I was commissioned by a wonderful client, who I now consider a friend, to create a necklace in celebration of her retirement. The piece was to be something truly special to mark all the years she’s worked and all that she’s achieved. She enjoyed her working life, and she was now entering a new life season where she hoped to enjoy more time with her husband, family and friends.

The central gem - a 19.5ct amethyst

My client has always admired the beautiful hand faceted gems which Ivan from Hascosay Gems cuts, and she is a good friend of his…so getting a gem from him was the natural starting point.

Ivan is someone I have worked with for several years and I too love the gems he cuts, so it would be a pleasure create a beautiful pendant to showcase the 19.5ct purple amethyst my client chose.

The design

My client wanted her pendant to be in a classic style, but have something different about it. Maybe using another gold as well as white gold? We spoke about using small white diamonds to add bright sparkle and a touch of decadence.

As I designed the pendant, I thought a lot about the exciting new stage of life my client was entering - where the two parts of her life (work and personal) were going to merge to become one. Now free from the obligations of work, her life will be shaped by her own desires and choices.

This led me to think about a double halo design - one halo in white gold with white diamonds and the other halo in rose gold with pink sapphires. The pink of the sapphires is a beautiful compliment to the colour tone of the amethyst and these two strands would merge together in a symbolic way. As with all my designs, I drew my initial concept in pencil to discuss with the client.

Creating the pendant in CAD

I enjoy challenging myself to learn new tools and to create pieces using different techniques. My usual ‘go-to’ for a piece like this is the traditional wax carving method. However, I decided to use the CAD software to create this beautiful piece. It had to have all the flow of something I would create in wax carving, the precision of a CAD created piece and the knowledge of hand crafting pieces behind it, so all parts would be cleaned up before soldering together for a higher quality finish.

On the bench

Once I had created the CAD file and cast the different parts into 18ct white gold and 18ct rose gold, I filed and emeried the surface of each piece, tweaking the shape as I went and making sure it would all fit together perfectly before soldering the pieces together using a blow torch and white gold solder.

The next phase was stone setting. The technique used for this piece is called thread and grain. A hole for each gem is drilled into the metal making sure it will sit beautifully next to those on either side. Using a tool called a ‘scorper’, a thread or bright cut edge is cut into the metal on either side framing this row of gems. Then the metal which won’t be used for the tiny claws is cut away leaving metal which is then teased over each stone to hold it in place.

I love creating pieces with this type of stone setting - it is clean, sparkly and showcases the gems beautifully while keeping the flowing lines of the design.

The finished piece is threaded on an 18ct white gold 18” spiga chain with a fitting at 16” and 15” so the necklace can be at different lengths according to the top or dress it is worn with.

Reflection and sparkle

I was so in love with the finished necklace that I had to take a video of it sparkling in sunlight. You can fall in love with it too when you watch the video :-)

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Visit my Bespoke Gallery to see more pieces I’ve made for clients. And you can find out more about commissioning a pieces on the Bespoke Journey page.

- Karlin x