Eminence

When I began making jewelry in 2000, one of the first things I did was visit a supplier in Seattle that carried tools and materials for metalsmithing. The first few cabochons I purchased, jaspers and turquoise, were from that shop. I used all of those gems to make jewelry, all but this one little oval cabochon with a unique spidery matrix. Last year, a visitor to my workshop was looking through my trays of stones and she instantly resonated with this gem, out of hundreds I showed her. I told her how over the years I've taken it out, turned it around in my hands, designed several ideas for it, but never made them for some reason; I always just tucked it away again to wait. Apparently, she is who I was waiting for. She had a clear idea to elevate the stone in a way that made it important and visible, to celebrate its uniqueness without overshadowing or hiding it in any way. This is the design we came up with. It is a joy for me to use humble materials of the earth, elevating and displaying them in many ways. This one, set in gold reminded me of the Velveteen Rabbit, made real with love.