I have customers who in the end become friends of mine over the years, and this is one such situation.
Marisol and Pat are good friends of mine who started off as customers, and Marisol had gotten a few pieces from me. So, I knew her style a bit, and more importantly, her ring size! When Pat wanted to get an engagement ring made, he came and saw me for inspiration and ideas.
I’m someone who likes to think outside the box, and I’m not holding to the traditional thinking of that an engagement ring needs to be in gold with an expensive diamond. There is a whole world of stones anyone could choose from and an assortment of different materials. Besides, it’s the thought that matters, not the cash value of the ring! Most people would be quite happy with a silver ring with a coloured stone, especially if it’s one they love!
Photo: https://mythicalcreatures.info
Marisol has a particular fondness for the goddess Hera, and her symbol is a peacock feather. She’s also very fond of a variety of gemstones, and shares my opinion on diamonds: common and quite boring! I suggested making a ring in the style of an adjustable peacock feather set with a garnet. But, not just any garnet, a dementoid garnet!, Demantoid garnet is a green variety of garnet known for its fire, brilliance and vivid green colour. It is considered one of the rarest and most valuable variety of the garnet family. Plus the name sounds really cool!
Image: Wikipedia
I spent several weeks perfecting the design, as well as making it so that the ring was adjustable to size by having the quill stem wrap around the finger and act as a shank. The stone is set in the eye of the feather, which was designed around the stone I had found for the ring. It all took some doing, but the end result was really awesome, and I think it fit perfectly in place!
And to those wondering, of course she said yes!
To this day she still wears the ring, as well as the wedding set I made for them in silver, and makes me smile every time I see her wearing it!
Thanks for reading,
