Unworn gold bangles + grandmother’s gemstones = The Sapphire Ring stack

We met in the centre of town on a cold Christmassy evening to do the handover of the Meteorite Pendant that Mrs H, my client, had commissioned for her daughter for Christmas. As I handed over the parcel containing the Meteorite Pendant, Mrs H asked me if I had time for another project… this time for herself! YES! 

Her grandmother had given her some gemstones, which she treasured and kept in a plastic pouch. She also had a set of gold bangles which didn’t get much wear, and when she did wear them, she never wore them all.  Both the bangles and the gemstones were not living their best lives nor were they getting to see the light of day. 

First I ran a test on one of the bangles to check the quality and carat of the gold. The acid test showed that the bangles were approx. 14 carat so then I melted one down and milled it out to check that there would be no issues with the quality of the alloy prior to melting down the other 2 bangles! We were good to go. 

She had ideas of what she wanted, so after we looked at a style board on pinterest, I really got a feel for what she was after. A mixed silver and gold ring stack, gold and silver, three rings, the showpiece would be a wide gold ring with the sapphire and the other rings would sit close and the stones would nestle together.

This was the result! 

And here it is, beautifully modelled by the client herself!

I must say that being able to hand over a piece in person and seeing the owner’s reaction to the new piece is completely priceless and so rewarding! 

So, did I use all the gold? Well, yes and no. I used all of the gold that I could, but in the manufacturing process, there’s always a tiny little cut-off left over. So, what happens with this little last bit? Does it just get forgotten?? Well, NO! Gold is worth A LOT. (If you are curious, have a look at these prices on Cooksongold’s website. They’re updated daily!)

Well, what then? The leftover becomes a little signature CARLSSON 1064 Golden Nugget Pendant… isn’t that just a lovely way to tie up loose ends?