ant hill garnet and palladium white gold w/ patina

ant hill garnet and palladium white gold w/ patina
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

so things have been really busy - as you might have noticed in my lack of posting. I am finally starting to feel like I'm getting caught up. I still have.... well, a lot of work to do, but I've gotten over that hump of feeling completely overwhelmed. I opened my Etsy shop back up - I had decided to close it for a few days to give myself some breathing room. It really helped! Yesterday I completed some important projects I had been working on. This set included - the first tube setting in palladium white gold. I've done tube settings before, though just using ones that had been purchased. Since you can't buy tube settings in palladium white gold, I knew I had to make my own. And since the tubing existed - I figured I could do it. I had to do a practice one in sterling first and I think it turned out pretty fabulous!

Though oddly enough - I am finding that flush setting is easier for me. I was scared of it for so long and now when I have an extra few minutes I drill a hole in a discarded ring and throw a stone in just for extra practice! It revamps the ring and gives me more confidence in offering it to customers.



So, yup, I'm still really busy, but going to try to come back to a more balanced work load that includes at least a couple of blog posts a week!

New Setting!!

love knot w/ tube set stone (diamond)
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

I am so incredibly excited about this. You know how sometimes you think about something too much and it turns it in to a huge seemingly insurmountable task. Well, finally, I worked on this design and it was a million times easier than what I had built it up in my head to be. I'm not sure why I thought it would be so difficult. Or maybe all that 'thinking' worked it out in my head so that finally when my hands got to it, they'd been mentally practicing for months? can that happen?!

I really like casting the diamonds in place b/c it gives a really nice and subtle look - but this is definitely a close second! I used a gold tube setting - well, b/c it was what I had, but also I really like the combo of mixed metals.

The excitement of finally creating this setting is that now I can do any kind of stone someone might want! Before, I was limited to diamonds, rubies and sapphires - or synthetic stones. And those don't even turn out every time they are fired (I'm working on that too though).

This ring had actually been a 'mistake' - and had a diamond in it that hadn't turned out. so I unearthed the damaged diamond, drilled a hole the setting would fit in to and soldered it in place. And lucky for me, its just my size! Sometimes I like to keep the prototype of something - it helps me remember what I did, where I've come from and how I can improve.

I hope today is as wonderful and successful of a day (for you too!).

Rough Ruby Knot

Rough Ruby Knot and sterling
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

Its an idea I've had rolling around for awhile, to get some rough diamonds rubies and sapphires to cast in place as my 'knots' And I finally got some to play with! This is the ruby version. It was one of my favorite of all the batch that I got and thought it looked perfect like a gnarled tree knot! Though I love working on custom orders, it was really fun to just make something that I've been wanting to do. Though I did make it in a size I couldn't wear! You can see the listing here and the green sapphire version here.

New Rings cont'd

Here are the three rings all finished and they've been listed on Etsy now.
This one is sodalite and is listed here.








This one is aventurine and is here.














and this one is blue chalcedony and is here.






I was inspired to do these rings for several reasons. I'd been feeling kind of claustrophobic (for lack of a better word). I've been going through lots of things in my life and clearing out. There are several pieces I've had listed for sale and they haven't sold. I was tired of looking at them. Some pieces are going to be melted down in to something new, others will be turned in to something else! Like these rings! Some of the organic vine rings just didn't have the pizazz on their own that they needed, but as a band accompaniment to a lovely stone - they are perfect!! I feel like they are starting to give me the depth to my work I've been looking for.
I have so many stones that I really love and they just sit there. I'm hoping that habit is going to stop now and that I continue pairing up the stones to make some fabulous pieces.

I was also inspired by my friend Christine - who does amazing work, but like a lot of artists, is pushing herself forward and coming up with new designs to keep her creativity and passion in full swing. She created three rings that were just super lovely and inspired me to get out of my own run. Check out her shop - keep an eye on her - she is always adding new and amazing items.

Leaf and Diamond ring

leaf and diamond ring, a bit more patina and dulled down a bit
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

This was another custom order - one of a pair I am working on for a sweet sweet couple. I love the simple elegance of the single tiny leaf imprint and slightly offset diamond. It was made in wax and the diamond was cast in place. I had initially finished it shinier and with the patina only in the leaf, but it was a little too 'blingy' (my word, not his!) for the groom, so I added some overall patina and kept a matte finish. Its simple, elegant and organic.

Check out flickr for more photos and the shiny previous version.

Ring all finished

ring all finished
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

This ring had to be remade. The first stone that was in it must have had some weak matrices (obviously) as a piece fell right out of the middle of the stone. It was the weirdest thing I had ever seen. You can see the original here. I didn't have any others really close to that size or shape, but went to the Franklin gem show a couple weeks after I got the ring back. So I was on a mission to find something kind of similar. I brought back about 10 stones for my customer to choose from, and I really think she got one of the best. It is so unique and reminded me of a Japanese landscape painting - an wirey looking tree growing up and off the size of a cliff. I was both sad and happy that she picked this stone. Sad to see it go, but then again, I liked it so much I probably would have left it in a drawer for a few years before ever using it! It is safely on her finger now.

Setting/Flossing Tip!

Tip photo.... flosssyyyy
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

This is a pretty common tip, but if you haven't heard it, it can be a life saver (and a tooth saver!)

When working on settings and you want to check to make sure the fit is just right - use some dental floss under the stone. That way if the stone gets a little stuck - very easy to pull it right out. Otherwise, you risk tearing the whole setting apart just to get the stone out. And THAT is no good. I usually keep a random piece floating around on my work bench just to keep it handy. Floss works great because it can flatten out to almost nothing, but is plenty strong enough that if the stone is quite tight, you don't risk having it break when pulling the stone out.