Handmade gold stud earrings

As you’re probably aware I mostly make bespoke jewellery, but I also handmake a limited number of ready to wear pieces to stock the webshop - and nowhere else! So I thought I give you an insight into how some of the pieces are made starting with these little concave yellow gold earrings. Why start here? Because I took a few photos the other day and I like the look of them!

Gold discs in doming block with punches and hammer

These simple little stud earrings start with some pre-cut discs that I ordered specially for the piece. I could stamp them from sheet, but this way there’s less waste and with precious metal, waste is the enemy. I pop each disc in the doming block and punch them twice to get the desired curve - just concave enough.

Domed gold discs

Then I mark the centre of the disc and drill a little recess to receive the earring posts which I make by drawing down 1mm wire. Each wire is cut to about 12mm and the end rounded so that it keys neatly into the recess. A dab of solder, a little heat and the earrings start to line up like soldiers ready to pickle.

Concave gold discs and posts

Next up I check the seams then pull and twist the posts taut. This serves the purpose of both hardening the metal and creating nice straight posts.

Gold disc earrings in the making

I cut the gnarly ends off and round the end of the posts, then clean them with some fine emery and mark where I’d like the assay mark to go on the stem. I used punch these guys, but since lasering has become an option I go that route instead.

Gold domed disc earrings ready for assay

When they come back from their little trip to Dublin castle a few days later I’ll polish each one on the motor then create two grooves on the post for added security and fit their gold scrolls.

Handcrafted gold dome earrings

So that’s it… the journey from little gold disc to handcrafted concave gold earring. You can find these simple little stud earrings in the webshop and as ever if you’d like a variation on the theme just drop me a line at evadorney@gmail.com

Circle pendants

Over the last number of years my little circle pendant has proved popular time and time again. It seems I always have one of these little guys on the go. Whether made from new material or grandma’s wedding ring the simple circular form is hard to beat. It lends itself to a single stone or multiple stones depending on what you have in mind and can be as simple or as spangly as you like. It also can range in size from a €1 coin to a Digestive biscuit, well maybe a Jaffa cake - not too many rappers knocking round the Arbour.

I thought it would be nice to create a gallery dedicated to this versatile little pendant so below are a number of circle pendants that I’ve made in the past and will keep adding to in future - one on the go even now.

If you have your own project you’d like to discuss whether that’s using old gold or stones you have yourself or creating something new from brand new materials and stones feel free to get in touch by phone on 0877956321 or email evadorney@gmail.com

A gold spoon for a golden boy

When my nephew was born, nearly ten years ago, I decided to make him a silver spoon. It was to mimic the shape of his favourite plastic spoon with a narrow bowl for his little mouth and a wide softly rounded handle for his pudgy little hands to grip. I cut the outline from 3 or maybe even 3.5mm sheet silver and created a wooden form on which to shape this soon to be prized posession - both functional and wonderous, I imagined. Weeks turned to months and months to years and to my shame the silver spoon is still unfinished, waiting to be dusted down, trued up and given to the next, next-generation.

So when I was asked to make a gold spoon for another 1 year old I couldn’t resist the chance to redeem myself and make baby a baby spoon. Using recycled metal for such a large object was always going to be a challenge, but happily the gold melted well and reworked a dream. The following are pics of the making, his mum’s own silver spoon given to her as a child and the finished gold spoon.

In truth it’s no baby spoon at all, rather an heirloom to be passed on for generations - assuming baby doesn’t take a notion to recycle it that is!

If you have a project you’d like to discuss (it really needn’t be on this scale) why not give me a bell on 0877956321 or email me at evadorney@gmail.com

Bimetal gents band

Recycled gold and platinum ring - brushed finish

Continuing on the theme of using old gold in a new ring this next post is a handsome band I made at Christmas for my friend's son's twenty first - lucky chap!

It consists of a wide gold band that was made up of his mum and dad's wedding rings and a smidge of gold from his grandad's identity bracelet and a further finer band made in platinum.  Both bands were assayed independently before being soldered together and the result is a very smart, matte finished, two-tone ring in 9ct yellow gold and platinum that marries old and new.

If you've a project you'd like to discuss why not give me a bell on 0877956321 or email me at evadorney@gmail.com

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Remelting the old gold and turning up the new platinum band

Two-tone platinum and yellow gold ring

Hidden inner wedding ring

It's been an age since I blogged, but as I was updating images on the site I spotted this little ring which I think is worth talking about because it solves a problem faced by a lot of people - that of having a yellow gold piece of sentimental value, but wearing only white metal.

In this instance a yellow gold ring had been handed down through the family and my customer wanted to come up with a wedding ring design that incorporated this family ring, but still matched her platinum engagement ring. We talked through a few options, but opted to create a fine platinum band within which the yellow gold band sits. For all intents and purposes the wedding ring looks like a perfect match for the platinum of the engagement ring, but within it is hiding a secret yellow gold ring, original assay marks and all.

If you've a project you'd like to discuss why not give me a bell on 0877956321 or email me at evadorney@gmail.com

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Remodelled emerald cut emerald dress ring

Jessica and I met at a fair and she subsequently dropped me a line to see about remodelling a "little" antique emerald ring that had belonged to her grandmother. When we met up the emerald was scratched and chipped from years of continuous wear so the first thing I suggested before we settled on any design was to send the stone off for repolishing to see just what we were dealing with.

Original 18ct and platinum ring with chipped and scratched emerald

My hunch was right and what we received back was a truly stunning emerald cut emerald with great life and sparkle as well as a really beautiful colour. Seeing this newly transformed stone Jessica didn't want to stray too far from the original design, however it was important to her to get rid of the gappiness between the accent diamonds and to create a refined, low mount.

I did up some drawings of what we'd discussed and took them to be transferred on to a CAD file. Renders were exchanged and with a little tweaking the design was completed and ready to be cut directly from wax. This model was then cast in 18ct white gold, assayed and cleaned up in readiness for setting.

Above are CAD renders and pics of the actual 18ct casting before it's cleaned back

The finished emerald ring is similar to the original, but with a weightier shank more suited to a modern lifestyle and that gappiness I mentioned has been banished by employing shared claw settings on the shoulders. The shank is broader and heavier at the back where it will receive most wear, but tapers elegantly towards the setting creating a refined look and the once jaded emerald has been repolished and reinvigorated making this little stone the belle of the dress ring ball.

18ct white gold emerald and diamond ring

If you have project you'd like to discuss please feel free to drop me a line at evadorney@gmail.com or give me a tinkle on 0877956321.

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Natural ruby engagement ring from recycled gold

I have been very remiss in my posts here lately, but rather than start from where I left off I intend to jump forward in time and tell you about a recent engagement ring remodel that is now adorning one happily engaged finger.

Nuala and Caolan approached me before Christmas to see whether I could take some of their old gold and turn it into their wedding rings and also source them a ruby for Nuala's engagement ring. Happily they were in no rush so I suggested I would source the stone in Germany while at the Inhorgenta trade fair in February - the selection of stones there is second to none and as it was important to them that the stone be ethically sourced this allowed for a more vigorous questioning of suppliers!

Initially I was tasked with finding a deep red ruby similar in size and shape to that of my own emerald cut diamond engagement ring, however finding said stone proved more difficult than imagined and so we widened the search to include larger oval rubies too! There was a bit of toing and froing before we settled on a real beauty from Tanzania weighing in at a hefty 1.82cts.

A spot of wax carving

The change in shape and size of stone meant a slight rejig of the overall ring design making it curvy rather than angular and indeed quite a bit heavier than originally anticipated. When I got back to the workshop I set about melting enough metal to make the ring and started to forge out the shape using the rolling mills.

However, as is sometimes the case with remelted metal, the resulting nugget was incredibly hard and unbending so having enlisted Dave's help in a vain attempt to bend it I had no choice but to reconsider how it would be made and start carving a wax model from which to cast the ring instead.

The trick to creating a symmetrical design in wax is to lay out guidelines before removing any wax and thereafter to reestablish the guidelines as you go. Wax is much faster to work than metal so it is very easy to go too far and remove too much material, but I'd recommend giving it a whirl if you're at all crafty.

Ruby solitaire engagement ring

The blue wax master was then sprued before undergoing a lost wax casting process during which the old gold was melted and poured into the ring shaped cavity left by burning out the wax. It's always necessary to use more metal than required and you can see a big nugget of additional metal on the side of the ring which has since become a matching wedding band.

There followed a spot of assaying, sprue removal, emerying and polishing before the ruby was ultimately set across the finger to create a lovely contemporary ruby engagement ring.

If you have a project you'd like to explore please feel free to drop me a line here or pick up the phone and give me a bell on 0877956321.

Recycled gold cufflinks with diamonds

Before I go any further I must admit to loving these cufflinks! They are so simple and clean and right up my street so thank you Cecily for commissioning me to make them.

The thinking behind this set of cufflinks is that the owner had been borrowing his dad's cufflinks and that perhaps it was time he had a good set of his own. Meanwhile his recent promotion in work was the perfect excuse to treat him to something extra special.

Recycled yellow gold cufflinks with channel set diamond detail

First of all an old gold bracelet and a fine pair of cufflinks were melted in the crucible to create a large flat ingot of gold. This was then passed through the mills until it was large enough to mark out two cufflink sized rectangles. These were pierced and cleaned back before soldering the U-arms in place. Lastly each cufflink was channel set with three small diamonds which came out of another necklace (more of which to come) before a final polish and a directional matt finish.

If you have a project you'd like to discuss you can drop a line to evadorney@gmail.com or give me a bell on 0877956321.

Recycled rose gold torc

Doreen had seen a beautiful torc on a friend and thought that something similar would be just the thing for her sister's wedding in December so she packed up a number of rose gold chains and bracelets that hadn't been worn in years and popped on down to the studio in Windy Arbour.  As with any occasion where someone has enough gold for multiple projects we discussed all sorts of options from bangles, through rings and pendants and created a plan of action before embarking our first project...

Handmade rose gold torc

Work began with something like 90g of gold which was more difficult to melt than usual on account of its sheer mass, however it made up for this by being a remarkably malleable and ductile alloy! The rough shape was forged using the rolling mills so that when the length was flattened it tapered from narrow at the nape to generous at the collarbone. It was quite the task manipulating and annealing this great length of metal until if finally curved to my will, but once the curve started to come together things moved faster. There was much hammering, filing and cleaning back and all of the lemel (metal filings) produced was caught in readiness for the next project - more of which next time.

Doreen called to fit the necklace shortly afterwards and we made some amendments to the curve on her neck so that it would sit as snugly as possible against the breast bone while skimming the collar bones. I also removed some extra length at the back to make it easier to take on and off - I don't know how many times I've been told that "it's easy to take metal away, but there's no putting it back" and this particular truism has stuck fast!

A short while later Doreen returned to collect her finished torc, now fully polished and perfect for that December wedding.

If you have a project you'd like to explore please feel free to drop me a line here or pick up the phone and give me a bell on 0877956321.

Twisted yellow gold rings

The first time I met the girls, three out of four sisters called to the studio and it's safe to say the the pitch went up a level as this happy family discussed designs and the future of their parents lovely heavy 18ct yellow gold wedding bands. The design they settled on was a simple twist ring that each girl could have and wear.

Twisted 18ct yellow gold rings

The real difficulty with this project was to determine the width of metal that would yield enough length to create the twisted strands, so a little trial and error in silver ensued. That done I simply melted the two rings into one and drew the gold bar down through the draw bench until I had a great length of 1.2mm thick wire. I then straightened the wire by annealing it fully and stretching it out before cutting it in two and beginning to twist. From here the twisted wire was cut into four lengths and each length turned up to make these 4 matching twisted gold rings, one for each daughter.

If you have a project you'd like to discuss please drop me a line here or give me a tickle on 0877956321.

Bespoke and remodelled gold and diamond jewellery

It has been such a hectic month with collections reaching fever pitch in the last few days! I'm off  to Croatia for a little holiday this morning, but fear not, my good buddy Carol will be manning the store while I'm gone and I've created a little collage of the gorgeous jobs I've been working on just to whet your appetite for when I return!

Engagement rings, pendant, torc, bangle and cufflinks made from new and recycled materials

Recycled yellow gold and emerald pendant

When Sarah contacted me she had a lovely thick 18ct ring and another broken 22ct wedding band that had been passed down through her boyfriend's family. She also had a little gold bracelet of her own and a great desire to make him a very special pendant for his 40th birthday. Originally the design included the spiral of life with an emerald at it's centre for abundance, but a little redesign brought us to setting the emerald in the centre of the circle like before, but with a six pointed star on the reverse - again symbolising abundance.

The original gold rings pictured at the top and the new gold and emerald pendant pictured below

There wasn't quite enough metal to make a disc large and heavy enough as things stood, so we decided to add an a further 6g of 9ct yellow gold to the mix just to bring up the weight. Some of this additional metal went to make the bale and the setting before the rest went into the pot to be melted.

Usually the ingots of gold are long and rod shaped but on the flip side of the ingot mould there is a wider opening for making small amounts of sheet metal. Invariably it comes out lumpy and uneven but as usual the trusty rolling mill flattened out the bumps and pressed the gold into submission!

From this knobbly little sheet I marked and cut out a generous disc and started to work assembling the bale and setting which you can see just held in tweezers midshot. I seem to have forgotten to take any further photos and suddenly we have the finished piece! Roughly speaking I hammer textured the front of the pendant before setting the emerald and then sending it off to be engraved with the six pointed star on the reverse.

Sarah planned to give Jason his gift at the top of Croagh Patrick but while they climbed the Reek she hadn't the heart to make him wait for his pressie!

If you have a project of your own you'd like to discuss please feel free to drop me a line here or give me a bell on 0877956321

Handmade wedding and engagement rings from recycled metal

The original rings

Congrats to Suzanne and Andrew who are 25 years married today!

Now technically they already had wedding bands (pictured here), but 25 years later they felt like a change. Andrew never really wore his original wedding ring and was looking to have something a little more substantial and unusual made, meantime Suzanne had her heart set on a contemporary diamond solitaire.

Recycled yellow gold wedding and engagement rings

Asymmetrical wedding ring, diamond solitaire and matching wedding band

They had quite a lot of metal so initially I melted it all down and through a happy accident the pour split into two ingots. The larger became Andrew's band while Suzanne's engagement ring was made from the smaller.

The design of his ring is simple and contemporary with flat sides rising asymmetrically rather than to the midpoint. To achieve this the large ingot was first made into a heavy flat gold band before some careful marking out and some even more careful filing transformed it into the ring you see here.

I sourced a lovely baguette diamond for Suzanne which was bar set across the top of this modern engagement ring and all the gold dust filings from Andrew's ring were remelted into a further ingot to create her wedding band.

Just a spot of hand engraving and these three recycled gold rings were ready for collection!

If you have a remodelling job you'd like to discuss please feel free to drop a line to evadorney@gmail.com or to give me a bell on 0877956321

Recycled yellow gold wedding ring

This ring was made from pieces of gold belonging to the women in Gerry's life. His future wife, his mum and mother-in-law all added a little bit of material to the cause and from it his wedding ring was made.

Recycled yellow gold wedding ring

The old gold was melted in a crucible and the resulting nugget rolled out into a strip. That strip was then turned up into a ring and the rounded ends cut off to create a perfect join. (Everyone gets these little nubs back with their finished piece to sit in the drawer until inspiration strikes). A little solder and a quick hammer to make it round then into the pickle to remove that black patina. If you're familiar with my blogs you'll know that the next step is to emery the surfaces of the ring to remove any scratches and then to create a comfort fit on the inside of the ring before giving it a final polish. Gerry wanted a matt finish which gives a nice contrast to the highly polished inside and edges. The finished ring has a slightly rosier tone which is thanks to that little bit of rose gold chain making the ring all the more individual.

You can see more remodelling projects here or if you have a remodelling project of you own that you'd like to discuss please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Twisted sapphire and aquamarine ring

Diamond encrusted gold ring

This is the second ring that I've made for Mary, though we have yet to meet in person. Last time it was a lovely remodelled gold tapering band punch set with diamonds that incorporated her old engagement ring amongst other things. It worked out well and Mary was left with another lump of metal to plan a future project.

Inspiration and drawings

The piece on the left became the diamond encrusted ring while the piece on the right rested in the drawer for another year before being duly reimagined. The design was loosely based on a twisted ring her children had given her which incorporated their birthstones. We moved away from the heart and princess shapes toward the idea of a pear shape and a round and when I was stone shopping in Germany I kept an eye out for a sapphire and an aquamarine which would reflect the gentle colouring of the original ring, 

When we think of sapphire it's Kate Middleton's deep blue engagement ring that comes to mind, but sapphires come in all sorts of shades from gentle greens through cerise pinks through yellows or in this case purple. They are the next hardest stone to diamond and the only real alternative for every day wear. Their breadth of colour and sparkle makes them one of my favourite stones.

Recycled gold sapphire and aquamarine ring

Twisted sapphire and aquamarine ring

The first step in making this twisted ring was to make the settings. I rolled down the remaining bar into a long flat wire and turned it up in the round and pear shaped settings. I then melted that material again to create the bar for the shank. Again to the rolling mill to form a tapering length of wire which was turned up in to the ring. It was then a question of gently manipulating the curve of the metal to suit the curves of the settings before soldering all the pieces in place. With that done all the surfaces needed an emery and the inside of the settings were polished to make them as bright and reflective as possible before setting the stones.

And there you have it, a twisted sapphire and aquamarine ring made from recycled gold.

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Handmade 18ct yellow gold sapphire engagement ring

I first met Dervla and Denis back in February of this year when they approached me about making their engagement ring. They were looking for a simple yet confident ring, suited to architect Dervla's aesthetic. Having done a little homework she had her heart set on a nice big deep blue sapphire and as luck would have it I was headed to one of the biggest jewellery trade fairs of the year in a matter of days. No better place to find just the stone!

With a budget in mind I spent quite a while seeking out a sapphire with the perfect balance of colour, sparkle and scale. There were phone calls to and fro describing the three front runners and numerous return visits to all three. I had mistakenly thought I could take snaps on my smart phone to help inform the decision, but flourescent lighting is no friend to photography and the results were mixed at best! Nonetheless we came to a decision between us and I returned to Ireland with nerves in my belly hoping that Dervla would love her new sapphire - happily she did and on her next trip back from London there was a silver sample ring to try. With that viewed and agreed it was time to order the metal and start work on the engagement ring proper.

Making a sapphire engagement ring

As you can see it started out with just three elements, the sapphire, a length of 18ct yellow gold bar for the shank and piece of sheet from which to make the setting. First of all I made up a tapering round setting from the sheet and formed it in to an oval to match the curve of the sapphire. Next I made the 2.5mm wide shank and removed a section where the solder seam was to accommodate the oval setting - no point having more seams than necessary. The two elements were then soldered together and dropped to the assay office in Dublin city to be tested and stamped. With that accomplished it was time to clean up the ring, remove any scratches and prepolish the inside of the setting. I then created a seat for the sapphire by removing metal from the inside of the bezel and pushed the yellow gold down onto the stone to hold it. A last polish and a little directional emery applied to the shank and that was that!

Hand made sapphire engagement ring

Dervla and Denis were back in town last weekend and came to collect. Impressively Denis had refused to see a picture of the ring before the big day preferring to "wait until I see it on Dearbhla's finger". I'm pleased to report that they left a very happy couple and that there may or may not have been tears!

Punch set diamond bangle remodel

I've been making an awful lot of recycled gold bangles of late and I thought I'd share this one which has been embellished with 5 round brilliant cut diamonds punch set at intervals across the top.

Punch set diamond bangle remodel

Rosie had the usual assortment of broken chains, odd earrings and unworn rings which amounted to some 25g of gold and which as you can see turned in to a lovely heavy weight, flat gold bangle. From the crucible the molten metal was poured into the ingot mould to make a rather gnarly looking ingot. It was then run through the rolling mills to make it into a smooth, workable bar of metal. This bar was repeatedly passed through the mills between annealings (softening the gold by heating and quenching) until it was 200mm long, 4.3mm wide and 2.7mm deep. The wire was then turned up into an oval and the soldered closed. Once the fire stain was cleaned back, any scratches removed and the bangle prepolished I marked out 5 equidistant points along the top of the bangle opposite the seam and set each with a 0.03ct diamond.

And there you have it, one gold bangle with diamonds!

Handmade peridot engagement ring

First things first...Yvette and Jay live in London and ordered their engagement ring via correspondence! You have no idea how impressed I am with them for taking such a leap of faith. They had come across my work over on One Fab Day and picked up the phone to place their order.

In the absense of a face to face meeting Yvette and I chatted about the shape of her hand, about skin tone and about the kind of work she does. That last one may seem strange, but lifestyle can really impact your choice of metal and stone. As she didn't intend to wear her engagement ring every day the whole range of gemstones was available to her including this relatively soft peridot which just so happens to be Jay's birth stone.

Handmaking a peridot engagement ring

The top left image details the raw materials - two pieces of gold, one long for the shank and one wide for the setting and the lovely green peridot. First the wider piece was turned up into a conical bezel setting and then the longer length of gold into a ring. The two pieces were then fitted together via a series of cutting, filing and offering up the setting to the gap in the ring. When they fit perfectly they were soldered together with a little excess setting protruding. This excess was filed away before emerying and cleaning up the ring to take the peridot.

Handmade peridot engagement ring

And here we have the finished ring which the guys flew in to collect one Monday morning. They are planning their wedding here in Dublin later this year and I wish them both the very best!

Contemporary gold dress ring remodel

Gold for recycling

What do you get the woman who has everything? This was the dilemma facing Gina and her sisters with their mum's 60th birthday fast approaching. It turns out mum Doreen had a number of old pieces including a 9ct yellow gold ingot which she no longer used and when she visited with me she told me how much she had always wanted an emerald ring. I didn't have any emeralds to hand, but no matter. She set her sights on this gorgeous green tourmaline cabochon and together we designed a simple if sizable contemporary dress ring.

Bezel set green tourmaline dress ring

The old gold was melted into an ingot and then recycled into a 3.5mm shank and heavy oval bezel setting. Both pieces were soldered together and the tourmaline set into this striking piece with the yellow gold accentuating the green tourmaline beautifully. One new ring for the birthday girl and enough gold left over for another little project in the future.

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Old cut diamond stacking ring remodel

When I had completed Eleanor's old cut diamond earrings our next project together was to design a series of stacking gold rings with the remainder of her diamonds.

Gold and diamond stacking rings

Diamond stackers

Eleanor's gold ring provided enough material for one of the new bands and I bought new 18ct for the other two bands and tubing for the settings. Diamonds are brilliant little things not least for their hardness, but they can also be heated without shattering like most gemstones would. This means that I was able to set each stone before soldering those settings into the bands. An added bonus to presetting the diamonds is that I could play with the arrangement of the stones as I went - creating a suitably random effect.

I love this style of stacking ring and every time it's worn the arrangement looks just a little bit different. Stackers give great flexiblity, with lots of scope to add new elements, even a couple of plain silver bands, down the line.