A customer had some diamonds that she wanted me to use to make a charm ring for her. She loves Native American designs, especially things with feathers.
We had a chat about how wide she wanted the ring to be and I suggested making a wide feather ring with the diamonds set in the middle section. She sent me a great image that explains that the tip of the feather represents our adulthood, the veins represent the days of our lives and our choices, the fluff at the bottom represents our beginning and infancy, the quill represents our inner strength and that the feather is divided into two parts to represent male or female, good or bad, right or wrong.
I loved the idea that the quill which represents inner strength would be where the diamonds would be set and I created a very rough sketch for her which showed a design with the feather rolled around the finger so that the ring had a feeling of continuity, of eternal unending life. The small feather charm is attached where we have made it look as if the feather has separated for it to slot into. It moves freely on the ring.
She liked the sketch so we made a sample ring to make sure that the width and finger size of the ring was right for her. I have attached an image of the sketch and the ring part made in my workshop before it was diamond set and polished.
The ring was collected today and she is really delighted with the finished piece which was made completely by hand as a one off design.