Added some photos of the process I go through when making an item of jewellery, just to give you a rough idea. The inspiration behind this one and the piece to follow ( a ring I am starting to work on) is my Btech collection I have to produce this year. My theme for this collection is my family, basically creating a family tree inspired jewellery, this particular piece is inspired by my brother.

Design process

Designing process

Some time during manufacture

Resin pendant

Had fun making this piece, debating with myself on changing it slightly but we shall see, using design elements from this pendant into the ring I am gonna start making this week!

Are heirloom jewels important to us, if they are,what makes them so important…

Its this importance that sparked my interest in this subject, I decided that it would be a good start to my research report for my Btech.
When deciding what topic to pick for this report, we were told to choose something we wouldn’t mind spending hours researching and even talking about, a topic that could turn us on and bring out serious passion from us!
Since I started to study jewellery design at CPUT, I found myself quiet interested in this notion of the ‘object‘ (the object being an item of jewellery, in my case…) How we as human beings respond and interact with these precious objects, especially those that have been left being by someone that has died … it isn’t about being morbid or anything.

Its about a precious item that was left behind, Yes, any item left behind by someone that you once cared for automatically becomes precious…but there is something more to jewellery. Something so intensely personal, it seems to me that this idea of a jewellery heirloom is heightened by the fact that jewellery is so much more personal. The reason being, well for me anyway is that jewellery is worn on the body.

Okay, so lets compare a old clock to an old engagement ring. The clock will live in someones house but an engagement ring is worn, everyday, for probably most of that persons life. Doesn’t it automatically have more depth to it than the clock?
That ring is also only made even more precious to you, if it was given to you by someone you cared for.
So yes, this topic gets to me, it speaks to me if I could say that. Although jewellery is just a small object most of the time, its a simple metal object worn on our bodies, made from a precious metal that is ‘valuable‘…it becomes so much more when we attach a symbolism to it, weather that symbolism is one of wealth or success, or love and sentiment. When are human beings engage with jewellery, we base ideas and assosiations on those items and they become so much more than just the materials they have been manufactured out of.

PlatAfrica Ring view 1

Anyway design processing begun in June/July and we started manufacturing early July as hand in was mid-August.

My motivation was something classic but modern and edgy. I wanted to create a piece that commemorated the idea of an old-fashioned Love story, this idea of eternal unity between two parties.

Manufacturing began with allot of help from my lecturer, the ring was forged out of a single piece of metal and welded together. The beauty about platinum as I discovered was not just all its rarity and physical aesthetics but also its versatility as a metal, one is able to almost sculpt the metal!

The whole experience was great, had an incredible amount of fun making this ring! The finishing touches came with just a high polish and finally just setting two cultured pearls in the inner rim of the ring.

PlatAfrica Ring - view 2

PlatAfrica Ring - view 3

The winners of this years competition look fantastic, the work is worth a look, there is great design talent in South Africa, in both the professional and student category! My piece came within in the top 40!!

Top 40 - CPUT

PlatAfrica Ring - on the finger

PlatAfrica Ring - on the finger