June 15, 2020

One of a Kind Green Tourmaline Rings

Some of my newest loves to my collection are the Mountain Plateau Rings. I’ve found some charismatic green tourmalines which I think of as rough rose cuts. They have fewer facets than the traditional rose cuts, and are cut high and bold. The colors range from Sea Foam and Mint to Dark Forest Green. The shapes are a free form cushion cut. There’s a spontaneity and freedom to these cuts one-of-kind cuts that I find inspiring and reminiscent of mountain rocks. Each ring is shaped to fit the individual stone.

The idea didn’t come at first; although all of my work is inspired by nature--in particular rocks and streams, rivers and ocean waves--the vision for these rings came later.

I happened upon a gem dealer who had the most intriguing green tourmalines. They were roughly cut; almost primitive. The cutters did not pay much attention to symmetry; rather there is spontaneity to the cutting work that is felt by looking at the stones.

They are hand cut by real people who simply cut whatever looks good to their eye. No going deep into trying to create the perfect gem. The simple joy of revealing color and depth and character in the stone was what inspired me to think of them as mountains.

As I began the tedious work of cataloging them, they started to become a part of a story--the story of mountain ranges in foreign lands, rugged and isolated from our human world. High up at the summit I could see the curve of our earth and stand in wonder at its beauty.

The Mountain Plateau ring started taking shape in my mind. Fused with my fascination with the iconic ring form of ancient signet rings, topped with these roughly hewn stones, the rings would evoke that feeling of being high up at a plateau overlooking our earth.

I couldn’t wait to start creating the shape of each ring and to cap it off with the peak of the tourmaline.