September 08, 2022 | Permalink
I bought this turquoise cabachon from Andy Brown in Cerrillos, N.M. this past June. He mined it in local mountains and cut and polished it. The ground in this part of New Mexico contains lots of copper and iron, which then dissolves in groundwater and stains the turquoise a wonderful pale blue and green. The challenge for me is to design a piece of jewelry that will show off the natural beauty of the stone.
September 17, 2017 | Permalink
I recently made these two tiny sterling baby bracelets for a pair of twin girls who were born recently. The babies were each about 6 pounds at birth. Their aunt is my niece & I had made one for her over 40 years ago! The bracelets measure about 3 inches on the inside & will fit the girl's wrists for a limited amount of time, but they can later be used as a Christmas ornament or a napkin ring. My niece now uses her bracelet as a wine glass charm (clever young lady!). The amazing thing is to realize in future years just how small they were when they were born! What a family heirloom they will become in the future!!
December 04, 2016 | Permalink
I designed this cuff bracelet to feature a "ribbon-cut" piece of turquoise from the Hachita area of southern New Mexico. The vein of turquoise that runs across the rhyolite matrix stone is pale blue on the ends and dark green in the center, which Native Americans say represents Mother Earth and Father Sky. I photographed it sitting on a piece of unpolished rough rhyolite which has a vein of green turquoise running through it on the right end.
July 12, 2016 | Permalink
September 25, 2015 | Permalink
September 17, 2014 | Permalink
This is a photo of the Alaskan shoreline with receeding rows of mountains, that I took on a trip through Alaska's Inland Passage. The memory of this experience inspired these 2 bracelets. The one on the left side is wider & is made from 8 ga. Argentium sterling silver wire. It costs $225. The other is narrower and made from 12 ga Argentium sterling silver wire and is about a third lighter in weight and costs $175. Both are "cuff"style & can be adjusted to fit any wrist.
July 05, 2014 | Permalink
I bought this richly colored turquoise cabachon on a recent trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I designed the bracelet to fit to your arm with the stone draping down over the hand. The bracelet is made in my "braided stream" style to mimic the arroyos seen in the American Southwest. Argentium Sterling Silver is a new sterling alloy which is more resistant to tarnish, so this bracelet will stay bright and shiny for many years with little polishing needed. The stone measures approximately 19mm x 28mm.
September 21, 2013 | Permalink
May 29, 2013 | Permalink
The rich iridescent blue of this labradorite cabachon is complemented by the sweeping silver of the bracelet. As the bracelet moves in the sunlight, the stone flashes like the wings of a tropical butterfly.
May 29, 2013 | Permalink
I bought this piece of septarian in southern Utah in 2011 and finally decided how to best use it. Septarian is a stone that was formed millions of years ago when Utah was part of the Gulf of Mexico. It is a combination of calcite crystals and silt that was compressed into stone at the bottom of the ocean. As the continent rose due to plate tectonics, the stone was revealed in the dry landscape in Utah.
April 17, 2013 | Permalink
I bought this piece of Variscite in a gem store in Sedona, Arizona in 2011. Varicite is an aluminum phosphate mineral sometimes identified with turquoise. The links of this freeform bracelet flex freely, making it comfortable to wear.
April 16, 2013 | Permalink
This linked bracelet is made from solid sterling square wire which is hammered and brightly polished. When worn on the wrist, it looks like a solid bangle bracelet, but it has a concealed catch to make it easy to put on. This design was inspired by my men's V-link bracelet, which was originally inspired 35 years ago by flying geese.
January 25, 2012 | Permalink
The idea for this cuff bracelet came to me while flying across the country and looking down at the passing landscapes below me. When rivers reach flat land, they tend to meander around and are known as "braided" streams. I made this bracelet with four strands of silver which cross back and forth over each other at irregular intervals.
January 25, 2012 | Permalink
I was playing around with some Celtic inspired designs when I came up with this idea. I reminds me of a "braided stream" of water, a characteristic of lowland streams and rivers that wander around looking for a path to the coast. Fly over the lower Mississippi River area sometime & you will see them everywhere. Each overlapping joint is soldered for strength and durability.
February 03, 2011 | Permalink
This beautiful chrysocolla features a blend of turquoise green, azure blue and burnt umber colors. It appeals to the oil painter in me. I made it with my "floating stone" design so the bracelet is more flexible when being put on. This will eliminate the stress fracture problem that many cuff bracelets with mounted stones develop over years of wear. This stone is just over 1-1/4" in length.
February 03, 2011 | Permalink
Psilomelane is an intriguing natural stone that is a composite of 2 minerals, romanechite and pyrolusite. They are extruded from volcanically active sites in deep ocean waters. Millions of years later, the action of plate tectonics bring them to the surface for us to discover. I found this stone at a gem show this Spring and had to buy it! I designed this bracelet in a rectangular style that contrasts nicely with the whorls in the stone.
August 12, 2010 | Permalink
This teething ring is constructed from a 7" piece of solid 6 ga. sterling silver wire. Each letter of the baby's name is stamped 5 times around each ring, so the name is visible as the rings move. There is an extra ring that is stamped with my "Dan Dye" maker's mark and "sterling" stamps.
I made the first of these teething rings in 2006 for my first grand-daughter, Isabel. She enjoyed chewing on it, as well as shaking it and banging it on the table. It started out smooth and shiny, but she quickly added teeth marks and "patina" to make it all her own. This one is for our newest grand-daughter, Eleanor, and she has just begun her junior silversmith work to put her own marks on it. These heirloom pieces can be used as Christmas ornaments, by adding a bit of ribbon, and will last a lifetime.
February 14, 2010 | Permalink
This beautiful 20x35mm stone features a mixture of blue and green colors that contrast nicely with the polished sterling silver bands. I made the bracelet to curve gracefully around the wrist. The stone is mounted at an angle and connects to the bracelet by a single stem. This adds flexibility when putting on the piece and will give it a lifetime of comfortable wear.
September 09, 2009 | Permalink
September 09, 2009 | Permalink
I have had this chain idea in my mind for several years and finally found the time to create it. It is constructed from 12 gauge sterling silver wire. It is an interesting design in which each link bypasses the adjoining link to connect by a loop to the third link. It is not rigid, but rather somewhat flexible.
January 02, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
This bracelet is sold, but is a good example of a design combining the shape of a stone with the sculptural lines of the piece.
This unusual silver cuff bracelet features a beautiful Azurite/Turquoise stone. The bracelet curves gracefully to complement the curving sides of the triangular stone. I roll-printed the backing silver of the stone with lace texture.
October 03, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
October 03, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)