Skull Ring Bring out the dead - head in you !

I've been busy making custom jewelry for the holidays including an awesome skull ring !
Take note that our Etsy shop has a coupon

Holiday sale Nov27 2013 through January 1, 2014 - 10% off everything in the store.
Use Code- holiday10   
http:etsy.com/shop/pacificgrovejewelers

This guy is  finally complete and on his owner's finger.
           I made a master mold of the ring so I can produce duplicates by injecting molten wax
into the mold. I can then change any part of the design , such as removing the bold initials
from this personalised version and recarving the shank in a textured form or with other initials if requested.
If anyone wants to make a design sugestion for the shank , please send  it to me and perhaps I'll put one out there for
a client or anyone else. As you must know the image of the skull has been a prominent figure in the arts for
a very long time and in many cultural contexts.  My father had me make a ring with a secret fraternity pin set
in it .The motif was a skull and crossed bones backed by a serpent. He is gone but there is a number of secret societies that feature the skull.
I was asked to make my first skull ring for a mororcycle club in 1969.
My infatuation with the human form paid off after many hours in life drawing classes and anatomy studies
MICHAELANGELO is my purest source of inspiration.

etsy.com/shop/pacificgrovejewelers

No Bull I carved these Steer !

No Bull I made these!

Two Taurus Necklaces I  made for men the same summer back in the 80's .The bottom one is the wax I carved but the horns are white Gold and Diamonds
the finished bull bust  is yellow gold. He had inherited a bull with the diamond horns but it was a very crude representation .He asked me to use the horns but carve a realistic bull.  Approximately the size of a Half Dollar .


The full bodied  Yellow Gold Bull on top has a White gold diamond collar . He wanted it to look like the bull on this logo.

Another man came in the store ,saw the bulls I carved and asked me to do a portrait in Gold of his Fiance .
I'll dig those pictures up.

What have you always wanted to see in Gold ?

facebook.com/pacificgrovejewelers

The world of Garnets

Demantoid Garnet this one is predominately yellow .We don't have much natural light today to capture its rainbow brilliance .20 years ago two kelly green ones went for $20,000.00 each !

This Amethyst and diamond Pendant is enhanced by the Presence of bright yellow orange spessertite and some tsavorite garnets!

Rose colored garnet

The world of Garnets is fascinating . Garnets cannot be enhanced .In other words the only way to alter a garnet to improve it is to cut it well. Most people are familiar with reddish brown Garnets. there are also bright fiery red Garnets  from the Ant Hill Mine . Rhodalite Garnets are on the spectrum of Purple Red - bubblegum pink!
there are purple garnets ,color change garnets . One of my favorites is the Tsavorite Garnets from the Ural mountains . The color and clarity put Emeralds to shame. theyre are bright orange Spessertite garnets that glow like crazy. The ultimate is the Diamantoid Garnet which has the color dispersion of a Diamond , hence the name .
I will be entering the Diamantoid with one of my large Tourmalines in the Spectrum Awards

Tourmaline and rhodalite cab earrings with 16kt discs

checkerboard rhodolite with pinl sapphire side stones

Blood Red Garnet with White Diamonds

More Beautiful Stones and Designs

Two  fabulous large Brazilian Tourmalines
ready to set 11 cts and 18cts respectivelylets make a ring you've


always dreamed of.

sold incredibly large and  rare Paraiba Tourmaline

For Sale on Etsy, 1 ct.Rare Fushcia color Sapphire.Clear,fancy emerald -cut in 10kt original ring. 

 Ultra multi-color Crystal Opals, 6 ctw. in sterling with Tiny Iguana Lizard bail.

see  on etsy

A hammered Rose Gold band with white gold cup-bezel/Sunstone and varied color sapphires

The Sapphires are flush mounted in the white bezel. All are very brilliant stones.

See on Etsy.com/shop/pacifcgrovejewelers 

Brilliant Sea-Foam color Spinel found only in Cambodia set in 14Kt yellow gold freeform.

tourmaline with rubies set in sterling -buy on Etsy.com

blood Red Garnet with Diamonds - sold

Free Form 14kt gold with checkerboard cut Amethyst diamonds & orange and green garnets

Ready to ship

Greetings Good People near and far!  Well ,  here we are 1/2 way through December already. If you are looking for an  original piece of jewelry at a extremely low price you have found my work. My online store  Pacific Grove Jewelers - it  is at etsy.com    .
 For those that do not know about Etsy,let me explain. Etsy takes mere pennies for their commission. We craftspeople , jewelers and artists can actually sell our wares at very reasonable prices because Etsy does not take 50% , as most galleries and consignment stores do.     Etsy is also  International . I recently sold and delivered a 14kt yellow gold Fox ring with green Tsavorite garnets in the eyes to a lady in Brazil.  A sterling  Great Blue Heron flying through a large circle with a gold cupped Moonstone in the sky   went to Switzerland.You will find a variety of gold or sterling pieces with Exotic stones .My collection of rare stones is awesome .....please have a look!!

Fantasy cut citrine

Color change Sapphire

cognac diamond

Golden Sapphire

Mermaid Pendant

Mermaid saving Sailor ring with Topaz

Carnelian

Green Garnets

Comparative weights for metals



The Karatage System For Gold
    24K=.999 fine gold               14K=.585 fine gold
    22K=.916 fine gold               10K=.416 fine gold
    21K=.875 fine gold                 9K=.375 fine gold
 19.2K=.800 fine gold                 8K=.333 fine gold
    18K=.750 fine gold  

This is Pan He is a copy of a vintage carving Here I used him as a clasp for a bracelet . I will be selling them as pendants and earrings on etsy 

14K Yellow Gold is:
.839 times as heavy as 18K Yellow Gold
.609 times as heavy as Platinum
1.543 times as heavy as Brass
1.257 times as heavy as Sterling Silver Gold
Sterling Silver is:
.899 times as heavy as 10K Yellow Gold
.796 times as heavy as 14K Yellow Gold
.668 times as heavy as 18K Yellow Gold
.485 times as heavy as Platinum
1.228 times as heavy as Brass

Here I am with an order for a beautiful ring I make that is a lifelike portrait of a fox. On Etsy.com I've sold about 10 or more . The point of all this is that it is going to a new client in Switzerland!!  The last order was the silver and blue topaz ring with a mermaid saving a sailor,and that ring went to Azerbaijan!!  I'm going to find out if they
they know one another .The gent from Switzerland has bought from me before. It's the internet bringing me individuals from around the world that makes it truly feel like "a village".   Have any of you out there seen the music video 'What Does The Fox Say?' by the band in Norway called  Ilvis  ?  they were on the Ellen show several weeks ago and the silly but amusing performance went viral.  They need my Fox ring,I'll have to reach them ,can any one help me?

It's a small yet incredible planet,no?        Peace be with you all, Danny

The graceful Flight of the Great Blue Heron pendant was inspired by the big birds that live in the trees and marsh down  at our beach. Being private property the Herons are not skittish around people and dogs so we have had many close encounters with them.Those huge wings make for some serene sights as they ride the breeze coming off Puget Sound. A sweet woman has asked me to make one of these Heron pendants for her and it will hang over her heart as she wishes. These birds are special and seem to have an effect of awe on us.

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Here they are 'The Mermaid saving the Sailor from the Sea'   This intricate detailed carving took some time but the brilliant result is well worth it. Now it goes to my client in  Azerbaijan!  Good old internet .This gentleman found me on Etsy.com, the wordwide sight for hand crafted arts and antiques. Three shades of Blue Topaz bring it to life. With no store to support I was able to make tis ring for less  than half of a regular retail situation.
    the holidays are coming soon! D.S.

Mermaid and Sailor in the Sea ring

Photos of this new ring will be posed here and on Linkedin tomorrow,until then Good Night ,Danny

Colors of Fall in Gold

I  have alove affair with the amazing color gems and crystals given us by Mother Nature.

The exotic gems in my jewelry creations are never what you see in commercial jewelry stores ,only in special designer jewelry studio shops.My importer friends of 30 years  have been bringing me the finest and rarest stones from all over the world. These stones are hand picked from big lots one by one,only the finest clarity ,cuts and the rich rarest of color.

Here are a few recent designs I made for these beautiful jawdropping fancies.  Tell me what you think.
  Oh , without a store to support I can offer prices as rare as the jewelry. Here with me ,  you have found a source for anything you could possibly want in the world of Jewelry.  Affordable.

casting silver 'sculpture' ring

Today I'm putting the finishing touches on a sculptural,very lifelike ring .The design is a Mermaid saving a sailor from the sea.The figures embrace among the swirling sea studded withe blue topaz with a large center topaz in between them.Tomorrow the wax model will magically become sterling,then I set the stones .Look for a photo in a couple of days

"Recycling " Inherited Jewelry

Do you have Family Jewelry or your old wedding ring from a former marriage and don't know what to do with it ?
Here are some ideas  of projects I've transformed for other clients ;This was a Mothers Wedding Set and we included her gold and diamonds

This incredible labor of love came from a collection of rings earrings and pendants . A present from a loving uncle to his niece . Combining Grandmothers Jewelry -going back 3 generations.

This tribute to her late husband who brought the Boar tusk back from the Pacific Theater in WWII was made from melting down part of her large collection of  22 KT Thai baht chains

 This ring was created from my client's mothers earrings and pendant set.

For this client we added the color change purple sapphire and pink sapphires to this fantasy design

the diamonds were her family's heirloom.