Colored Gemstones are Always Attractive in Custom Rings

14kt Otter Ring with a Lavender Sapphire

Custom Otter Ring with Lavender Sapphire

Sometimes a beautiful gem becomes available to Walker Goldsmiths so I try to creation some yummy tidbit in case folks are looking for something special.  Always attractive and special are one of a kind custom rings.

The little sensuous Otter Ring that I created for our Potlatch Ring Collection was a fun choice for this challenge. The original design for our Otter Ring has these critters wrapping and swimming around each other so I just widened the space between them and inserted a crown to fit this exceptional 5mm Lavender Sapphire gemstone.  These Otters could be River Otters or Sea Otters, but the water element associated with the gorgeous color of the Sapphire works for me!  Owen and I traveled south to see our Grandkids this winter and while we were in Monterey Bay having lunch on a dock restaurant on Cannery Row we watched a Sea Otter also leisurely having lunch.  They float along munching on a sea urchin or clam with their leg anchoring themselves to a clump of floating kelp seaweed, so very fun to watch.  This was a first time seeing a Sea Otter in the wild for me. The Sea Otter tends to stay on the ocean where their food source lives among the kelp beds.  They are important in helping the kelp seaweed stay healthy which is vital to the health of the sea.

Photo of Walker-Goldsmiths-Cast-Sterling-Ring-#310-frontview

Walker Goldsmiths Lost Wax Cast Sterling Otter Ring #310, frontview

I’ve seen lots of River Otters living as I have in the Pacific Northwest with it’s many large rivers, coastlines and islands.  There’s lots of healthy River Otters around here and some of them get really large, as big as a very young Labrador retriever.  It’s fun to spy them being playful and tumbling about and that’s what I wanted to depict on my Otter Ring. Otters are considered to be spiritually powerful because they live in 2 elements; water and land, like the frog.

It’s really interesting for me, a trade bead collector, knowing the history of the Otters and the crucial part they played in the Fur Trade in the Pacific Northwest.  The history of the Fur Trade is so interesting with it’s sources, intrigues, and manipulations that I truly love and respect the endurance and determination of the Otter. So with a nod to the Otters of the Northwest Coast it was very fun for Walker Goldsmiths to create a beautiful 14kt. Otter Ring with a Lavender Sapphire.

Sensuous 14kt. Otters with a Lavender Sapphire

Sensuous 14kt. Otters with a Lavender Sapphire

 

About Janet Walker

2 Responses to “Colored Gemstones are Always Attractive in Custom Rings”

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  1. Kelly Wolfe says:

    Hi my name is Kelly and I am wondering if you teach any classes for beginners? If not do you have any recommendations?
    Thank you,
    Kelly Wolfe

    • Janet Walker says:

      Hi Kelly, Thank you for your interest in learning! We have taught classes in the past, but now, since EVERYTHING you want to know is on the internet we don’t take the time away from our own pursuit. BUT we do love to talk with fellow interested people! So if you have questions please ask at [email protected] or [email protected]. Owen is the Metals and Stone Guy and I’m the Bead Lady. We have been doing this jewelry stuff for over 40 yrs. There’s some experience there !
      Hope to talk with you some day. What are you particularly interested in?

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