Smaller does not always mean cheaper
8th September 2017
The starting point of the design.
There are two major components to the cost of making a piece of jewellery, time and materials. Making a pendant smaller might use less materials but if it is full of intricate detail it can take a lot longer to make.
This pocket watch or compass cover was the starting point for our design. Most pocket watches are about 5cm in diameter, at least mine is. For this pendant the desired size was 2cm. That would not be as straight forward to create as the customer thought.
What had to go
The landscape around the edge would not scale. It would not be possible to effectively produce that at the desired size. Also the frequency of the line pattern under the tips of the stars would have to be reduced. Most of the rest we could have a go at.
Having a fair idea now of what we were going to create I laid out the design and presented it to the customer for approval.
Layout reflecting the changes required for a 2cm pendant.
What this pendant represents
Being a compass it represents finding direction, guidance. It also symbolises a family that spent a lot of time at sea.
The crowning feature is a diamond created from carbon extracted from the recipients late father`s hair. The centre of his world and his compass pendant.
The pendant was made in 9ct yellow gold and weighs 5.6 grams. The diamond is set into Palladium sterling silver. The recess in the pendant has been darkened using Ruthenium.
Yellow diamond created from carbon taken from the late father`s hair.