The 25 Hour Ring

There are somethings that just dont work. They seem like they will- but at the last minute they play that nasty trick on you, and all goes south. Its like the souffle rising perfectly high and then deflating as you walk past the oven with heavy footsteps.

This ring- this tortuous- irritating ring from hell- was my souffle for the past 2 days- but in the end it rose... high and puffy, just waiting for a splash of ganache.. (no rhyme intended here). I kept my patience- I didnt throw it across the room- as I have been known to do- I didnt curse out the cats- I behaved myself and did it over and over- trying to find a solution.

The stone is beyond amazingly cool- it is a pale yellow and clear quartz with floating dendrites that look like miniture ferns caught under glass. Its problem was the angle that the edges were cut- a normal bezel wouldnt do the trick- not sure what did in the end- but it was a happy ending!!

I am really happy wth the results- sort of like antique meets- well, I have no clue- I just like it!

Now on to more supercool stones- this amazing rock is a plume agate- looks like layers upon layers of weird mountains underneath a cloud filled sky. Like I would imagine Mars to look like- if it were with atmosphere- as for some reason all sci fi movies like to assume.

And onto a classic, but always a favorite of mine- a big fat juicy checkerboard garnet. This ring took more muscle work than I have used in AGES! the base that the bezel is sitting on is solid sterling, that I felt the need to carve- not from wax first- carve the metal itself- exhausting- and then after I put the whole ring together, I noticed a small hole in the bezel- so I reheated it and took off the bezel- thus overheating the base and melting it- So... I carved another one- until my muscles were screaming- all this to avoid workmen in my house (bathroom renovations- but that is a different story!).

In the end, this ring kicks ass- it is a heavy, textured silver with a gorgeous red stone- looks like something that fell off a Spanish Galleon.

And I should never underestimate the OMG factor in Morgan Hill Poppy jasper- First of all, I love the name- which is a totally legitimate reason to use a stone- really-

And last but not least- a hybrid of a snowflake and a flower with a gorbeous citrine in the middle

So, one more day until my house full of workers go away- they have been with me for a week- each day bringing with them more destruction and mess- hopefully bu tomorrow, I can begin to organize- and not have to greet them at the door at 6:45 a.m.- WTF? What kind of contractors are so punctual- its making me nuts!! :)

Until next time...

Mara xo