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Gemstones, with their inherent beauty and allure, often find themselves collected in abundance by jewellery enthusiasts and many of my jeweller friends will be laughing at their own hoards as they read these words. However, as collections grow some gemstones may sit idle, waiting for their moment to shine and this is certainly true of my collection.
Towards the end of last year, I found the 2 boxes of gemstones in the most atrocious jumbled mess still waiting to be unpacked since we moved to Dorset nearly three years ago. Some of them I’m very sure I can date to sitting in my collection for fifteen years. A meticulous evening was spent sorting each stone into a binder organised into colour, variety and size. This may sound boring to most but for a gem nerd like me, sorting lots of tiny sparkly things into stone type, size and colour with a bottle of red on the side and a supply of snacks and I’m as happy as a pig in mud.
Now what to do with them? I can’t continue to let them gather dust so an idea formulated. I would pick a stone from each page in the binder in turn and make a ring for it. A new ring for each week of the year, 52 rings in total. Why? Because I know me and if I don’t set myself a task they will linger again and they are too beautiful to remain hidden any longer. They need to be worn and loved.
At the end of the year, I’ll take some time to reflect on the ring-making journey. Consider how far I’ve come, the skills I’ve developed, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. Embarking on a journey to craft 52 rings in a year is not only an ambitious endeavour but also a deeply rewarding one. With each ring, I’ll have the opportunity to unleash my creativity, finally use my gemstone hoard, and create one-of-a-kind pieces. Let’s delve into this year-long project of transforming gemstones into stunning rings.
Ring one – Smokey Quartz.
The fist page in my binder were very earthy tones of browns and greys. This seemed perfect for the fist week of the New Year, grounding colours. In the page I had a few smoky quartzes. A common stone although very popular during the 70s, 80s and into the early 90s, they seemed to lose favour which is a shame as the smoky brown of the transparent quartz is very beautiful.
I choose a very simple ring for the first project of the year, a bezel setting for the stone and an elegant silver band.
Ring two – Tigerseye.
The second page of my stone binder continued with earthy tones and in amongst them a packet of small tigerseye. One stone in particular caught my attention as it had a ‘cat’s eye’ on it.
A cat’s eye stone is when the stone has a light flash down the middle that runs along the stone like a cat’s eye.
I decided to use reticulated silver for this ring. Reticulation is a process of gently heating up silver sheet until the surface bubbles and ripples which can either look like tree bark or flowing water.
Ring three – Carnelian.
Like the first 2 stones so far this year, carnelian is not a rare gem and not an expensive one. It is very popular however due to its stunning deep colour. Carnelian can be found in the UK and on the Lincolnshire coast there used to be a beach known locally as carnelian bay because it was such a good place to pick up carnelian pebbles.
Initially I intended to use one larger stone accompanied by two small stones on each side. On the day
I was due to start the ring however I started to think of the stone as sun like and then went on to envision the stone as a fireball and by the time I had sat down at the bench, the design of the flames bursting from the stone had already seeded in my head.
Ring four –. Green Agate.
The photo of this green agate does it now justice at all. Reminiscent of an emerald, it is a mesmerising and vibrant deep green.
With this stone I decided to make a heavyset, statement ring. I made a simple hammered band and then flared the outside adding a contemporary flair to the traditional band style. This flaring of the outside edge makes the ring very comfortable to wear with a silky feel is you put it on or off.
I set the stone high in the ring which makes it very prominent and can’t help but catch the eye. I love this ring, and if I’d made it in my size, would definitely be keeping it.
