Silver and Tigereye reticulated band ring

A reticulated band ring with a 4mm cats eye Tigereye in size L 1/2. Reticulation is a process of gently melting the top surface of the silver until it bubbles and ripples.

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.

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.