Source: Here are a few pictures of jewelry boxes I used to make I stopped makeing them years ago and now I cant believe i had the time to put into them but I was alot younger and single back then so... i made around 50 from the best I can remember some were much more simple and some more ugly and these are but a few of surviving pictures . I just wanted to share them an I hope you like them. They are all made of stone and 14 k gold and the process is called intarsia. This one is made from Black Jade , Sugilite, Australian Tigers eye, Lapis Lazuli , Australian Opal , 14k gold and the base is petrified Dinosaur bone the inside is lined with royal purple velvet with a technique I developed, over 500 pieces in this one. Enjoy
Source: Here is another same materials in this except no tigers eye and has a large african amethyst in the center this one also has a fabricated 14k gold hinge.
Source: And yet another , this one was very difficult because of the angles getting them to fit perfect in 3d is way harder especially since I was a perfectionist with the joints , i would hold the pieces up to the light and make sure I could not see light through the joint where the 2 pieces connect , and like most of the pieces on these boxes if I cut a little to far I had to start over with another piece. This is the same basic material as the others but a mozambique garnet on top and the base is berylium ore which in this case is a purple bullseye pattern.
That is a good question ,much less than the amount of work I put into them. I remember someone asked me what I would do if i won the lottery and I said make a bunch of jewelry and stuff like this until the money ran out.
Intarsia, I thought it was just Lapidary, that will give me something to Google, I always looked at the Japanese wooden Yosegi patterns and thought they would be great in stone but had no idea how to research it, now I know what to look for! Cheers this... Source: http://www.cleverwood.com/55_saya.htm ...but in stone! I figured it would be easy once you knew how! Back to Google it is then
I wonder if we'll ever return to a system that provides a real return for artisans? It worries me that economies of scale have destroyed some human skills or relegated them to the field of the "hobbyist". And it's only 3 in the afternoon
What price do you put on the LOVE put into a proper artisans work? Go to a few estate auctions and look at a few of the heirloom pieces - I think we all agree that its not much these days, unless it is a direct commission... which is a crying shame.
Yes it is getting very hard for artist to make a living , you really have to be able to adapt to current trends and provide high quality work so people will keep coming back . Most jewelry stores and galleries have several people to buffer you from the customer such as sales people and managers , but when you are dealing direct with the customers "the buck stops here" and you are accountable for all quality control aspects of the piece of jewelry you have crafted.
