Jewelry designs - starting with a sketch
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From the sketchbook
For the jewelry I create for our shop (The Artsfish Design Studio) I often start a jewelry design with a sketch. I find it very satisfying to put my ideas down on paper. I sketch very quickly, first with a fine pencil and then finalize the drawing in ink and color pencil.
The sketch above was my conception of a necklace done with 18K gold, freshwater pearls and faceted honey tourmaline.
I love to work with tourmaline - it is a very versatile gemstone that comes in a wide range of beautiful shades.
The final result was very close to the sketch. Please click on the image on the bottom of the page for a close up of the finished product.
Some details about tourmaline;
Tourmaline is a complex aluminum borosilicate, the color in tourmaline is due to the presence of metal ions in its crystal structure.
Tourmalines are precious stones, and appear in seemingly unlimited shades of color, including black. Ancient Egyptian lore tells that on the long way from the Earth’s heart up towards the sun, Tourmaline traveled along a rainbow, and on its way it collected all the colors. This is why nowadays it is called the “Rainbow gemstone”.
The name “Tourmaline” is borrowed from the Singhalese phrase “tura mali”, which translates as “stone of mixed colors.”
Tourmaline is a hard gemstone that is second to none in the realm of precious stones and needs no special care in jewelry.
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July 28th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
That was a great post. I will have to bookmark this site so I can read it later.