Monday, August 3, 2009

"the beach rocks" Argentium sterling silver rings


I have started making a line of straight forward “the beach rocks” rings. They all have a round wire shank and a fully closed back made of argentium sterling silver. The bezel is made of fine silver. I have gone to great effort to make the finish on the pieces as fine as possible. The result is that people that handle them often use the word “buttery” to describe them. These rings feature beach rocks found along the Olympic Peninsula here in Washington State. The backs of these beach rocks have been ground flat to make them much more stable in the mounting. But other than that, they are just the way the ocean offered them up on the shore.

The ring in the middle of the above photograph is set with what the people on the “West End” of the peninsula call a “turtle back jade”. It is a relatively rare find to see one this size, as they are usually found much larger. It is well to note that this beach rock has little to do with the gemstone “jade” apart from the color.

5 comments:

cindy shake said...

YEAH!!! I'm so happy to see your BLOG! Your work is WONDERFUL!

Susan Martin Spar said...

Cool blog!

Rick M said...

Glad to see someone embracing Argentium sterling silver. My company has been using it for some of our wedding band styles for a little over a year now. While it's been slow to catch on with retailers, the metal has a great price point. Argentium sterling silver is a good choice if someone is looking to step up from ordinary sterling silver.

If interested, take a peek - http://www.novelldesignstudio.com/products.php?category=70.

Anonymous said...

Looking to fine to see and also have a quality.
silver jewelry exporters

Unknown said...

If possible, I'd like to buy one. Just like the "turtle" type rock.

the beach rocks

the beach rocks
Although I have been lucky enough to receive many accolades and awards during my professional career as a jewelry designer, I was nearly always fulfilling a commission and therefore the aesthetical concerns of my client. Now that I have relocated to the great NorthWest I am pursuing my own images for the first time since graduate school…and loving my craft with a renewed spirit.

deep currents

deep currents
This was inspired by the way the river's currents swirl around the rocks that sit on the bed of the river.

in the kelp bed

in the kelp bed
At times I let my mind wander to what is happening below...in the depths of the kelp beds. I image how the cold waters waft and drift along. I like to think about the serenity of life in the kelp beds.

two six rings

two six rings
We called these rings "six ring" because when you see then from the side...in profile...they reminded us of the number six.