The Peony Charm was a special project commissioned as a gift by my best friend's husband. We worked together to design something simple but still unique — a jewel that my friend would be able to wear daily and enjoy for many years to come.
Bespoke enquiry
My friend's husband reaches out with some details already in mind. Peonies are her favourite flower, and her favourite style of jewellery is minimal and delicate. We choose yellow gold to complement her existing jewellery collection.
Design and carving
I make some simple sketches and clay models, with an emphasis on details that will help distinguish the peony from a rose. These are quickly approved by the husband, who is thankfully a very trusting and easygoing collaborator :)
A few weeks later, the handcarved model is complete — we are both thrilled with how well it turns out! This is how it looked before the bail was added.
Casting and polishing
My local caster does his magic and turns the wax model into solid gold. I also choose to have a silicone mould made, so that the design can be preserved for future use.
Raw gold castings usually turn out with a relatively matte finish, some surface porosity, and a bit of leftover sprue (the spiky bit at the tops of the pendant bails). The finishing process takes great care on my part to remove all these excess bits and bumps without losing any of the intentional ridges and fine details!
I use a combination of emery paper, polishing grits, and burnishers until every millimetre is brought up to a brilliant finish :)
And the finishing touches: when it comes to the packaging, I always try to look for something that matches the jewel inside :) These chiyogami papers are imported from Japan, where every layer of colour is silkscreened by hand! A beautiful blue and gold peony paper hints at the surprise to come:
Thank you S, for trusting me with this project!
A kind review
Working with Natalie was a great experience! Not only did she make the process simple and straightforward, but her responsiveness to my ideas made it feel like I was included in the design the entire time. The final presentation was also a cut above what you get from a traditional jeweler, with unique, packaging personalized to the piece. The result of Natalie’s thoughtful work was a necklace that my wife loved and will wear for years to come. I will absolutely work with Natalie again on future custom pieces 😊
Thanks for reading
And dear reader, thank you for following along too. I hope that you can enjoy the art and creative process of my work as much as I enjoy making it!
If you have a story that you'd also like to turn into a tiny sculpture, you can reach out anytime :)