Midsummer Night’s Eve

I heard a fascinating segment on NPR this morning of The Writer’s Almanac by Garrison Keillor;

“Tonight is Midsummer Night’s Eve, also called St. John’s Eve. St. John is the patron saint of beekeepers. It’s a time when the hives are full of honey. The full moon that occurs this month was called the Mead Moon, because honey was fermented to make mead. That’s where the word “honeymoon” comes from, because it’s also a time for lovers. An old Swedish proverb says, “Midsummer Night is not long but it sets many cradles rocking.” Midsummer dew was said to have special healing powers. In Mexico, people decorate wells and fountains with flowers, candles, and paper garlands. They go out at midnight and bathe in the lakes and streams. Midsummer Eve is also known as Herb Evening. Legend says that this is the best night for gathering magical herbs. Supposedly, a special plant flowers only on this night, and the person who picks it can understand the language of the trees. Flowers were placed under a pillow with the hope of important dreams about future lovers. Shakespeare set his play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on this night. It tells the story of two young couples who wander into a magical forest outside Athens. In the play, Shakespeare wrote, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”

I was particularly struck by this as, historically, the name Deborah means “Queen Bee”. The origin of the name is also Hebrew; and in the Old Testament of the Bible, Deborah was the name of a judge, prophetess and lawmaker. Over the centuries this name has traditionally been appreciated for its association with the hard work, persistence, and importance to society for which bees were known. As such, I pay homage to bees here with a necklace and earrings made from 18KY gold and black diamonds. 

 As for true love, the impulse to create and manifest symbols in celebration of such unions is with me constantly and, hopefully, always will be.

Welcome, Spring!

Spring is a time of renewal, a time for regeneration, for casting off winter’s chill and embracing the lengthening days of sunshine. Garnet, the gemstone associated with March, is full of life and fire, brilliance and luminosity. It’s deep warm colors evoke mystery and passion and draw the viewer in for a closer look. There is an impressive range of available colors, from the deep blood red Mozambique garnet, to juicy mandarin and spessartite garnets, to bright leafy green tsavorite garnets and even the rare lemony-green demantoid garnets, to name a few. All express the ability to attract and disperse light brilliantly.

Garnets have been known to mankind for thousands of years. It is said that Noah used a garnet lantern to help him steer his ark through the dark night. Garnets are also found in jewellery from early Egyptian, Greek and Roman times. Many an early explorer and traveller liked to carry a garnet with him, for the garnet was popular as a talisman and protective stone, as it was believed to light up the night and protect its bearer from evil and disaster.1

I ‘ve created a suite of pieces to embrace the garnet – one exemplifies a harmonious, monochromatic balance between mandarin garnets, rubies, and Mexican fire opals set into sumptuous 18K yellow gold; another combination heralds a fiery Mozambique garnet along with the cool sophistication of black diamond and spinel. These colorful offerings feel like a breath of fresh air… Enjoy!

1 International Colored Gemstone Association

Red letter day…

It’s a red letter day… We’re very excited to be launching the online shop today!

The new shop will be featuring Holiday Specials, the Xeno Praxis Jewelry Line, and Limited Edition – a selection of one-of-a-kind pieces, for that extra special event… or that extra special someone.

A limited number of custom orders are still available in time for the holidays, so please email deb@debdurant.com or call 415.235.1551 during studio hours to discuss.

 
Please note * 

Special holiday sale prices are available only through Friday Dec. 18th, so don’t wait to place your orders! Expedited delivery will be available through Wed., Dec. 23rd.  
 
Wishing you all a happy & healthy holiday season!

Twigs

Turquoise engagement ring with new wedding band

This past summer, my daughter Sadie and I had the pleasure of joining two of my clients at their wedding reception in Tilden Park. It was a wonderful affair, with piles of Cheese Board pizzas, kegs of rootbeer, and a field of smiling, laughing faces. It was that joyous kind of wedding event that felt like it had been composed of the hands of many happy friends and family. At the reception, I was introduced to a very sweet couple who had had their weddings rings made a few years prior, but had not been completely happy with the results. When they later came to the studio, they brought a lovely delicate 22KY gold engagement ring for us to use as the reference point for the new rings. It looked like a beautiful golden twig nestling a striking blue square turquoise. After much discussion, we went out into the garden behind the studio and hunted for just the right size, shape, and texture twig to capture the feel of the ring. Then I set to work carving both of their new wedding bands in wax. (the fun part!)

Once the rings had been cast into gold (we were able to preserve the gold from their original rings) the final results were surprisingly satisfying – our small nature expedition had yielded convincingly natural precious metal twigs.

Miranda and Brian's 22KY gold wedding bands

Jewelry Show at Shreve & Co. last night…

Deb Durant at Shreve & Co.

Last night I was part of the Women’s Jewelry Association’s Designers by the Bay – a fine jewelry showcase event celebrating its 13th year which was held at Shreve & Co. in San Francisco. www.designersbythebay.com.

Presented each year by the WJA’s Northern California chapter,this showcase is the regions premier fine jewelry event, featuring many exciting new collections from local designers.

I previewed my latest work made with Murano glass, which I purchased this past summer from a small family-owned glass beadmaking factory we found on the island of Murano, located in the laguna just north of Venice, Italy. It was wonderful to work with the beauty and saturated colors of this incredible art form of hand blown glass beads, a technique created in the middle of the last century B.C. We were shown old photos from the 50’s of the glassmaking factories, marvelling at their long and narrow shapes.  It was fascinating to hear the glass-blower explain exactly how the glass bead making technique worked. In order to create the tiny glass beads, the process begins with a glass cylinder called the cane, or cana in Italian. First, the cane is heated in the furnace; once molten it is removed from the heat and air is introduced into the cane to hollow the tube. Immediately afterwards, two men (running as fast as they can in opposite directions) stretch the cane aproximately 100 meters long, which they then carefully lay down into a long wooden receiving trough. Another person then cuts the cane into shorter lengths with a diamond saw, 100 at a time (eventually creating many thousands of beads) using calce (lime powder) to keep each piece from closing at the ends of the tubes. Finally, the beads are reheated, rounding the edges of each individual bead creating the smooth finished perline (tiny hollow glass beads).       

Their translucency and golden lustre add so much depth and dimension to each piece. It is a rarity quite unlike gemstones found in nature, reflecting the artistic hand in its beauty. I hope to work with Murano glass beads more in the future.

…speaking of wonderful moments

For thousands of years, the ruby has been considered one of the most valuable gemstones on Earth.  The birthstone for July, it is the gem most often associated with passion and fire.  Along with sapphire, it is from the corundrum family, and is one of the hardest gems known to man, second only to diamond.  The only thing that separates a ruby from a sapphire is trace elements within the crystals, but only red corundum is entitled to be called ruby, all other colors are considered sapphires.

Diamonds

From the Greek word adamas meaning “invincible”, diamond is the birthstone for June.  Dating back to the 1500’s, when it became commonly known that it was the hardest mineral  known to man, the diamond has been the gem of choice for engagement and ceremonial rings the world over.  Naturally, when selecting a gem for the ring one plans to wear to symbolize a relationship’s enduring love, the eternal diamond is a beautifully brilliant – and practical – choice.  (It is also thought that Egyptians believed a vein in the left hand’s ring finger, the vena amoris or “vein of love”, ran directly to the heart.  Romans were among the first to practice wearing their engagement rings on this finger.)

Over the past few months I have had many different brides come into the studio to design a diamond engagement ring to symbolize their love.  Some have come with beautifully classic diamonds passed down to them from their grandmothers and aunts, in hopes of transforming them into clean modern designs.  Another was seeking to create a diamond ring that felt like an incredible ancient treasure recently unearthed.  Still another chose a diamond with perfect color, clarity, and cut proportions to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her marriage.

It is such an honor to be able to create rings which celebrate the sacred ritual of joining two individuals together, to play a small part in one of life’s happiest moments celebrating love.  To hear people’s stories about how they met, what it was that drew them together, and what remains most important to them, and then begin the process of transforming this information into an object of beauty using precious metals and gems, this is the wonderful challenge. Few things are more satisfying then witnessing the joy people feel when they’ve created their own diamond rings, as unique and individual as them.