A commission that began with a set of stones
Some of my favourite commissions begin with a client who knows exactly what they love but not yet what it will look like. This one began with a pair of stones cut in a way she liked: soft, free-form, closer to river pebbles than to a classic facet pattern.
Cut to the shape of the rough
I cut her a set of aquamarines in my organic pebble shapes. There’s no template and no calibrated outline. Each stone follows the form of the rough crystal, so no two sit quite alike. I chose the rough myself, because I knew the feel she was after, and cut the stones specifically for her.
Gold, pink diamond and a little sapphire
The aquamarines are set with her own gold and a pink Argyle diamond, one of the rarest colours in the gem world. A small yellow sapphire joins them in the set, and the settings are in gold and silver.
One set, many ways to wear it
What makes the piece special is that it’s not one ring. It’s a set of rings that interchange, so she can turn, swap and recombine the stones depending on the day, the outfit or the mood. The pink diamond can lead one morning and sit quietly beside the pale blue of the aquamarines the next. She decides how it’s worn.
The stone decides the cut
That’s the kind of commission I love most. The stone decides the cut, the cut decides the jewel, and the person wearing it decides the rest.
Commission your own
If you’d like something made around your own stones, I’m always happy to talk. You can bring your own cut stone or choose from mine, and we’ll start from there.
Image credit: Richard Valencia
I’m Mark Nuell, a goldsmith and lapidary artist working in London and Devon. I grew up fossicking for sapphires in the Queensland Gemfields, and today I cut every stone by hand and set it in gold traceable to a single Australian mine. Most of my work is bespoke, designed around the individual character of the stone it’s made for.
