It’s funny how after you amass and spread out all the paraphernalia and begin concocting creations, they end up being completely different from anything that you thought they would be…

After the gem buying bender in Tucson, I couldn’t wait to get home and start working on my new bijoux. I had visions of fomulations that really didn’t work, or terrific ideas, that, like a dream upon waking, were snatched from my little brain as soon as I made a change on the “drawing board” (I obviously have a short attention span). Plus, it’s not a real drawing  board. I just dump down a bunch of rocks and start playing with them.

The "Drawing Board"

Every now and then I actually make a sketch so I remember what was supposed to go with what…

The sketchbook

Even then stuff gets rearranged. Plus the things that you thought you would gravitate to right away (I’m thinking Italian cameos here), don’t come out first. If at all. The thing that I’ve learned, is that sometimes stuff has to sit around for awhile before it finds a worthy fit. And sometimes, as in life, you can wait a long time for Mister or Mrs. Right.

The first thing I wanted to work with was a fossil. Go figure. I have rubies and sapphires, diamonds and opals… I pick up the orthoceras. To be fair, I added a couple of yellow sapphires. Because it just “felt” right. That’s because I am not really visual. I know I know, how can I not be “visual” when I’m a damn jewelry (“jewellery” for my Canadian friends) designer? Like most people, I’m a mix, but the visual thing is at the bottom of the list. If you haven’t heard that you are more prone to learning by using one sense over the other, it’s basically this: you learn and express yourself either visually, auditory, or kinesthetically. Sight, sound or feeling. How do you know? There are tests for this (go online), often it’s taught at sales meetings so that you can learn to “relate” to people with a different mode of learning/understanding. But I digress. For me, jewelry has to “feel” right.

Orthoceras with lemon quartz and yellow sapphires.

I don’t think I can do a “line” with the orthoceras. At 4 inches in length, they are definitely show stoppers, but I don’t think I have enough flashy diva clients. (Note: Please forward this to all your flashy diva friends. Thanks).

Up next: Stactalites. Now, these might work for a lot of things, and they are hard enough to put into a bracelet or a ring without suffering too much damage from normal wear and tear.

Chalcedony and stactalite drop earrings.

Stactalite pendant with Australian Opal drop, ametrine briolette & pearl.

I’ll have to schedule that in, because I’m getting more and more distracted by rose cuts. Rose cuts were a popular cut from the 16th century until the early 1900s, they fell out of favor when the flashier cuts came on the market. For the longest time, you were only able to find them in vintage pieces, but they are making a comeback in some new jewelry too.

Classic Rose Cut Diamond

The rocks I’ve been hankering for aren’t really rose cuts, I guess the kids  just don’t know what to call them now. They are usually free form shapes, with rose cut like facets on the top, to catch the light. I love them.

Here’s a couple of things fresh off the bench:

Rose Cut Aquamarine Earrings with Aquamarine drops.

Rose Cut Umba Sapphire Ring.

Then I found some other roses:

Tourmaline Earrings with Opal "Roses".

Almost as good as that proverbial “bed” of roses!