New Earrings and Name That Ring!

By now some of you have probably figured out (if I haven't told you already) that I am one of the worst photographers in the world. No matter what I do nothing comes out the right way. But I can't afford to hire someone every single time I finish a new piece and so you're all just stuck with putting up with my crummy pictures. Those of you who have been in my store can use your imaginations a bit as you know how the stuff looks in real life. The rest of you will just have to come in and see for yourselves. These are my newest earrings that I am just putting out today with boulder opals, and emeralds in 18k and 22k yellow gold. I always like to think of this look (one I've done similar ones to in the past) as one of my comet earring designs (to see some of my comet pins click here) but my wife used to have a pair (she lost them unfortunately) and she always called them the bug earrings. So "the bug earrings" they have become. You've just got to trust me when I tell you the opals are far more beautiful than my picture presents them.

Speaking of naming jewelry I have a habit of doing just that. Some pieces (especially the space based ones) are actually named pieces, like this one which is called "Black Hole in the Center of a Spiral Galaxy". Some pieces are named after the people I designed them for (like my Zelda earrings---sorry no picture currently available). Some have the numbers they were originally assigned (like the D20---a design I've been doing for ages and that has had more numbers than you can imagine over the years and that D20 means absolutely nothing about except that it was the first number it got---and that I always know what I'm talking about when I call it a D20). Bear with me here. This is actually leading somewhere.

Over the years I have created a few designs, both from custom jewelry work for individuals and from my own head, that have become long term, fairly steady sellers. The D20 is actually probably one of my best selling rings over the long period I've been making it (25+ years). Recently (relatively speaking as the first one I made was about 3 years ago) I came up with a new design for a customer (the original used her stones) that has turned into the best selling ring I have ever made. You can see a picture (not by me!) of it here. (Have I got enough hyperlinks in this posting yet or what!) I cannot begin to tell you how many of these rings I have sold in the last two years. Now, mind you, we're not talking thousands here, or even hundreds, because I simply don't make that much of anything, but it has far surpassed any other design in sales both during this period and probably in the last 6-7 years (the D20 being the closest I have to it probably).

I know that one of the reasons it sells as it does is because it has so much of me in it. Every one I make (in gold) is hand built and there are, as will happen with that, slight variations each time I make it. It has my distinctive styling in it as well. And I like the ring myself so I probably sell it a little harder than I might some other designs that I make. But still, even when I don't try to sell it (as happened the other day when a woman in shopping had already picked out another ring to buy and then happened to notice it---I didn't think she wanted something with a center stone in it---and immediately bought it) it seems to go. But my problem is that it needs a name. The number doesn't exactly have much rhythym to it and I haven't been able to come up with anything for it. So I need some help. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. Leave your comments below and I'll take a look at them.

Next posting will be taking up the issue of green gold---not green as in the color but green as in the environment.