Jewelry, inspired by Nature
Handmade jewellery design
Making a Staurolite pendant: why Staurolite? It does not possess qualities most admired in gemstones, such as clarity, shine or color. Its natural cross shape is not even regular. Why do we fall in love with this seemingly unattractive mineral? … Continued
How to make a copper rose for jewelry Goldstone is the stone of ambition. It inspired me to make this 1 cm copper rose for jewelry. The rose has been soldered to the copper wire. The wire has been wrapped around … Continued
Making a silver branch pendant: step 1, selecting the stones Gemstones are not ‘born’ in the shape of a leaf or a petal. Raw crystals can resemble a floral shape, but they should be ‘helped’ by cutting and polishing. Not … Continued
Some time ago I finished one of my precious metal clay projects. Inspired by the tales of the Russian poet A.S. Pushkin. One of his poems “Ruslan and Ludmila” starts with the following lines: There’s a green oak by the … Continued
IMHO reproducing jewellery is boring, it’s something for serial manufacture, not for a hobby jewellery-maker who wants to learn different techniques. It is also a mission impossible because materials, stones, tools, skills – even mood – can change with the time. That’s … Continued
Je hoort mij zelden klagen over te warme zomers in Nederland. Maar de laatste dagen zijn de temperaturen echt te beroerd. Met name op zolder waar mijn atelier ligt bereikt de kwik al gauw 30 graden. Dat soort temperaturen zijn … Continued
Ring earring set: shall the ring and the earrings be identical if they belong to the same jewellery set? Some time ago I ran into a set of three gorgeous banded agate gemstones. No gemstone is more creatively striped by Nature … Continued
Tumbled gemstones are magical. They offer such a variety of size, shape and color! And last but not least they are inexpensive too. I have written about tumbled gemstones before, in this blog. The “raw” beauty of these stones has … Continued
A nice and funny example of custom jewellery design. A couple of months ago I made this Egyptian cat, wrapped in a crescent moon-shape around a mysterious fluorite stone. After it was put on sale I received a message from … Continued
Tumbled gemstone jewellery is challenging for a jewelry maker. Their irregular shapes are difficult to fit into a standard bezel. Very often the only way to hang them onto something is to drill a hole through them. Drilling requires special … Continued