June 2010
Heads Up
Early morning in Central Park might be one of the most wonderful places on the earth. I have a host of things to do today, the first being explaining to a young woman that the sapphire ring she recieved as an engagement ring is the most traditional stone she could have recieved. Charles gave one to Diana (sometimes things dont work out). She loves the stone and wants to do a new mounting. It got me thinking that there are so many misconceptions about gemstones. The first thing I often tell people is that the vast majority of stones come in every color. Diamond, for instance, is colorless in our imagination, however there are an enormous range of color variations based on the trace elements in the earth. One can see grey diamonds, vivid yellow ones, as well as pink. The occurance of pink is caused by the colorless carbon material that is diamond cooling in dirt or rock that has vanadium in it. The vanadium tints the colorless material, and how much vanadium will dictate the saturation. So heads up: ruby is really red sapphire, and aquamarine is blue emerald. Emerald is really a description of color saturation of green beryl, colored by cromium. Beryl is the term for all colors of the stone. Morganite is a pink beryl. I prefer stones that have unusual color and are not heat treated, because they often come from small rare deposits that are found by mistake. Rare, by the way, is the most overused and misleading word in jewelry. Blue sapphires are not rare. They are corundum colored by iron, and as we know iron is everywhere. That's why we see a million blue sapphires from Ceylon, Burma, Montana, Australia and the list goes on. Tsavorite garnets are far rarer than blue sapphires. They come from one mine in Tsavo, Tanzania. Thats it. However, there is a mine of green grossularite garnet in Mali, but the material is very yellow. The Tsavo material is colored again by cromium so it has the bright emerald color. Why is blue sapphire called precious and garnet not?
Posted by varney on 06/30/2010 in |
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Two for the Road
Tomorrow is the Irish Derby at the curragh. The word curragh means "where the horses run" in Gaelic. It will be the last of a number of events during this trip that have involved horse or agriculture fairs. Today was spent photographing the interesting characters showing prize cattle and poultry at Charleville on the road to Cork. I have noticed recently that the two things that I like to purchase more then anything, are animals and gemstones. They may seem diametrically opposed however to me they are really very similar. They both represent the beginning of a relationship that evolves far beyond the purchase. So much love and time goes into making that young horse or puppy fulfill its potential, and the same thing goes for gemstones, both must be nurtured and treated in ways that they dictate. A number of times I have told clients that it may take a bit of time to complete their commission because the stones I have chosen will dictate how the piece will evolve. Stones and their unique luster dictate their own settings due to the nuance and subtleties that the secondary tones reflect or refract, getting the combination right is about trial and error and patience. The creation of a piece can be a long process and over that time the jeweler can feel a bit of a deeper understanding of his medium. I have felt bits of sadness selling expensive pieces of jewelry. They represent something more than tangible objects, it goes much deeper than that. I remember every single stone that I have ever bought and used in a piece of jewelry and where I bought it; not really sure that is normal, but it's true. The stones, like all of my animals, have become an intimate part of my life and I'm proud of them. Animals are similar to stones in that the same idea of patience and love goes into your relationship with them. Each animal is different and requires a unique approach to build your relationship.
Posted by varney on 06/26/2010 in |
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Turf in Time
Marcel Proust wrote the most wonderful book called Swanns Way. I have always taken it to be about memories and how the best part of our memory is what we can't remember. The memories that take external stimulus to trigger in our minds. Perhaps it's smelling a perfume that reminds you of childhood, or a certain song that brings you back to adolescence and a particularly eye opening evening. I get such a rush during the rare occasion I see or hear something that transports me to a time gone by, and by extension am addicted to the agrarian life. Everything has a smell and a sound outside in the fields. I do admit that I really don't adhere to the traditional farmer lifestyle. The past week was spent painting jewelry at the farm and bushhoging with a bottle of Claret between the races at Royal Ascot. There is no question that Royal Ascot is the best week of racing in the world. Horses belong on the grass. Such a beautiful spectacle. Most importantly there were so many things that came back to me sitting out there on the tractor. Fresh cut grass I imagine does it for everyone, minus the urban youth. Sunday, as you know, was Fathers Day. There was also plenty of fresh cut grass.
What Glitters
I had forgotten how much fun New York could be. When the city shines there is nothing like it. I tend to malign it a bit too much. Last week was so full of color. The CFDA event was held on the most beautiful evening at Alice Tully Hall. And, as expected, the stars were out in force. However, the thing that stole the evening was the tribute to Alexander McQueen. The tribute was read read by Sara Jessica Parker and a defiler of his last collection followed. It was by far the most impressive runway collection I have ever seen, and in many ways trancended fashion. The clothes were not really wearable, which of course I appreciate, but rather costumes that were so artfull in their delivery. I sat there thinking of how hard it would be to create pieces of jewelry that would suit thoes forms. It was extraordinary. Usually I find a need to tone things down a bit in order to make the pieces appproachable to some people, or easier to wear often with different looks. Yet this show was a reminder that functioality is sometimes not the goal and that fantasy has its place.
To be honest, I have not really been painting as much as I would like. The idas since CFDA have been coming fast and furiously due in part to the McQueen runway show but I have not had the patience to sit down with paint brush and fully execute the design. I'm surrounded by a dozen napkins from different airlines or the teaar sheets from magazines that I have been able to scribble design on. There is a pile and its getting daunting. There was the intention of doing them this past weekend at the farm but I kept hearing P. Allen Smith in the back of my head insisting that the tomatoes go in the garden early in June. The tomatoes and watermelon will abound this summer. Way over planted.
Posted by varney on 06/15/2010 in |
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Up The Ante
Yesterday I woke up, drew the blinds and looked over the cool waters of Lake Como to see the Eiffel Tower looming on the horizon. How unusual it was to see either Como or Paris through the haze of one hundred and eight degree heat. However there it was and I got the message loud and clear. People today want everything all at once and convenient. They want the luxury and excessive opulence of Las Vegas in what equates to one of the least elegant resort spots on the planet. I absolutely love the age we live in because of the challenges it presents as an artist, be it one who uses jewels as his medium.
Today you really have to reinvent jewelry and the way you present it because of the range of uses it has. In the past, a designer was required to solve individual categories with specific pieces, formal or everyday; basta cuzi. Today, the definition of a great piece of jewelry is one that knocks ones' socks off in a formal setting but can be worn with jeans. I must hear that jean thing twice a week. I love the challenge. Lets deal with the physiological tenor of the fact that baroque pearls are easier to wear for the active women, they are casual yet imply that there are eight more strands at home. One of them, certainly, a large round strand. I did a ring for a woman with a fourteen-carat diamond in wood, she wears it everywhere with jeans, of course, and on some level it is more important then a thirty-carat in a traditional setting because, once again, there must be something bigger in the safe. There is, and this one looks less austere picking up a cheeseburger. As a side note, when wearing diamonds over fifteen carats it is best to have Roquefort cheese on the burger.
Posted by varney on 06/07/2010 in |
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