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Updated
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CUSTOM POLISHED STONES AND JEWELLERY
TUMBLE POLISHED STONES
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OTHER LAPIDARY PAGES... |
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Stones shaped and polished to order |
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Rough & Tumble Lapidary |
INTRODUCTION
This page is specifically about some of the projects I have worked on and some of the jewellery items I have made recently. It also advertises that I am willing to take on commissions for jewellery design. There is a huge variety of stones and stone jewellery available these days - simple to complex, cheap to expensive, mass produced to "one-off's" - the possible combinations of stone and metal are almost boundless.In many cases I use 'stock' items of jewellery findings, pre-cut stones, mounts, bell-caps, eyelets and so forth to make unusual or non-standard jewellery sets that are not likely to be found in shops. It is also possible for me to get non-standard findings made in gold or silver. In either case I then go on to shape and polish the stone items required. In many cases the stone is hand crafted into its desired form.
Here is a short list of some of the stone work I am able to do...
Currently I charge £9.60 per hour for all work plus costs for obtaining parts and materials used.
CUSTOM MADE STONES AND JEWELLERY
The following pictures and descriptions show some of the items I have made recently. To see a larger photo click on the photo, use the back button on your browser to return to that part of the page.
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The set of stones at left was hewn from a small block of Kunzite (pink Spodumene) supplied by the customer. At centre is a large 'blade' for a pendant. At left, two matching smaller pieces for making ear drops The last piece, at right, in a marquis shape, was for a ring. These 4 pieces were eventually mounted in silver elsewhere to form an unusual and probably unique jewellery set. The Kunzite 'blade' for the pendant was left 'raw' at one end (as requested) and is about 90mm long! |
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This picture shows a pair of cabochons hand made from Labradorite. Such large pieces are common requests from customers who want something 'off the beaten track'. The stones were subsequently fitted into Sterling Silver mounts elsewhere for the customer. |
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This fine gold ring previously held an unidentified green stone which had broken and fallen out. Only small traces of the original stone remained, possibly Malachite. It was decided to replace the stone with some gem grade Lapis Lazuli, the deep blue colour nicely complimenting the yellow gold. The underside of the stone (unseen) was ground so that it had a ridge and two small teeth to fit into the original setting. The remainder of the stone was then shaped and polished to match the contours of the ring and then bonded into place. The piece of Lapis measures just 9mm x 3mm x 5mm - a challenging piece of stone to hold onto by hand whilst shaping and polishing. |
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One of the more elaborate stones I have polished, this pendant is made of Sugilite, the findings are silver. This is basically a 20mm oblong stone, square in section, slightly tapered towards the bottom. Each edge has then been ground so that the 6 sides of the stone is in effect table cut faceted. This gave the stone a simple geometric shape, with 18 faces, but without any sharp edges. This was a one-off experimental piece done as a trial for new equipment. |
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This picture shows a pair of cabochons hand made from Thulite, a bright pink mineral from Norway. Two further pieces were then shaped to make eardrops. The stones were subsequently fitted into Sterling Silver mounts elsewhere for the customer. The larger of the two cabochons is roughly 50mm x 30mm. |
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At left is a photo of a set of stones shaped and polished for a restoration company. These were replacements for stones missing from two Venetian wooden urns being restored by the company. (These urns are currently on display at the National Trust owned house, Nostell Priory, near Wakefield.) The stones used, replicating the originals, were: Carnelian, Sard, Garnet, Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, and Bloodstone. Several of the stones look to be the same shape and size but in reality many stones had to be hand made to fit a particular place on the urns where there was a stone missing. The smallest stones are about 6mm round, the largest approximately 25mm x 20mm ovals. |
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The bangle at left was a restoration job. The Amber cabochon inset into the silver bangle had become badly scratched, so much so that it was almost opaque in places. The Amber was first refaced where worst affected and then the whole piece of Amber repolished. The silver was also in need of some treatment so it was coarse polished to remove the worst scratches and any tarnish. Final polishing of both the Amber and silver left the bangle looking superb. This item is currently for sale. Please ask for details... |
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At right is a set of drop earrings. The stone is Green Aventurine, a type of quartz. Two oval cabochons have been set into Sterling Silver mounts and hung from ear-hooks. This was part of a set made for a customer who also ordered the bracelet as seen below. |
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This is the bracelet, part of a set, mentioned above. Green Aventurine cabochons have been set into Sterling Silver bangle tops, linked together by split rings. The fastening for this bracelet is a toggle bar which in all makes for a large and distinctive piece of jewellery. |
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The picture at right shows a jewellery set commissioned by a private customer. The stone used was a high grade Lapis Lazuli supplied by the customer. Three oval cabochons were cut from the original piece of Lapis to make stones to fit a set of oval earstuds and a oval bezel ring. The largest piece, measuring 25mm x 18mm, was used to make the stone to fit into an oval pendant mount, the pendant was mounted on a Snake chain. All the silver used was Sterling Silver. The four pieces of stone were all hand crafted to fit the metalwork to make a matching jewellery set. |
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This was a pendant made for a private customer as a Christmas present for his wife. The stone is a large piece of Indian Ruby crystal that was originally hexagonal in shape, cut down to a 40mm x 30mm cabochon, and a heavy one at that. The stone was then mounted on a Sterling Silver cabochon mount, with a Sterling Silver snake chain to match. |
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If I may say so, this item is one of the nicest I've made so far. (Well, my girlfriend thought so anyway!) It is a large intricately patterned piece of Malachite, 40mm x 30mm, mounted on Silver. Malachite (green copper carbonate) being fairly dense made this pendant heavy, as pendants go, but I think that only something this size would do justice to the wonderful patterns displayed in the stone. |
The above are but a small fraction of the pieces of jewellery and stone I have fashioned over the last few years. In many cases the pieces made are unique and are 'one-offs', this being part of the appeal of these items of jewellery.
Many of the above items were ordered and supplied within days but turn-round times for ordered items are dependent on the availability of parts. That said, it would on average be normal to receive ordered items within a week.
If you are interested in having something made for you please use the form below to make an enquiry...
Below is a simple form to make enquiries about custom stonework. Please fill out the form fields (name, address etc.) then outline the stonework you want done. In turn, I will contact you to discuss your enquiry.
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CUSTOM STONEWORK ENQUIRY FORM |
© Derek Haselden 2008
