Tetra Bridal Sets with Trillion Garnet and Lab Sapphire

A couple weeks ago I finished a set of 4 rings for an awesome couple. They wanted matching bridal sets each from my Tetra collection which incorporate trillion cut faceted stones. For their sets they chose a lab created blue sapphire and a Mozambique garnet set in palladium with a matching 2mm contoured wedding band.

Bridal ring sets made in palladium with Garnet and lab created sapphire

The rings are also available now on my web site as Sapphire or Garnet bridal sets or just the garnet ring or lab sapphire engagement ring each. 

The lab sapphire ring can be made with a standard lab created sapphire or a more expensive Chatham  created sapphire. 

The garnet ring is also available with a Rhodolite garnet which would have more a raspberry color instead of the warm red Mozambique garnet color.

Palladium ring with trillion cut lab created blue sapphire

Palladium ring with trillion cut genuine Mozambique Garnet

It was fun creating these bridal pieces with those colorful gemstones. They are part of my Tetra collection rings which I have been making for years mostly as statement or cocktail rings. It's nice to bring this line now into my bridal selection too. I already offer a moissanite version too and can create it also with diamonds or genuine sapphires upon request.

The couple has been very happy with their rings too. Here the note I received from them: 

"We received our rings this weekend and couldn't be more thrilled with them. They are beautiful pieces! Thank-you again for creating them for us." 

Happy customers means mission accomplished!

Mandarines and Aquas

I finally spend last night until the early wee hours to work on some photos and post new rings in my shop.
I created these smaller versions of Tetra rings  in late August but did not get the photo shoot done until yesterday. The Tourmaline ring on the right was posted in my shop since a couple weeks and just sold last week. It's now on it's way to the Netherlands to find a new home. The other two rings use quite rare stones: a fiery orange Spessartite Garnet and a rare intense blue Santa Maria Aquamarine.

The garnet family of gemstones is large and varied, but spessartite garnet is no ordinary garnet. Spessartite is a brilliant gem that has a refractive index even higher than sapphire. It shows an amazing sunny glow. I have one ring made in size 6.5 and still have 2 other similar stones available for custom sizes. One is a cushion cut like the gem in the ring and the other has a brilliant trillion cut.

Spessartite Garnet Tetra Ring

As with most gems, the more intense shades of aquamarine are the most popular, and the intensity of the shade changes depending on the source of the stone. The most sought-after color is known as the Santa Maria aquamarine. Santa Maria aquamarines are a deep ocean blue and have an enchanting fire and brilliance. Found at a single mine in Brazil called the Santa Maria de Itabira mine, Santa Maria aquamarine stones are quite rare. Lose yourself in the rare, intense blue of this Santa Maria Aquamarine gemstone ring. The faceted aquamarine has a amazing blue color. It's size is 7 x 7 mm and it weights 3/4 ct.

Sparkly Black Drusy Ring

If you like some sparkle in your live and love to wear the color black, this sleek ring is just right for you.

This amazing ring from the "Tetra" collection features a trillion Black Drusy Agate gem stone. The black colored stone is quite unique as tiny quartz crystals, called Drusy or Druzy, form within an agate, adding beauty and uniqueness. The ring fits a US size 7 but it can still be re-sized one size up (8 ). The stone is 14.4 mm by 14.3 mm. The sterling silver ring has a satin brushed finish and the bezel setting has a polished rim around the stone.

For any custom sizes I have a few other black drusy stones available that have a similar shape, some smaller, some wider or narrower etc. Everyone will yield a different unique ring.

And if you rather would like to add some color to your life you can choose from these 2 peach or the brown drusy.

A druzy (or, more commonly, drusy) is the term that refers to a blanket of tiny, sparkling crystals often found inside a geode or an agate. The sparkling appearance of druzy  is like that of spilled salt or sugar. By far the most commonly found drusy is quartz (agate or chalcedony), but many other species can exist in this form : chrysocolla, uvarovite garnet, rainbow pyrite, rainbow hematite, psilomelane, cobalto-calcite, calcite, dolomite, sphalerite, melanite garnet, demantoid garnet, azurite, dioptase, siderite, vanadinite and turquoise.

The formation of the tiny crystals occurs after molten rock begins to quickly cool, trapping gasses within it as it solidifies. The trapped gasses cause crevices and cavities in the cooling rock. Nutrient-rich groundwater later flows through these gaps and crevices, depositing layer after layer of minerals which crystallize on top of each other. The resulting encrustation is called druzy (drusy, druse, druses). This process doesn't take days or weeks, but a few hundred or even a few thousand years. Naturally colored quartz drusy is found almost exclusively in muted colors such as white, grey, tan and cream. Many quartz pieces, though, are dyed black or other vivid colors such as purple, red, green and blue, and some are coated with titanium or other metallic vapor which creates various iridescent finishes.

.

Blushing Pink Mold For Tetra Rings

I finally got a rubber mold made for my Tetra rings. Here it is in it's nice blushing color of non-shrink rubber.

I did try to do molds myself some time ago in school  and could never really get a nice working one. I think it's an art to cut rubber molds correctly. This one is actually a pretty simple ring shape and not that hard to cut. In comparison some molds I got for my Mermaid rings are awesome with all those undercuts and multi-part pieces. Nowadays I send my masters out to get a professional cut mold. Those work so much better when I do the wax injection. It also saves me from all those bloody cuts in my fingers from the cutting scalpel. If any one cares and want to try it out on their own, here is a pretty good description on how to make molds.

Here the master model and some wax copies from the mold with the injection and casting sprues on them. The master has to be larger than the final intended ring and setting to allow for shrinkage. This pink rubber has less shrinkage that normal rubber (about 2% vs. 8%) but also during the casting  there is shrinkage from the wax to the final cast metal.

This mold will help me to speed up the Tetra ring making for the 10 mm stones. I still have to adjust the settings slightly for some of the stones. There are always slight differences in the trillion shaped stones I got. Some stones have a bit rounder sides or rounded or pointy tips or even deeper or shallower cuts. But adjusting the setting is so much faster after having the main shape already there. Then all else I do is sizing the band in wax correctly and send it out to the caster. I try to avoid sizing and soldering in metal and usually cast every ring to the intended ring size.

Here are a few new Amethyst colors I recently got in darker shades. For the smaller stones and fancy cuts I will still have to hand carve each ring separately and cant use the wax models from the mold.

Fancy Cuts

I finally got around to play with some fancy cut gem stones that I had in my treasure box. I designed two one-of-a-kind rings in wax and I can't wait to see them all finished in metal.

The first ring has a triangular fancy shaped tourmaline cabochon that has a incredible blood red color. I found this stone last week at my stone supplier in Downtown LA when I was searching for Morganite stones for a commissioned ring. Anyways this stone really caught my eye and I had to buy it. The tourmaline is 14 mm by 10 mm. I so love tourmalines especially when they have some natural inclusions. The variety of tourmaline colors and it's brilliance are just adorable.

Those asymmetrical lines were just perfect for a very dynamic design that is somewhat based on my Tetra ring collection.  I am not sure yet what metal I will cast this in. This would look so great in a warm yellow gold. But 14kt will be so had to set the stone in and 18kt is probably out of my reach.


The second ring is pretty similar. Here I used a faceted fancy shaped pink sapphire.

This stone I acquired years ago just waiting to find the right design for it. It is 11 mm by 5.5 mm and a bit smaller than the stones I typically use for my ring designs. To give it volume I shaped the sides of the setting in an angle to the stone. Let's see how that works once it is cast in metal.

.

Ice and Fire - Or do you like it hot or cold?

I added an new ring to the Tetra ring line on Etsy. 


I had my Ice Tetra Ring up for a couple month now. It already sold a few times. The Ice Tetra ring is a Sterling Silver ring with a trillion shaped faceted Swiss Blue Topaz gem stone. The gem is mounted in a heavy bezel setting that is flush with the stone surface. 

In contrast, the new Volcano ring is all about fire. It has a similar shank design but the stone is a deep orange Citrine stone that is mounted upside down. With that it creates a mountain like appearance. Since the orange represents fire, this resembles a volcano pretty much.

So do you like it hot or cold?