Tag Archives: bespoke

poppy jasper and silver ring ~ custom made

I created this custom poppy jasper and silver ring for my lovely friend (and fabulous hairdresser) Charmaine. Charmaine is such a kind person, it’s always a pleasure to have a good old chat about life, the universe and everything with her (and have my hair done of course!)

Charmaine chose the stone from my collection of gemstone cabochons. I chose to showcase the beautiful stone with a simple matte silver border and ring shank. I love simplicity, and I always believe in letting the stone do the talking!

As well as this poppy jasper and silver ring, Charmaine has a number of my creations in her jewellery box. You can see her dendritic opal ring, her agatised fossil ring, and her malachite earrings here on my website. I always love creating for her – her taste is very similar to mine.

Jasper is the name for a large group of gemstones which are basically a variety of silica. The word jasper means spotted or speckled stone in old French. Poppy jasper is a kind of orbicular jasper, so named because of the round eye like patterns in the stone. There’s some good information about poppy jasper here. There are many beautiful variations of jasper!

malachite and silver pendant – green is good

I created this malachite and silver pendant as a commission for a client. The gemstone was chosen by my client from my collection, and given to her friend as a gift, with the proviso that I would create something that would please the recipient.

The stone is huge, and once I had met with the recipient, her request was for it to be simply showcased by the silver. My favourite way of course is to let the stone do the talking, so that suited me!

Malachite is green because of its high copper content. Throughout the ages, artists have widely used it to create green paint, until a synthetic replacement was formulated in the 1800s. It is named after the Greek word for mallow, which is a plant with leaves that are reminiscent of malachite. You can find some more information about malachite here.

As well as this malachite and silver pendant, you can see some other malachite pieces I have made here on the blog; like this malachite and silver ring and these malachite earrings.

I adore malachite, for its rich wonderful patterns and hues. In its raw form it is spectacular. Imagine digging that out of the ground! Mother Nature, you’re amazing! Green is my current favourite colour, because it is fresh and reminds me of nature in all her glory. What’s your favourite? You could find it and name it yourself over here!

lapis lazuli and silver pendant – made with love

Morgan, my lovely longest-standing best friend in the world, asked if I could make a lapis lazuli and silver pendant for her mum whom I have known since I was little, so I was happy to oblige!

Bet is an amazing actor and director, and was the person who first introduced me to the wonderful world of fabulous large jewellery. I remember being in awe of her dressing table contents, and my love of huge chunky rings stems from Bet. She has been a role model and inspiration to me in many ways throughout my life. Among many other things she is a strong, progressive, independent woman with a wicked sense of humour and an amazing sense of fashion. I like to think I now share some of those attributes with her!

I created the pendant with a cut-away back, so that the stone can touch the skin. What started out as three lilies (I know, more like toadstools in the end!) represent Bet’s three beautiful daughters.

It’s a bit of a statement piece as you can see from the size – just the way we like it!

Love you Bet. 🤗 xx

{As shown in this lapis lazuli and silver pendant, lapis and silver go beautifully together. Afghanis have mined lapis for over 6,000 years. It is believed to be good for communications and good judgement, for enhancing memory, and to attract success. You can see some other lapis pieces I have made here on the blog; like this lapis, silver and gold ring and this lapis and garnet bangle. You can find some more information about the gemstone lapis lazuli here.}

neon apatite and silver bangle – silversmith handcrafted

This neon apatite and silver bangle was a custom build for a client. Harley was on a mission for his wife to have a bangle made to fit in with her existing collection. He visited my workshop and viewed the selection of gemstones I had available. The neon apatite had caught his wife’s eye, and Harley decided it was the perfect stone.

Harley’s wife was keen to have a round bangle to fit in with her other jewellery. I worked within the style and size of her existing bangles. As I usually do, I kept the design of this handmade neon apatite and silver bangle simple. To balance the gemstone and keep it on top of the wrist, I weighted the bangle with some silver spheres.

Apatite comes in the most glorious shades across almost the whole spectrum of colour. There is a lovely apatite pendant in The Silver Forge shop at present which really showcases the stone. I designed and handcrafted the pendant myself using traditional silversmithing techniques and tools.

I have some other beautiful gemstones in different colours and shapes. If you’d like your own bangle, pendant or ring, let me know. I’d be happy to create for you!

silver bunting necklace – with bows

My sister Juliet is not only fabulous, she has exquisite taste, so when she mentioned wanting a silver bunting necklace I knew it would be a winner!

Bunting was originally a type of wool fabric manufactured from the turn of the 17th century. It was used for making ribbons and flags, including signal flags for the Royal Navy.

I wanted to capture the feeling of bunting without making the necklace too movable, so I suspended the bunting pieces from a fixed wire. Once I’d arranged the initial design, it suddenly became clear that the bunting needed tiny bows on either end!

I then suspended the design from silver chain, and attached handmade hook closures to finish this piece off.

I gave my sister this silver bunting necklace for her birthday recently. She is a motivation and health coach, so I hope it brings inspiration and joy to her! Shine Motivation is her business. If you would like a bit of help kick-starting a new you, I highly recommend getting Juliet to help you. She’s real, she’s kind, and she knows where you’re coming from! Alternatively you can browse her website for tips. If you’re more of a social media person, join her on FaceBook, Instagram or Pinterest! You can find The Silver Forge on those forums also.

solid silver reticulated pendant – drop of silver

I created this solid silver reticulated pendant for Louise. She saw one on FaceBook I made for a dear friend of mine. That piece can be found here. Although I don’t usually recreate custom pieces exactly, I was pleased to make another similar one for Louise.

I made the bottom of the pendant by heating a solid chunk of silver until it melted and became round and reticulated. I shaped silver wire into a spiral and added that as the bail. Then I soldered the pieces together, pickled them, brushed them et voilà!

So simple but effective, and this reticulated pendant makes a lovely everyday piece. I enjoyed making it. Silver is such a fabulous and endlessly changing medium! Working with silver is just the best. You can read more interesting info about silver here.

If you’d like your own custom silver piece, do feel free to contact me. Perhaps you’d like a piece for yourself, or a gift for a loved one, or a family heirloom? I’m always happy to discuss your silversmithing requirements.

If you’d like to connect up with me on social media, head over to FaceBook or Instagram. It would be lovely to see you there!

charoite and silver pendant – art for an artist

My gorgeous friend and lovely client, Margaret Ingles, is a wonderful artist and I am always thrilled when she asks me to create something for her – this charoite and silver pendant was no exception. You can see some of my past work for Marg including these coherent wave pendants, this amazonite, chrysoprase, topaz, and turquoise infinity pendant and this blue drusy agate and sterling silver ring.

I searched around for the right gemstone for Marg. She decided this beautiful teardrop shaped cabochon was perfect for her new charoite and silver pendant.

I was so glad to be able to make this lovely piece for a lovely person! Check out Margaret’s amazing art on her website. I just adore her hyper-realistic painting style – ‘Morning’ from ‘These Hands’ and ‘Devotion’ from ‘Bliss’ are two of my favourites. While I am very glad to be a silversmith, I reserve a certain awe for people who can transcribe vision to paper through the medium of paint!

Charoite is a beautiful gemstone, often found in Russia. That glorious purple is always stunning, and isn’t it amazing that it comes out of the ground like that! The name charoite comes from the Russian ‘chary’ – charms or magic. You can read more about charoite here.

silver leaf logo pendant – bespoke handcrafted necklace

My lovely client Angela contacted me and commissioned to make this silver leaf logo pendant for her.

Angela emailed me her logo, and I got to work with my jeweller’s saw and my soldering torch. I pierced the logo into a sheet of silver then soldered the pierced work onto another sheet of silver. I formed and attached a bail to suspend the piece by. After I used liver of sulphur to oxidise the piercing, I finished the piece with some emery and elbow grease. This is the end result!

I think this silver leaf logo pendant turned out pretty well. What a lovely logo!

If you have a logo that you’d like made into a pendant, contact me and we can discuss whether your logo would be suitable for this or some other kind of silversmithing work. We could even add a gemstone or two to really add some pop! This is a great gift idea for someone who runs their own business, or to provide to employees as a reward or marketing idea.

If you’d like to connect up with me on social media, head over to FaceBook or Instagram. It would be lovely to see you there!

bumblebee jasper and silver ring ~ handcrafted ring

I created this custom bumblebee jasper and silver ring for the lovely Elektra of Luna’s Light. Check out her Instagram feed, she has a wealth of fabulous crystals in her collection. A woman after my own heart!

Elektra found her own cabochon and asked if I could make her a ring, which I was happy to do! If you wanted your own, you could choose a stone from the gemstone selection I have available.

I do have some more bumblebee jasper in my gemstone collection, so if you would like your own bumblebee jasper and silver ring, get in touch. You’ll love having a bespoke piece made for yourself!

Bumblebee jasper is actually a kind of calcite, with no quartz in it at all! There’s some good information about bumblebee jasper here.

kaleidoscope jasper and silver pendant – art deco

This kaleidoscope jasper and silver pendant has a nice story behind it. My lovely client Colleen contacted me after she found the cabochon in my gemstones available for custom pieces. She and her husband were keen to get a pendant made as a keepsake for their daughter, who was celebrating her 40th birthday.

After browsing my custom gallery, Colleen did me a rough sketch of how she wanted the pendant to look. This is the result! I got the piece to Colleen’s daughter just before she embarked on some international travel, and she loves it. I hope it sees some fabulous sights with her!

Jasper is a variety of chalcedony. The name jasper comes from Greek and means “spotted stone”. Kaleidoscope jasper comes from a small family run mine in Oregon, USA. The family states they named the stone ‘kaleidoscope’ because it means ‘collage of colours’. That sums it up in my opinion!

the silver forge

jewellery handcrafted by ruthie gray