BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN

I have returned from a very pleasant two weeks off. I actually can't recall the last time I had two weeks off. I believe it was at least 15 years ago. This is something to think about when contemplating starting your own business. It always involves MORE work not less work than if you are employed by someone else. We spent one week on Martha's Vineyard this year and had a wonderful time sitting on the deck of the house we rented and looking out at the water. Actually there was a wonderful view of one point of the island rising out of the water and I plan on making up one of my mountain rings (like the one in the lower right here) with the view. We also ate enough lobster to last a lifetime, including the one in the picture here, that weighed 8 pounds! So my batteries are recharged and I'm starting to work on both my custom jobs (if you have one in house right now and you are reading this thank you for your patience!) and on some new goods for the case. I have continued to sell quite a few pieces out of the cases and they are looking a wee bit peaked at the moment so I hope to have some new pictures soon of some new work.



In the meanwhile, however, I am posting another picture here of a custom job I did about a year ago that I had the opportunity to photograph recently. The neat thing about this particular ring (which you can't clearly see from my picture) is that there were two angles on the band that allowed me to bead set diamonds at different angles. The center stone is a .77 ct., "F" color, VVS2 clarity, ideal cut diamond. For this piece I hand built a model in silver and then had it cast in platinum.

On another note, gold prices have continued to rise. While I don't buy gold for scrap, I will take it in towards custom work I do for you or towards pieces in the case. It's a good time to look at all those old pieces you bought that you don't wear anymore and think about whether it might be a good time to get something new that you will wear.