concept to completion
Tanzanite Roses
From Concept to Completion
This page will give you a peek behind the scenes of Different Seasons Jewelry’s studio techniques. Shown below is one of D.S.J.’s more involved hand fabricated goldsmithing projects, shown from concept sketch and the transformational process used to bring this very special piece to life.
18K Reversible 24 carat Tanzanite & Diamond Pendant. Hand engraved, cold connected reversible pendant. The pendant is a box-style piece, made to accommodate and protect the height of the extraordinary tanzanite gemstone. The hand engraving alone on this piece took about 100 hours. The front of the piece holds 3 tube-set blue diamonds and the back also has 3 diamond accents. The pierced heart on the back of the piece acts as a viewer to the very center – the heart – of the gemstone. Everything on this piece was hand-fabricated~ down to the 18k chain and prong setting. This was an extremely complicated and involved piece to create….various highlights from the construction are shown.
Conception sketches for sides 1 and 2
The 23 carat, nearly flawless tanzanite gemstone, provided by D.S.’s client for custom setting/design.
Engraving template, lined up with hand fabricated 18k prong setting, ready for engraving
Engraving in-progress
First Stage of Engraving for Sides 1 & 2 Complete
This is a photo showing further progression of the final pendant, along with the sterling silver trial version.With their higher end pieces, Different Seasons often do a trial version in sterling silver prior to beginning the fabrication of the final piece. Trial versions make it possible to work out any potential technical complications while getting a feeling for the aesthetics of what the final version will look like once complete. The trail version of this piece was donated to a charity auction, where it helped finance the needs of Nature’s Edge Therapy Center, a non-profit organization that provides various forms of therapy for special needs children.
Side Engraving Detail – This is the side edging of the “box” style pendant design. The tanzanite gem was so large and tall that a box style pendant and a special hand fabricated setting were needed to set and protect the gemstone properly.
Box Pendant Components Shown Together
This particular client wanted a black patina background, to give the rose engraving more contrast. This photo shows the patina application process of the first side of the pendant and the completed patina on all portions of the pendant.
Side 1 Complete with Gem Set – Ready for the cold connection to the rest of the piece. A detail shot showing some final engraving clean-up around the diamonds is also shown.
A photo showing the back detail and the miniature heart-shaped window, that both allows light to hit through the back of the pendant and also acts a window in the center – the heart – of the tanzanite gemstone.
A view of the piece from above, showing the dimension of the box style pendant and the hand fabricated 18k gold chain.
Completed Piece
All design drawings were done by Jessa Anderson of D.S.. Please do not copy or distribute this design without the prior consent of the artists of Different Seasons Jewelry.