I can use my "real" camera.
And this wildly out-of-focus one to highlight the mirror-polish on the spinel -- the leaves reflected in the table are 10 or 20 feet away.
It was such a pleasure to work with Inken again on this project. Sometimes I think the best thing she does -- while she is painstakingly looking for some unicorn we have set her off in search of -- is find something we are not looking for that is at least as cool.
And what a joy to work with Gary Roe for the first time. So much incredible talent but also so much enthusiasm and so collaborative -- it was really fun and energizing. He just ran with it -- and in exactly the right direction. He kept me posted every step of the way (I omitted a few steps above) -- showed me the wax carving and then the casting after some clean-up but still pre-engraving (which was so incredible that I wondered if I should just leave well enough alone!). Then after the engraving and after the mounting (confirming the bezel was perfect).
Edit: I have no relationship with either vendor -- just a happy customer.
It started with this spinel from Inken. I had been looking for a vivid orangish-red spinel in a cushion or step cut (with an entirely different project in mind) when Inken alerted me to this one -- while acknowledging that it was not at all what I was looking for but was still very cool. Definitely an unusual color and shape -- but I liked the "racetrack" oval instead of the more conventional oval. The color is not super-saturated and maybe even a hint of gray but it's appealing and even more so in person -- a kind of dusty rose outdoors and a more coppery color in incandescent light and, oddly, under fluorescent light, too. I checked with spouse and kids and no one felt it was particularly unmasculine (showing my insecurity here). And it's big -- over 5 ct and 15mm (!) across. Shallow but no window and well-cut and very clean.
I had admired Gary Roe's amazingly detailed botanical-themed, hand-engraved, Art Nouveau-looking metalwork (his IG is gary_roe_ ) and I was always struck that the leaves resembled dragonfly wings. (See this example below with emerald and YG.)
So I asked Gary if he could do something similar to this ring, above, with this spinel but stylize a dragonfly wing/body motif. He was super-excited about the idea and we were off and running. We each sketched a design and I sent him mine -- and we were on exactly the same page, idea-wise (although mine looked like it was drawn by an impatient five-year-old.) Two segmented bodies along the shank and pairs of wings meeting/overlapping at the half-way point around the stone. I was a little reluctant about proceeding because there is so much hokey dragonfly stuff that looks nothing like an actual dragonfly. I love nature and insects and natural history and it figures in my job so I did not want a fakey dragonfly. (I know they have a role and a place but it was just not what I wanted to stare at on my finger.) I sent Gary some inspo photos and diagrams of actual dragonflies and the shape and wing-veining -- plus some examples from an Art Nouveau jewelry IG of priceless museum and "private-collection" jewels that a PSer pointed me to last year (IG bijouxancienslyon). I did not need to do all this -- Gary was way ahead of me. He reassured me that he was "very confident" (his words!) in his ability to carve and engrave a dragonfly. And I don't think I said another word!
I initially wanted rose gold but he prefers his "royal" alloy and of course gave me the choice. I thought it might look more authentic Art Nouveau-y in YG over RG.
So my jaw dropped when he sent me these photos from the almost-completed ring (before mounting the stone).
I love the "architectural" look of the body segments -- they extended around the entire shank and meet on the palm side. And it contrasts so nicely with the intricate wing engraving.
I held my breath for the bezel mounting since wavy/wobbly bezels are a pet peeve of mine -- and could be super-obvious on a near-precision-cut stone like this one and with such long straight sides. I also briefly wondered if the ring was too "nice" for my funky-but-not-top-of-the-class spinel -- but he assured me it would look great with that stone.
Here are some shots of the finished ring -- showing the clean bezel first. All photos are from Gary and/or his IG. Only the last two mediocre ones are my on-the-finger shots. I love how it's "accurate" but not Gothic/creepy (in my eyes). Spouse is kinda sensitive to bug stuff and she loves it -- she encourages me to wear it!
And closing it out with a terrible outdoors-in-the-shade hand shot of mine until I can use my "real" camera.
And this wildly out-of-focus one to highlight the mirror-polish on the spinel -- the leaves reflected in the table are 10 or 20 feet away.
It was such a pleasure to work with Inken again on this project. Sometimes I think the best thing she does -- while she is painstakingly looking for some unicorn we have set her off in search of -- is find something we are not looking for that is at least as cool.
And what a joy to work with Gary Roe for the first time. So much incredible talent but also so much enthusiasm and so collaborative -- it was really fun and energizing. He just ran with it -- and in exactly the right direction. He kept me posted every step of the way (I omitted a few steps above) -- showed me the wax carving and then the casting after some clean-up but still pre-engraving (which was so incredible that I wondered if I should just leave well enough alone!). Then after the engraving and after the mounting (confirming the bezel was perfect).
Edit: I have no relationship with either vendor -- just a happy customer.
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