This new collection was inspired by my love of flora and fauna in the Pacific Northwest. I walk daily as a way to reconnect with the beauty of nature and allow creativity and ideas to percolate. (Not to mention that walking helps me to refresh from a day of working at the bench and let's me rest my eyes after looking through a microscope for hours on end!)
After hand selecting these one-of-a-kind agates, which to me look like many of the plants I see on my daily walks, I began the process of matching up gemstones to add a pop of color.
Overcoming Online Shopping Obstacles
One of the challenges I wanted to overcome with this collection is the restriction of sizing and purchasing a ring on a website while never having tried it on. Most of these rings I can easily adjust by a half size so the ring can fit more fingers. Because I'm creating the band with mixed metals (14k gold over sterling silver), the ring couldn't otherwise be cut and resized like a typical band you would resize at a jewelers shop. So how does that work?
What is a bypass ring?
I have incorporated the split band into the design of the ring with some of the bands being a bypass style. A bypass ring (sometimes called a crossover ring), is where the band coils around the finger and the ends do not meet to form a closed circle.
I love inclusions in gemstones because of their one-of-a-kindness and because they prove these were created in nature. Inclusions in gemstones make things more interesting. Maybe you see tree-like images, flowers, or mini landscapes. These images may remind you of a happy memory — perhaps a recent nature walk of your own! Now you can wear a piece of art that brings you joy and also holds special meaning every time you look at it.
Curious to learn more? Check out my new dendritic agate collection!