A Ring of Two Stones - Sky Blue Topaz and Labradorite

This is a birthday ring, for this month, and I liked the idea of using a birthstone. Of all the shades topaz comes in, the sky blue variation is, for me, the most beautiful. It does seem to look like a little piece of sky, captured in stone, perhaps even the sky on a November day when the sun is as bright as it can bear at this time of year and the blue around it has that slightly chilled look, as if the heat from our star can't quite warm it to the deeper hues of summer.

The other most usual birthstone for November, according to information on the web, is citrine. And although I've used topaz and citrine together before (see the stones I bought and what I made from them), it just didn't seem to work right for this birthday or the ring I wanted to make.



So when I bought the rose cut cabochons I wrote about in this post, as well as the sky blue topaz which I'd purposely chosen, I bought gems in colours I hoped would match nicely with it. The lapis lazuli was too opaque and the iolite too small (fool that I was not to order it in a larger size) but the labradorite sat perfectly with the topaz. Against the sky blue topaz, the labradorite looks, to me, like stormy skies, with a hint of rainbow, the opposite to clear blue heavens but with a beauty of its own.

I made a simple ring in rectangular wire, with the design left open to be a little adjustable so I didn't have to reveal too much by casually enquiring after someone's ring size - let's face it, when isn't that a giveaway?

When I make this again, I may use a slightly heavier wire as I had to hammer this ring to give it a bit more strength - I didn't want it to be too adjustable... But I'm happy with the colours and cut of the gems against the silver and I hope the recipient is too. I also rather love the way the gems, especially the labradorite, look different in varying lights and I've tried to show that in the photos I've included here.

Copper in Autumn

Last weekend I spent a few hours with a friend in her workshop, tucked away against the chill weather outside, surrounded by silver, copper, polishers, rolling machines, and enough tools to make anyone who makes metal jewellery rather happy.

Copper ring, with a rolled pattern. Like a leopard's spots, or a honeycomb.

We chatted about the price of silver (slightly decreased), the fact I've most definitely missed the final posting date for the Diamond Jubilee hallmark (boo), and that assay offices will now hallmark silver and gold even if they're attached to metals such as copper, something they didn't previously do (interesting).

Another ring through the rolling mill. This time the pattern is more abstract.

We drank a lot of tea, finished off a jar of hot chocolate, and ate too many biscuits and chocolates (very naughty in a workshop, I know).

Oh, and we also made some jewellery.

More roller textured copper, a little crown-like...

Crown-like also, but in a slightly more-committed curvy-way.

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the beautiful silver locket my friend finished, nor of the silver and copper owl she was working on, but I have included a few snaps of the four copper rings I made, and of the copper owl I did some work on (and no, we didn't converse beforehand, just coincidentally were both working on owls...), and which may well turn into a brooch. Or a pendant. Hmm...

The two crowns fit together, just, and make a wider ring.

Nothing I started is finished yet, the rings needing some more filing and polishing, and  the owl either needing more work on the detail, or me discarding it as a prototype or experiment.

A brooch in waiting. Or a pendant. Or just a copper owl.

But, still, not a bad way to spend a Saturday in autumn at all.

Still around . . .

My far-off thoughts of having time to throw myself into making jewellery this year have failed to make their way into reality and, given it's nearly June, I'm resigned to another 'slow' year on the creation front.

But, thankfully, people still insist on having birthdays and the like and so I've found myself piecing together bits of workshop and silver in various rooms (and houses) and finding time and room for these few items.


The ring was left unsoldered to allow it to fit any finger, or thumb, without needing measurements - asking always gives the game away.



The simplest of the three to make and rather fun allowing the curve of the silver wire to dictate the curve of the letter.



I enjoyed making the letters although getting them the same length was surprisingly challenging - I think rushing to a deadline doesn't help . . . But the posts were handmade and hand-soldered, which was tricky and not particularly fun work that proved rather satisfying once it was done. I chickened out of making the butterflies myself though. Time was far too pressing for that kind of commitment.

It's only May (just). Time still for this year to be abundant and productive. Here's hoping . . .

Rings for my fingers . . .

With thoughts turning to colder weather and swirls of frost and ice promising an appearance soon, I've been playing around with ideas for rings these past couple of weeks.



I'm not great at sizing rings, tending to let them find by themselves which finger they want to fit, often because I've made them primarily for myself in the past and I'm pretty laid-back about such things.



And this particular style of ring does lend itself to reaching a size all on its own, depending on the curl created and where the ends meet. Part of the fun in making them is letting them form almost naturally, using the natural curve the silver wire possesses.



I'm doing a craft fair this weekend and so will take some of these along, see what people say. Sizing is more than a matter of whether a ring fits or not, feels comfortable and looks right, it's more than any measurement (large knuckles, anyone?); so it may make more sense to let any potential owner of a ring find out by trying it on, whether it does or doesn't 'work'.