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Custom Nautical Braid Wedding Ring for a Sailor

Written by Janet Walker · Leave a Comment

Sterling Silver Custom Nautical Braided Wedding Ring

Walker Goldsmiths received an opportunity to make a Custom Nautical Braid Wedding Band for Weston and Anna. I’ve always loved nautical braided ropes, macrame’, fancy braided applications on ships and anything to do with Sailor Knots, all too cool to me! I did Macrame’ for years and had some interesting leather cord tucked away. When Weston said, “I want a Nautical Braided ring that has no holes through it and it must have a solid inside”, my mind went searching about to find a way to do just that. So I braided up a length of the leather cord and taped it all together on the ends, wrapped it in a big circle and molded it in our wonderful clear mold product. When it was all set up and cured I cut out the cord and Owen shot the mold full of wax for me. I then made the circle to the right size and used melted wax to firm up the ring and create a comfort fit solid substantial ring for Weston. We invested this wax and cast it in Sterling Silver and it turned out beautiful. This ring is wonderful, comfortable, sturdy and attractive. It is sort of a Story Ring because Weston is a Sailor and knots have a big meaning to him in his chosen profession. Weston came out to try it on and loved it!

Weston and Anna were heading off to a great adventure that his profession was determining. Weston had worked for the Coast and Geodetic Survey people and had just landed a job with NOAH in the Netherlands. Very exciting. They were getting married and packing up everything and moving there right away. We had to scurry to get this done for Weston. Anna was recycling some old gold and a diamond from a previous relationship and we bought her diamond and gold to pay for Weston’s ring. This recycling of old unwanted jewelry was a big success because they needed every cent they could get to move to the Netherlands. Thank you, Anna and Weston, for including us in your adventure by letting Walker Goldsmiths create this Custom Nautical Braid Wedding Band . We loved it and wish you two the very best dreams come true!

Weston’s Sterling Silver Braid Wedding Band

Mother’s Custom Memorial Red Gold Rose Ring

Written by Janet Walker · Leave a Comment

Red Gold Mother’s Ring with Diamonds

A Leafy design was what one of my best girlfriends wanted from Walker Goldsmiths for her Custom Memorial Red Gold Mother’s Ring. We said, “Of course, we’d love to do it!”

Ane’s mother’s original ring that she inherited was literally falling apart and her two daughters wanted to do something for their mom to preserve this heirloom ring. She wanted a ring to celebrate her memory of her mother. Roses were so precious to her mother and she had a wonderful green thumb with them. Ane’ remembered being taught the names of all the roses in her mother’s garden; the Hybrid Teas and the Grandifloras, the Double Delights and the Florabundas included names like Peace, Red Blaze and Ballerina, the wonderful old fashioned stalwarts of the Rose Garden. Ane’ is a Master Gardener who has inherited and earned this same Green Thumb. She’s always been puttering about since the day I met her creating exquisite gardens! I am also a gardener who has a good handful of glorious Rose bushes. This year, by the way, has been spectacular for Roses and gardening in general in our neck of the woods. So to make this ring for Ane’ was totally a labor of love.

When Ane’s mom died while living at her sister’s home the grandchildren all decided that Ane’ should have The Rose Ring left by mom. It was a ring with a rose shape and a light yellow Canary Diamond in the center and a cresent with some small birthstones. It was made of white gold and so very worn out to be too thin and dangerous to wear. Ane’ wanted to keep the general pattern of the original ring and I was to enhance the design. This was to be a Memorial Ring, a Story Ring with memories of mom. We thought that 14kt Rose Gold would be so very appropriate, plus she loves Rose gold and has her wedding band in Rose Gold. The only stone she wanted kept was the center Canary Diamond.

Diamonds and Red Gold Mother’s Ring

I carved a wax, which Ane’ approved and Owen Walker lost wax cast it with his wonderful Rose Gold 14kt Alloy. We set the original center Canary Diamond in a 14kt white gold crown in the middle of the large rose; set 7 melee diamonds at the base of the rose in a bit of a swirl, with 1 melee diamond set in the small bud rose on the edge. The band of the ring has leaves going down a ways on each side to the deep and substantial squared shank that works so well to keep any ring from flipping uncomfortably on a finger. We were hurrying to get this for Ane’ as she and Bill were set to go to Hawaii for her son’s wedding and we wanted Grandmother’s presence with her. Mom’s Rose Ring lives again! Walker Goldsmiths thanks you, Ane’, for this fun family experience creating a custom recycle of your Mother’s Rose Ring.

Custom Thor’s Hammer and Raven Ring

Written by Janet Walker · 2 Comments

Custom Raven and Thor’s Hammer Sterling Ring

Custom Sterling Silver Ring with Raven and Thor's Hammer

Custom Thor’s Hammer with “Kumi” Sterling Ring

Raven and Thor's Hammer Sterling Silver Ring

Raven and Thor’s Hammer Sterling Ring

Custom Thor’s Hammer and Raven Ring is a result of a previous post about “Krumi”, old Norse for Raven on this Walker Goldsmiths website. The Hammer of Thor is a powerful symbol in Old Norse mythology. Our daughter, Nalani, has a half-sister, Leilani, who’s married to a Norse fellow who subscribes to the old Norse pagan ways and is always looking for Thor’s hammer jewelry. Leilani got in contact with me and asked about a Raven with Thor’s Hammer design on a band, something more for a guy to wear. I played around with the idea and came up with this design. I love the 3-D Raven, the Thor’s Hammer with Celtic symbols and a Triskelion on the side. My heritage is intensely Viking and I’m interested in the myths and history of my ancestors. I carved a wax pattern and Owen lost wax cast it in Sterling Silver.

Thor is a major Norse God associated with thunder and his hammer is one of the most fearsome of weapons known to level mountains. The cherished old myths tell of dwarf brothers making this short handled hammer.

Historian Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson provides an excellent summary of the uses of the hammer: “It would seem indeed as though the power of the thunder god, symbolized by his hammer, extended over all that had to do with the well-being of the community. It covered birth, marriage, and death, burial, and cremation ceremonies, weapons and feasting, travelling, land-taking, and the making of oaths between men. The famous weapon of Thor was not only the symbol of the destructive power of the storm, and of fire from heaven, but also a protection against the forces of evil and violence. Without it Asgard could no longer be guarded against the giants, and men relied on it also to give security and to support the rule of law.”

This is fun stuff for me and, thank you, Leilani, for encouraging me to pursue this design. It’s given me reason to research. Owen and I recently had our DNA tested to find out our heritage and I had a good idea I had Viking ancestors because of my Scottish Gunn Clan grandmothers. The Gunns were originally Vikings who conquered and invaded the northernmost point of Scotland. So sure enough, there was the DNA evidence of my Viking heritage.

This Raven and Thor’s Hammer Sterling Silver Ring is 10mm wide on top, tapering to a custom 5mm wide squared shank that creates balance and comfort to wear. I’m selling this Sterling Silver ring for $175 US for sizes 6 to 14, over that it’s $195 US. S & H in the USA is free. We will certainly make this ring in yellow, white or red gold upon request. Email me for price.

A Custom CTR Ring for our Celtic Friend

Written by Janet Walker · 2 Comments

A Custom CTR Ring for our Celtic Friend

CTR = Chose The Right Custom CTR Ring!

Noel wanted a real Custom CTR Ring that reflected who he was, so Walker Goldsmiths put it together with him. We’ve known Noel since he was a little guy and we know his folks and their Celtic heritage very well. His dad is McCarty Irish and his mom is MacDonald Scottish, so he’s Celtic clear through! Noel is a big, handsome, strong and determined Celt. The design of the CTR is a traditional shield motto of the LDS church of which Noel is a member and the Scottish emblems all around the ring are symbols of his heritage.

Sterling Silver Custom CTR Ring

Noel came to Walker Goldsmiths with some of his ideas and we went with it. I carved the wax after researching Celtic knot designs that I thought truly fit the situation and OK’d it with Noel. We choose the King Solomon’s Knot because it’s so attractive and spiritual. The monks of early Christianity considered the geometry of the square a symbol of the creation of the universe. Aidan Meehan writes in his book, Celtic Design Knotwork, “It was important to them to contemplate how…the infinite and the finite, all opposites- could be symbolized by the pattern of this knot; a symbol of ‘Divine Inscrutability’ and the epitome of wisdom, King Solomon”.

Walker Goldsmiths lost wax cast this 10mm wide, comfort fit band in Sterling Silver and set two gorgeous blue Sapphires in the side knots. These Scots, Walker Goldsmiths, loved doing this Custom CTR Ring for Noel. Thanks, Noel, for this very fun project touching on yours and our Celtic heritage.

A Custom Compass Ring for a Mariner

Written by Janet Walker · 1 Comment

Sterling Silver Custom Compass Ring with Aquamarine

Walker Goldsmiths was privileged to make a Custom Compass Ring for a Mariner who found us through Etsy. I’ve got a few rings pictured on my site there and Jarred emailed me through walkergoldsmiths.com wanting to know if I’d be willing to make him a custom ring. Of course I was interested! We love doing custom work because it’s so fun and personal to those who want it. We often get to really have a good rapport with folks and the challenge to satisfy them is very rewarding. To help people get what they want in a custom piece of jewelry is important to Walker Goldsmiths as we’ve always found that jewelry IS an emotional issue.

Jarred wanted a Custom Sterling Ring with a Compass Symbol and an Aquamarine stone on the top. I doodled around with some ideas and we agreed to a particular one and I started carving wax, keeping him aware of what was going on with the process. It was lots of fun emailing back and forth. I asked him why he wanted this particular design for a ring and he replied, “ A way to remember my Naval service and an heirloom to pass on.” I told him, “My dad was a Navy guy and our oldest daughter joined the Navy too and became an electrician. My husband, Owen, was a Sea Scout and I think that counts. Our son is a Marine Mechanic in San Diego so we’re awash with salt around here. Plus we live on the beach!” This ring will be a kind of Memorial Ring with an emblem particularly significant to Jarred’s Naval service, so it’s a kind of Story Ring for a part of his life.

We got on with the process and Jarred OK’d the wax, then on to lost wax casting in Sterling Silver. Jarred was particular that we got a very good Aquamarine for him, and we did, to set in the center of the compass. He told me that the Aquamarine was very important because of it’s significance to sailors and that he wanted to make sure that the ring was going to be a big one. I made sure of that making the top part of the compass a good inch in diameter surrounded by rope. We sent photos to Jarred after casting, he was excited and so were we to get it done and sent to him.

Walker Goldsmiths thanks you, Jarred, for the opportunity to make this beautiful Custom Compass Ring for a Mariner for you and for your service as a “sailor”. We loved doing it!

Custom Compass Ring Drawings

A baby contest becomes a war

Written by Owen Walker · Leave a Comment

My son Owen G walker and his son Oliver Levi Walker the bracelet boys

Back in the 1990’s Walker Goldsmiths became aware through our friends Ken and Monica Decker in Ketchikan of a part of Celebration that came to be called “The Grandmother Wars”. Celebration is a biannual gathering to celebrate SE Alaskan Native cultures (Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Haida) hosted by Sealaska Corporation. One of the events back then was a baby beauty contest, this was not just about pretty babies but pretty babies dressed in traditional regalia. There was a great deal of miniature regalia being made for this contest and everyone knows you are not fully dressed without your jewelry! Things quickly escalated to a display of very expensive gold and silver jewelry and expensive regalia that overshadowed the babies that were supposed to be the focal point.

The Baby Beauty Contest is no longer held as the competition became so fierce that people were spending way too much money and taking it way too seriously, to the point where it was being called “the Grandmother Wars”. As a Grandparent I can sympathize as the only time I was ever tempted to ram a Cadillac was when I saw the bumper sticker that said “My grandkids are cuter than your grandkids.” If I had been in my old truck, there might have been an accident report!
The preparations for the contest started a bit of a tradition of getting your new grandchild a silver baby bracelet and we love to be part of that! I took some of my designs and shrunk them to baby size and carved them up! Being a grandfather myself I take particular joy in carving baby bracelets. Grandparenthood is a wonderful adventure but we have to be careful that we don’t turn a baby contest into a war!

Thundrbird baby bracelet to protect baby from any danger

Salmon baby bracelet to help baby to be well fed!

A Variation on the Horseshoe Nail Engagement Ring

Written by Janet Walker · 9 Comments

14kt White Gold Horseshoe Nail Ring with diamonds

Horseshoe Nail Engagement Ring

Walker Goldsmiths received an email from a young man who wanted a Custom Horseshoe Nail Diamond Engagement Ring. He said, because “his girl was really into horses”! We Love it!! We love Horses too!

We sent him this information on how to get this ring rolling;

Step (1) Find out her ring size.

Step (2) Figure out how much you can afford to spend on this ring. Do you or your families have any stones or metal that you want to put into this ring or trade?

Step (3) Let us know and we can then figure out how many and what size diamonds we can put in this ring.

Step (4) We draw you a picture of the ring with the correct number of diamonds and their sizes to fit your budget and let you know the exact cost of the job. We like to have clear communication all along the way.

Step (5) We start on the wax carving and send you pictures to get your approval. This is where we figure out if we’re really communicating! Then you pay us at least half of the cost via PayPal to [email protected] Or you can pay the whole fee, it’s up to you, whatever works best for you.

Step (6) We finish the ring, showing you pictures of our process all along the way and you pay us the final half payment if that was your choice. PayPal will notify us when this final payment goes through from you.

Step (7) We ship the ring to you and send tracking #s and estimated delivery date.

14 kt White Gold Horseshoe Nail Engagement Ring with Diamonds

It was a fun ride for Walker Goldsmiths to create such a beautiful ring. Thank you, Dusten, for the clear communication and fun that we had making this Custom Horseshoe Nail Diamond Engagement Ring for you and your sweetheart.

Colored Gemstones are Always Attractive in Custom Rings

Written by Janet Walker · 2 Comments

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

A Nature Inspired Custom Engagement Ring with a Beautiful Sapphire

Written by Janet Walker · 2 Comments

Sterling Silver and Sapphire Gemstone Custom Engagement Ring

Megan and Kris came to Walker Goldsmiths hunting for a unique Custom Engagement Ring. They’re both nature lovers and most comfortable with symbols of the earth on their important jewelry. This, of course, is very appealing to me, the garden and outdoors girl. Megan kept talking about wanting a ring that looked like branches! She’s an excellent artist so I had her draw some pictures of her ideas and then I carved it in wax. Lots of fun for me making this Custom Ring!

Wax Carving for a Custom Engagement Ring

Megan approved the wax, Owen invested it and lost wax cast it into Sterling Silver then finished it beautifully. We soldered in a 14kt white gold crown and set a gorgeous oval Sapphire. The branches are textured like bark with leaves with veins shaped and carved. The intention was to antique the Sterling to enhance the natural look. Walker Goldsmiths insisted on a 14kt White Gold crown for the Sapphire so that the crown would not get the antique patina and would continue to give the Sapphire the best light to show it’s beauty.

Kris is also a talented individual, his talents lean to entertainment and presentation skills. He told me that he is drawn to the element water so his desire to get his Sweetie a Colored Gemstone, especially a sea blue Sapphire was his heart’s desire. He loves the energy water gives him and I can totally relate to that since we intentionally choose to live by the sea for this very reason. Also, Megan is originally a Montana girl and Sapphires are a famous natural stone from Montana. Me too and I love Sapphires! Kris with his presentation skills proposed to Megan on stage at the Bellingham Upfront Theater that highlights live Improve Shows. I saw the video clip and was very touched by his wonderful proposal on stage. Definitely pleased Megan and she did say yes!

Branches and the Sea Custom Engagement Ring

Thank you Megan and Kris for letting Walker Goldsmiths share in your excitement and happiness with this nature inspired Custom Engagement Ring!

Custom Wedding Ring with a Christmas Star (Sapphire) from Afghanistan

Written by Janet Walker · Leave a Comment

Midnight blue Star Sapphire White Gold Ring

Custom Star Sapphire Ring

Beautiful Melanie contacted Walker Goldsmiths about setting her Star Sapphire into a Custom Wedding Ring. We’ve known Melanie since she was a very little girl and now she’s a grown up wife of a soldier that we’ve know for a long time too. Brandon is on his second deployment and not with his sweetheart this Christmas. That being said, it was important for us to create this Custom Star Sapphire Ring for Melanie so she could wear it this holiday season.

The story is that Brandon got this midnight blue, Star Sapphire while he was in Afghanistan on his last deployment there and he gave it to Melanie when he was home, she said, “he got the stone in a market in northern Afghanistan and was told that it originated in India.” Melanie came to Walker Goldsmiths with some jewelry that she wanted to recycle into a ring that has sentiment and character for her. We sat down together, searched and drew designs until she settled on one that captured her fancy. We used two of the diamonds from one of the rings she recycled to create this new and beautiful ring. I carved a wax in the style she wanted then got a 14 kt White Gold Scroll Crown for her Sapphire. We wanted that Star Sapphire to be as visible as possible.

Scroll Crown for Star Sapphire on Wax Ring

A Star Sapphire is a type of sapphire that exhibits a star-like phenomenon known as asterism, which is different from a regular transparent sapphire because it has aligned needle-like inclusions following the underlying crystal structure that causes the appearance of a six-rayed “star”-shaped pattern. These rutile inclusions result in a silky luster when cut and polished. These special Sapphire stones are cut to keep the center of the star near the top of the dome so the star appears to float across the surface of the stone. The six-rayed-star effect appears most clearly under natural light, it has no distinct cleavage and has a hardness rating of 9 on the Mohs scale, just under diamonds. They are a good stone for everyday wear on a ring and that’s what Melanie plans to do.

Owen lost wax cast her ring with her recycled 14 kt White Gold, had the crown mounted and stones set. It all turned out gorgeous! Melanie’s Midnight Custom Blue Star Sapphire Ring has the perfect Christmas Star floating in it’s surface. Thank you for letting Walker Goldsmiths make this lovely keepsake for you. Happy New Year to you kids! And special wishes that you will be together before long.

Christmas Star Sapphire Ring with Two Diamonds