Have you had those fleeting moments in life when you experienced an unusually profound insight, a feeling of connectedness or intimacy? It’s as if God pulls a curtain back, showing us the deeper workings of life. Then, it’s over, and we’re back to everyday life once more. I call these luminescent moments “Blue Pearl Moments”.
Capturing Blue Pearl Moments in Custom Jewelry
When a client wanting custom jewelry comes to me, I think of how we can tell her story leaving clues about the wearer as the heirloom jewel is passed through generations. The client may not come thinking of a specific story, but there is always one…
Frances came to me asking for a custom earring to showcase the scintillating 12.14 carat tanzanite pair her son had faceted that had been set in a temporary stud mounting. Her son is award-winning gem cutter Zava Mastercuts who happens to be my former husband…but, of course, that’s another story!
Listening and Custom Jewelry Design
During our conversation, Frances told me of a few Blue Pearl Moments, but the one that caught my attention for this project was in a hot air balloon over East Africa, watching the graceful giraffes lumber over the vast Serengeti Plain. This is also the geographic area where her are from, as they are found only in Tanzania.
I thought of how to work giraffes into the design motif without giving the earring an overt “Big Game” look. Giraffes’ long necks and nimble tongues are adapted to feed on the tender leaves high up in the thorny acacia tree. In all of life, we have beauty and the thorns. With that image, I set off to capture Frances’ Blue Pearl Moment through framing her Tanzanites with a wreath of acacia leaves, set with “thorny” prongs.
We went through several versions of the idea; which do you like best?
Earrings that feature big gems, diamonds and gold detailing are heavier and tend to pull or tip forward if posted directly on the earlobe. I added a short gold “leaf” stem with a post to the top of the earring, so they are comfortable and well positioned on any ear.
Linear Matriarchy
Frances plans to hand these earrings down to one of her granddaughters (who also happen to be my daughters). To further link the continuum of Frances and her mother to their granddaughters and great-granddaughters through heirloom jewelry, I linked the initials of Frances and her mother (K and B) in an under-gallery on the back of the earring.
Frances’ custom heirloom jewelry featuring 12.14 carats Tanzanite and accented by 0.80 carats of diamonds. The tanzanites are surrounded in a wreath of acacia leaves – the pointed platinum prongs represent the acacia thorns which the giraffes deftly navigate around. Crafted in 18 karat yellow gold, 14 karat white gold and platinum.
Cynthia works with clients all over the world, using personal visits or video conferencing.
There is a wide range of budgets.
To see more of Cynthia’s custom jewelry design work, click here.
