New King

She was a long time coming, but i’ve finally finished my new King Skull for the shop.   She’s available now and I’ve already been shipping them to some happy skull ring collectors.  Each one has detail custom carved per order so, like all of my skulls, although she starts from a base template that sets the lines and general silhouette, no two rings are alike and they’re cast in solid sterling silver as a single piece.

A pet peeve of mine: skulls with a hole through the top of them called “skull rings” because, technically, yeah, you can slide it on your finger.  This is not that.  Like all the best skullsmiths (and you know who you are because I follow all of you on Instagram), I work the skull as a sculptural dialogue between the planes of the skull and the shape of the finger that has to pass through it.   The result is a skull that looks good in 3/4 view and compliments the extended form of the hand.

And while there’s nothing I dig more than a shiny skull, more and more I’ve been pushing for the brushed finish.  I think it helps clarify the planar differences of the form.  Just look at the image above.  C’mon man, don’t tell me that brushed skull to the left doesn’t looks absolutely badass.  As I said, this one is all about looking good from the side and 3/4 angle: the way MOST people, including yourself, actually SEE the damn thing.

Details are up at the shop.  Drop me a line and let me know if you want me to carve one up for you.  Teeth can be knocked out and I don’t charge for simple carving in the forehead.  Brushed or polished is up to you and I can pair her with my torque if you want to do a full right hand special.

If you’re not connected to me on Facebook and Instagram, grab me there too.  I occasionally announce specials and deals and if I get my mits on special gemstones, I usually announce them there.  In the meantime, stay tuned as I finish up a new Tiki ring for the summer.

Jade: Not just an amazing David Caruso movie.

What, you haven’t seen Jade?   Spoiler alert: it sucks.

Let’s talk about another type of jade.   I just finished a beautiful custom gemstone ring for a client who had me special order a badass piece of creamy jadeite and pair it with my solid sterling silver Torque bracelet for a “Full Right Hand Special, something I used to do for clients who wanted a ring and bracelet pairing.   This particular client already has one of my Kingman turquoise Leonids rings, which has a different style altogether.   We’d identified a really beautiful stone – a big gob of jade shipped right over to the shop to have a ring built around it.

And build it we did.  I like the way the round cabochon sort of echoes the round forms of the torque.  Repeating shape patterns is an important thing when you’re figuring out a ‘configuration’ (For lack of a better word) to wear.  Jewelry addicts will know what I mean.

 

This pair is one of my favorites because it really just walks that line between something you can wear into a board room and something you’d see a rock star wearing as he’s being pushed into a squad car after burning down a hotel.

You can see the sub-surface scattering of light in the jade (and unfortunately a little extra polishing compound that I stupidly forgot to buff away before snapping my photos.  Smart.

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I wear a jade gemstone very much in the same color family.  That super lime green stuff is just not my thing.  I like it pale and mostly opaque or otherwise that forrest green nephrite stuff like I tend to set in the eyes of my old King Skull.

Either way, you have to be careful when working with jade because so much of the material out there is not actually REAL jade.  It’s glass, dyed quartz, or even plastic.   I’m a fanatic about getting the real stuff (as many of you know who’ve followed my jade and amber exploits in Hong Kong and elsewhere.)

Speaking of King Skulls, the new King Skull is nearly finished.  With the help of my man David and his mold-making crew, I’ve finished waxes for my first 10 pre-orders and they’ve come out beautiful.   Like the previous model, all of the details are hand carved on each template so no two rings will be alike.  For me, it’s the perfect jawless skull ring.  I’ll always love the original, but I’m retiring her from the line to make it extra special for those clients who own one.  All of my work is limited run and they all have an expiration date on them.  So let’s say goodbye to the old King and welcome to the new.

I’m about a week or so away from finishing the silvers on the first batch.   This piece isn’t available in the shop yet, but I’ll be making a big announcement once I’m ready to actually release her, so stay tuned.