A green tourmaline finds its home

A few months ago I wrote a happy post about how I was inspired by the tattoo artists for drawing my sketches and I wowed you a drawing of a ring which I had just gotten into commission. Well I thought you might to know what happened and so here are the pictures of the process. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to make good (as in well-lit) pictures of the final ring, so please bear with me!

Right, my customer had fallen in love with an amazing green tourmaline. No wonder. The color was seriously sumptuous and hence she decided she wanted a gold bezel for it in order to bring out the color to its max. 

Here are the drawings:

I started with a piece of 14 carat gold sheet, bent it to fit the stone (barely – with the bezel block you end up widening the bezel a bit, so do create a too tight bezel!)

  After working it on the oval bezel block and a bit with the pliers to make a perfect fit, it looks like this

Then I sanded down the sides to level and ground out the seating for the stone with a seating burr until the fit was snug. Finally I sanded down the brim for an easier setting

I created the ring shank from a 2 mm thick piece of silver, which I filed to an organic shape. I fit in the golden tapered bezel and placed the opposite tube bezel for one of the white sapphires before connecting with the curl

After soldering on the last tube bezel plus a number of balls I set the sapphire closest to the large golden bezel was ready to set the big tourmaline

Here all stones have been set and I have brushed on some LOS where it made sense. I like using LOS for the crevices – where the silver will grow dark eventually and in order to give the shapes of the pieces a bit more optical dimension. After this stage I polished most of it away again

And here is the finished ring

This was a lovely piece to create, especially with the combination of the deep green stone and the gold. I have just ordered more green tourmalines so more to come!

What to do with a large cabochon?

Some time ago I picked up this lovely cabochon – it was green with a number of nuances and sold by someone who didn’t have a clue as to what it was. My guess is moss agate but to be honest: I don’t know. What I do know is that I love the stone and so it was time to give it a nice setting.

Now, the obvious choice is to create a bezel setting on a sheet of silver and then perhaps add some adornments. A lot of very successful artists do that, amongst these Jamie from Bella Bijou Jewelry and Tess from Nova of Sweden. It’s a good choice because it sets the stone securely, allows for a lot of play and is still comfortable to wear. So I set out to play –my own style obviously ;-)

First a few drawings, realizing that I preferred the stone to be placed diagonally on the finger to allow for a more smooth and logical attachment of the decorations. I dug through a lot of stones and decided to go for contrast: orange and yellow sapphires. 

I created the bezel from fine silver (just easier to push over the stone when finished) and soldered it onto the sheet – and made a mistake when trying out the fit of the stone. TRICK: when doing that, place some dental floss under the stone in order to easily lift it out again! I didn’t and so my stone was stuck! It of cause meant that I had created a perfect bezel setting but still… So I went boldly ahead and drilled a hole in the back of the sheet, holding the whole thing in a small vice (with air below, enabling the stone to move away from the drill). Of cause I created a small spot on the stone! However, I decided to go ahead and create, what I had wanted to do from the beginning: and elaborate backside. By turning the stone around 180 degrees, I hid the small spot I had created with the drill. I love backsides, insides and hidden sides to be decorated – just for the owner to know and admire. It’s your own little portable secret. A little part of the pattern that I sawed out, I re-attached in a different spot, creating a bit of depth in the design.

Meanwhile I had decided against the contrasting colors. Staying within one general group of colors allows the wearer a bit more room when choosing outfit and accessories, so I went with green peridots and white sapphires instead. 

Then it was time for the inevitable curl (hey, it’s me! Read this article on the topic)  and start arranging the settings for the stones in order to solder them on. 

Eventually, I ditched the last tube setting, soldered it all together, sawed off the excess sheet, filed and sanded and added 3 golden balls for just a bit of warmth to contrast the cool green. Then I attached the ring shank and worked a bit off LOS into the small crevices that would become dark eventually in any case. Besides: it brings out the details a lot better! After even more buffing and polishing, I set the center stone and was ready to set the small ones

And here is the end result:

It’s big and of cause has a certain weight to it, but I don’t find it overwhelming. The tilted placement of the stone on the hand lightens the overall design. It’s gonna be hard to part with this baby!

The wedding ring that was pimped into freedom

 My cousin is getting divorced.

She therefore has a surplus wedding band –made of 14 carat gold that she wanted me to change into a completely different non-marriage related one. A very simple and modern thing, with sharp edges and which used to hold a diamond. She lost that a while ago, so what I held in my hands, was the band itself with some kind of crevice across, where the diamond used to be fit. I realize, that I should have taken a before picture, so i can't show you that –doh! But it looked something like this one, though of cause with the crevice described above.

So, what to do? I decided to change it completely and started by filing off the edges, leaving the ring with a smooth curve, but now with structure. It was interesting to observe, how the apr. 3 mm wide band suddenly looked a lot thicker because of the edges being gone. Talk about some kind of optical illusion, changing the general look of the ring radically.

Then I cut the crevice a little wider and rounded, pushed the ring shank a little bit closer (very tough with 14 carat gold) and fitted a piece of thick-walled silver tube for a new setting.

I cut the seat for the black 3 mm sapphire that I had chosen for her instead of the lost diamond and filed the walls thin enough to be pushed over the stone.

Okay – she asked me to change it, and so I of cause changed it into something typical for me. In other words: It needed a curl! Fitting such a curl 3 dimensionally is a fiddly hassle, but I’m still loving it and so, here I’m ready to solder a silver curl on.

Of cause the name and date had to go, so off they went, but in spite of having pushed the ring shank a tad closer, I was afraid that the ring had gotten too big. Hence I added my stamp on a 0,3 mm sheet of silver, instead of stamping directly. I left the original makers stamp and the value (585)

And here is the end result:

She was luckily thrilled, very surprised at how different from the original it turned out and, this is the most wonderful part, loved how I had managed to capture her essence in it. She is right. This ring is much more how I see my beautiful cousin than the one she originally handed to me. This ring more than anything illustrates how wonderful her life is turning, now that it isn't a wedding ring anymore.
To freedom and future! :-)

First sale on Etsy!

I am SO happy! I just made my very first sale on my Phantasteria.Etsy shop:


A beautifull 14 k gold ring with a swirl of silver tugging a facet cut peridot. The buyer was a gentleman in the States and I shipped it off Friday as registered mail. A bit of a hassle, as it turns out, and I definitely have to adjust the shipping costs on Etsy. It cost me 90 kroner, which is apr. 18 dollars! However, I see it as learning money and am just very happy indeed to get this baby flying. Hopefully soon others will find my jewelry equally interesting and start buying it!