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The Cheapside Hoard - 17th Century English Jewelry

In 1912, workmen discovered a box of jewelry hidden under the floorboards of a house in Cheapside. The jewelry has been dated to between 1600-1650, and it was the work of a jeweler who supplied jewelry to wealthy merchants and their wives. This discovery, which included about 230 pieces of jewelry, is known as the Cheapside Hoard. If you're interested in the history of the discovery, I recommend you visit the link.

Many of the pieces are displayed at the Museum of London, which Mick and I visited when we were there in July. Having read about the Cheapside Hoard, I was excited to see these pieces. What struck me more than anything else is that they are so similar to pieces we wear today. Goes to show there's no such thing as an "original" design.

My apologies for the quality of the photos. They were taken of the jewelry in cabinets, and in a dark room, so they hardly show the color and quality of the gems.

The earring above is comprised of iolites, and the dangling gem is an amethyst. Like most of the pieces in the collection, gold is the primary metal used in the designs.

This is an especially striking piece. I'm not 100% sure what the gemstones are, but they look like aquamarines and pearls. They make me want to run out to my jewelry studio and create my own version of these beautiful earrings.

Many of the pieces in the Cheapside Hoard feature enamel over gold. These cross earrings are one of the more exquisite examples.

These rings are made with emerald cabochons. Like the earrings above, they make me want to try to recreate them. I have talked about the fact that my main character wears a ring her brother made for her and have even created sketches for it. However, after seeing these rings, I wonder if Isabel Wilde didn't wear one.

This is a simple pin that looks to be turquoise, or perhaps enamel, set in gold.

This ring was one of my favorite pieces because of its simplicity. It's a beautiful sapphire set in gold. Definitely something I could make for myself and similar to pieces I've already made.

More than anything, this collection of jewelry captures my imagination. It is an example of all the types of things my characters may have worn. My dream is to own a piece of jewelry made during this time period, but that will require the selling of an awful lot of books. In the meantime, maybe I'll get in the studio and make my own.

2009 Recap #4: Jewelry Sketches

Note: This post was originally published on February 16, 2009

I don't normally do much in the way of sketching when it comes to designing my jewelry.  And when I say "normally," I actually mean never.  This year, however, I have a very special project in mind and whilst looking for design ideas, I realized that some sketching was definitely in order.

What is this special project you ask?  It is a companion piece for the novel I'm writing.  I want to make a ring that is given to my main character, Isabel Wilde, by her brother, who is a goldsmith. 

I have my hear set on using a ruby for this ring, set in 18k yellow gold and flanked with diamonds and possibly pearls.  In the sketch to the left, the center stone would be a faceted oval ruby and the four smaller circles would be pearls.  The little dots would be pave-set diamonds.

Such a piece will challenge my jewelry making skills but with the exception of the pave, it is all well within my abilities.  I will send it out to have the diamonds set, however.

 
 

I find the design to the right much less appealing.  It is more a case of just exploring shapes and sizes than it is a design I would use.  I don't remember if the smaller circles were diamonds or pearls in this design.

 





In this design I experimented with an emerald cut stone as well as a couple of pearr shaped stones on the sides.  I'm not sure what the side gemstones would be--although I have always been partial to the combination of red (ruby) and gold (citrine).  The small circles around the perimeter would be pave set diamonds.








 

Finally, I tried a pear-shaped ruby in the design.  The bottom circle would be a pearl and the smaller circles diamonds, as in the other designs.  I have not been a fan of pear-shaped stones until the last few years.  Now I really like them.

In anticipation of using this design or perhaps something similar, I bought a cheap ruby on eBay:

I do not know yet whether I'll use it since I need to see it in person.  If I can't find a ruby I can afford I'll use a red garnet.  For some reason I visualize this ring as having a red stone and a garnet will work almost as well as a ruby.

2009 Recap #3: Ralph Goldstein, Master Jeweler

Note: This post was originally published on May 19, 2009

UCLA Extension did a profile of my jewelry teacher a few months ago and they finally finished the video:

Ralph is teaching us handmade jewelry making techniques that are dying out. Most jewelry these days is carved in wax then cast. We make jewelry entirely by hand, even down to melting pure silver and gold with alloys. I absolutely love it.

2009 Recap #1: Secrets of the Samarai Sword

Note: This post was originally published on July 25, 2009

My husband and I just watched a program on PBS called Secrets of the Samarai Sword. It's available to watch on the internet, and I recommend it.

There are several reasons why this program was interesting to me personally. First, my husband picked up a book at a library book sale awhile back about Japanese swords and was immediately taken with them. That year for his birthday, I embarked on my own research and bought one for him. Much like making a sword, it was a painstaking process; there are lots of "fakes" out there, particularly, swords made by machine during WWII, and an authentic, handmade sword is expensive. I'm not sure I'd have the confidence even now to buy one again, although I'm certain that the one I bought him is authentic. We both love that sword--it is almost as important to me as my wedding ring, if you want the truth.

The second reason I found this program engaging is because I'm a goldsmith. I make jewelry out of gold and silver and some of the processes used are similar, if not the same. I use ancient techniques to make my jewelry, and this type of craftsmanship appeals to me. I'm definitely not comparing my level of expertise to the level presented by the master swords-maker profiled, but my experience with making jewelry makes me extremely interested in the techniques used in Japanese sword-making.

The level of expertise required to make a sword can be applied to any field, whether it be sword making, jewelry making, or in my case now, writing. Young people apprentice in this work at an early age and through the years become experts themselves, thus preserving a tradition that is hundreds of years old. It is a reminder that to be good at anything, even if one possesses natural talent, takes years of practice. It is affirming and daunting at the same time--I am a novice at writing, at least as it pertains to novels, and I have a lot of work in front of me to become an "expert."

Having been to Japan and having even visited the sword museum in Tokyo shown in the program, I was also interested in the cultural aspects of Samarais, sword fighting, and sword making. But for me, the really compelling part is the fabrication of the sword. It is fascinating, and an important reminder that hard work and persistence is an important key to success.

First Facebook Giveaway - Success!

Yesterday I did something I never did before. I posted in my status that the first person to respond with their ring size would get the ring I made in the studio. It was fun! I got a great response and as a result I'll be making a few more rings in the coming weeks. The resulting ring, pictured below, is sterling silver. It's a lovely peridot set in a bezel. I'm really pleased with the result, and I hope the recipient (my cousin Eileen) is too.

Birthday Ring

I made this ring in the jewelry studio on Tuesday as a birthday gift for my friend Ruth. It is sterling silver and rose quartz set in a bezel with the typical "Holly West" ball ornamentation on the sides. It's the most complicated project I've done in awhile, and I was pleased with the result.

Charming ID Bracelet

Don't ask me why, but I suddenly had the urge to make an ID bracelet for myself.  This was my project for Tuesday's jewelry studio time:

It's a very delicate bracelet, with not much in the way of bells and whistles.  As you can see, in addition to the name plate, I included two small circle charms with an M (for Mick) and an S (for Stuart).

It's sterling silver, and I gave it a satin finish and a handmade clasp.  Originally I was thinking I might make the chain by hand, but admittedly, that's a pretty long process and it seemed more practical to use pre-made chain.  In retrospect, I think that was the right choice because I could have never made chain this delicate anyway.

As I mentioned yesterday, Mick had his naturalization oath and is now an American citizen.  You can read about his experience here. 

Tutorial: How to Make a Bezel Part II

I posted the first part of this video tutorial from Art Jewelry Magazine a couple of weeks ago:  Making a Bezel Part I.

In my studio today I spent a lot of time taking pictures for my own tutorial on making a bezel set ring, but unfortunately I didn't finish.  Since I think these videos from Art Jewelry Magazine are straight forward and easy to follow, I thought I'd post the second video in the series in absence of my tutorial.

If you are thinking of learning to make metal jewelry, I hope these videos inspire you.  It's really not as difficult as you might think and it is such a satisfying process.

Tutorial: How to Make a Pair of Earrings with French Earwires

I had some time left over in the jewelry studio today and I decided to take some photos for a tutorial on how to make a simple pair of earrings with french wires.

London Blue Topaz Pendant

This pendant, which I made a few months ago, is the companion piece to the ring I made last week:

It is a pear-shaped London Blue Topaz bezel set in sterling silver with three little silver balls at the bottom for accents.

You might have noticed I added a link to my twitter account on the right hand side of the page.  I've not done a lot of twittering in the past, but done right, it can be a useful promotional tool.  It's also a good place to write stuff that I want to call your attention to, but isn't necessarily worthy of a full post.