This famous engraving of the 1833 Leonid meteor shower was produced by Adolf Vollmy. It’s based on a painting by Swiss artist Karl Jauslin, which, in turn, was based on a first-person account of the 1833 storm by a minister, Joseph Harvey Waggoner, who saw the 1833 shower on his way from Florida to New Orleans.
In that famous shower, hundreds of thousands of meteors per hour were seen! It was the first recorded meteor storm of modern times.
I loved to make this beautiful ‘Memento mori’ commission. I have a similar ring in stock, which is quite delicate in size , but the customer liked it a bit bigger and still elegant to wear. So we agreed on designing a new ring for her, in 14k gold with a raspberry red garnet. It’s so funny, this is a design not everyone likes. Some people think of the skull as scary, or as a permanent reminder of death.
Well, I have to admit that Memento mori translates to “remember you must die“. But the philosophy behind this intends its practitioners to live for a cause rather than in the pursuit of earthly goods as everything is temporary. In medieval times this ’cause’ was the good Christian life, in order to receive a ticket to the eternal hideaway in heaven. But nowadays it’s more and more seen as a reminder to ‘truly live’, in a way that suits your personal nature.
For me personally, this rings also refers to the 8th house in astrology. The 8th house takes us to our edge where transformation and rebirth are just on the other side of despair and death. It’s a house of transition from one state to the next. You have to take the the 8th house risk, face yourself, let go, transform and heal, in order to grow. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
My Sun and Moon are in 8th, which explains my interests and inspiration in the magic and mysteries of life and nature.
And I wondered what the customer’s connection with this particular ring was and I knew I could ask. And without writing her story down, I give you my thoughts on this; It’s during 8th house influences that people often get interested in astrology, but it’s also during 8th house influences that customers apparently find my 8th house ring. It’s amazing how things can connect. This ring has found a home where it truly belongs. Magic…
Unique one of a kind ring in 14k with a Ruby. This Ruby has been heated, which is a quite normal treatment to achieve a deeper color. When it catches the light it is a dark blood red, but sometimes this stone is almost black. When you held it up, letting the light through, it has purple and violet hints.
NEW* I made this pale blue Aquamarine moon, set in 14k gold. A unique one of a kind
I loved to make this ring, which I made it for myself. My sign is Aries and I wanted a ring, which shows my inner strength, as I am an Aries on the inside, not on the outside. Sun in Aries, but my ascendant is completely the opposite. Who knows me, doesn’t suspect me to be an Aries at first. When they know me better, they do. A strong garnet to keep me grounded, two diamonds aside to keep my head clear and as a symbol for my two loved ones. Two curved horns, well… yes, I’m Aries.
As with many of my jewelry I made the ring in wax first. It’s like making a sculpture. I add and remove wax, making a rough shape, see if it’s going to be what I have in mind. When the feel is right, I start to refine the wax model, which can be a very time consuming proces.
When the wax model was ready, the ring was casted in 18ct gold. After casting there is still a lot of work to be done. Sawing, filing, sanding… cleaning and polishing. And after that, the most tricky part; to set the stones.
Twinklebird, 18kt ring with tourmaline
This beautiful starling has a place in my studio. When I saw it I immediately fell in love, I had found my Twinklebird. For this picture I crowned him with an 18ct ring with a dark green tourmaline. The picture came out so beautiful, I decided to turn it into postcards and business cards.
Sometimes I make illustrations as a part of designing jewelry. This is an illustration which can be transformed to a ring or pendant. It’s part of the proces of visualising ideas.
A new hand carved, one of a kind ring, with little skull and garnet in 18k gold. A memento mori piece; which means that all life comes to an end. This may sound quite creepy, but in knowledge of that it also tells you to live your life and love every moment. And it’s also telling you to keep in mind what is important and what’s not, like what is it worth… in the end. This one is up for sale!
This was a nice commission. A customer asked me for a ring with a cat. I was already planning to make some one of a kind cat designs, so the timing couldn’t be better. Still, as many times, it took a while before I had the time to work on my ideas, but finally it’s here. The ring was hand crafted in wax and casted in 14k yellow gold. Some other (magic) cat designs will enter the shop, but this special one, is for a special client.