Sapphire and diamond circle pendants

Following on from my last post I thought I’d show you how the circle pendants come to be. Truly it is a collaborative process, with client input vital to the finished design.

It’s not unusual for me to have a number of projects on the go at a given moment and so some pieces and people are linked in my mind though they may have never met. This is true of Sue and Gillian and their two recycled yellow gold circle pendants.

Below you can see a variety of possible configurations from which Sue chose her elegant diamond circle pendant. You may even notice that I had more diamonds than made it to the final design, but Sue was also having a bunch of stacking rings made, so I preset the lot in yellow gold tube and had a play to see what might go where. The winner was this simple five stone graduating style with a little asymmetry thrown in for good measure.

Recycled yellow gold and diamond circle pendant

Meanwhile in the blue corner Gillian had three sapphires given to her by her mum which she wanted to include within the circular form. The three stone combinations weren’t quite doing it for her so we added some empty gold tube to the mix to create a more dynamic piece. As you can see the finished arrangement plays with different size empty spaces offset by that beautiful sapphire blue.

Recycled yellow gold and blue sapphire circle pendant

I couldn’t resist including a picture of the reverse of this pendant which I find almost as pleasing as the front.

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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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

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

Sapphire cluster engagement ring

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In February 2012 when Eoghan called me to say that he was going to propose to my best friend my emotions were all over the place. Delight at the good news, fear at the responsibility of making the ring and more than a little nerves about keeping this secret -  I'm not usually yacking away on the phone to my customer's intended! Our exploratory wander through the jewellers in town revealed one thing - that neither of us had a clue of the kind of ring Neidra would want. We looked at modern, at antique, at classic and at contemporary but soon realised we'd have to call on Neidra herself if we were ever to get it right.

Eoghan proposed later that year and having tried on a multitude of styles they came back to me to make this vintage inspired, but really rather modern sapphire engagement ring.

Making a platinum, diamond and blue sapphire engagement ring

Quite simply it never rains, but it pours and at the time I was making Neidra's ring I was also making Louise's so these two girls are forever linked in my mind. As an aside they have both had their first babies in the last couple of months so more congratulations are in order.

Down to the making - The first task was to order enough material for both rings and then lay out the setting on the large flat piece of platinum. I used the round wire to turn up the bezels for both rings and pierced our a gap within which the belly of the stones would fit. Next I made the swaged shanks on which the settings would sit. The rough ring was cleaned back to a nice tapering, but flat surface and then a groove cut to accommodate the belly of each stone. At this point every thing was given a good polish and then soldered together. Then came the small matter of setting the sapphire and the diamond before sending both rings to be pavé set with tiny diamonds.

If you'd like to discuss a custom project please feel free to drop me a line, meantime you can see more handmade engagement rings here.

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!