the design journey

An exhibition at Arbor in Brunswick Melbourne opening Thursday 1st August, and running the entire month of August.  I will be exhibiting a piece of my very own, amongst other very talented local jewellers, come along for a drink at the opening if you're in Melbourne.

The Design Journey is one of three shops, in the lovely plaza that Arbor is situated, who will be exhibiting based on the theme of the design process from concept to object.  A process worth exhibiting!

Part of the Craft Cubed 2013 program by the wonderful Craft Victoria.

it's like this

Sometimes a piece of jewellery reminds you of a familiar artwork, and sometimes an artwork reminds you of a piece of jewellery.  This new section of my blog "it's like this" will show some of those similarities and comparisons that I pick up now and again.

To start off with I'd like to commemorate the recently passed Australian painter Jeffrey Smart, and some of the comparisons I've seen in these jewels...

Jeffrey Smart 'Luxury Cruise' 1972-73

Ramon Puig Cuyas, 'N.1280 Primacolor II', brooch

Jeffrey Smart, 'Portrait of Clive James' 1991-92

Per Suntum, 'As plain as it is' brooch

Jeffrey Smart, 'Playground at Mondragone' 1998

Annelies Planteydt, 'Beautiful City - Red Pink Cabinets', necklace

Jeffrey Smart, 'Autobahn in the Black Forest', 1979-80

Linda Hughes, 'Trio of Posts', brooches

restoration

As a jeweller it is very pleasing to be able to take something cherished and old and with many stories, and restore it to it's former glory, which in turn makes the piece safer to wear without fear of losing any stones or it breaking or bending.

This dainty old ring from around the 40s, consisting of 18ct yellow gold and palladium with white sapphires, had worn so thin at the back of the shank that it was uncomfortable to wear and was at risk of breaking through.  Also, the top section had worn smooth, exposing the stones more than what was safe and making the original mill grain disappear.

ring in worn state

old shank cut off, ready for new shank on left

Once the new shank was in place, all the stones were checked for stability and the original mill grain pattern was applied, giving it form again and emphasising the vintage appeal of the piece.

restored ring with new shank and re-grained setting across top

And the old shank did not go to waste either, I kept it as it was (it had a beautiful series of hallmarks inside it) and turned it into a simple necklace, perfect for everyday wear.

and another change

So here is the latest addition to my custom made family, this incredibly sparkly ring which features 54 single cut (an old style of cut, much nicer than the modern brilliant in my opinion) diamonds set in 18ct white gold and an unspecified carat of yellow gold, somewhere around 14 carat (due to the recycling of the yellow gold components which were mixed carats). 

And here's a wee insight into the process of making this stunner...

the original rings supplied

recycling the yellow gold

 

that golden glow of hot metal

laying out the diamonds on the discs to check sizing

all constructed before final polishing and then ready for the diamond setter

from one thing to the next

This customer's poor engagement and wedding ring had seen better days, when it came to me it had been run over on Fitzroy St and was totally squashed.  Luckily, she wanted to re-design it anyway and this gave her the best reason to! 

So we worked out a new house for her lucky diamonds (adding in a new diamond friend to make 3 stones) and she has just received her sparkly and shiny new replacement rings...

 Much more solid and modern looking now, and because the rings are separate, they can be switched around in a number of ways to make the cluster appear different every time, fun fun.  

Made in 18ct white gold.

new pieces

Here's some photo evidence to prove I have been doing something over the last few weeks! 

I've added a few new pieces to various collections, including a new 'swing series', which incorporates mixed colours, moving elements and is visually more delicate than some of my other collections.

le louvre

I thought I'd share some inspiring images from a trip to the Louvre a few years ago. 
These are Roman, Greek, Byzantine and Mesopotamian pieces from an incredibly huge collection.
When you consider these ancient pieces with a contemporary frame of mind, it is easy to believe that in the world of design, nothing is new...