Making the Peony Charm

Curious about the bespoke process?

The Peony Charm was a special project commissioned as a gift for Q, my childhood best friend. I worked with her husband, S, to design something simple but still unique — a jewel that Q would be able to wear daily and enjoy for many years to come.

 

Bespoke enquiry

S reaches out with early details already in mind. Peonies are Q's favourite flower, and her favourite style of jewellery is minimal and delicate. We choose yellow gold to complement her existing jewellery collection.

 

Designing the Peony Charm

We start with simple sketches and clay models to help envision the design in three dimensions. S is quick to confirm his choices (I am lucky to have plenty of trust on this project!), and I am able to focus on making the peony look as distinct as possible from a rose.

A few weeks later, the handcarved model is complete — we are both thrilled with how well it turns out!

 

Making the Peony Charm in 14K gold

My local caster does their magic and turns the wax model into solid gold. In a leap of faith, I choose to spend extra on a mould so that the design is preserved for future use.

Finishing the charm takes great care, but eventually every detail is brought up to a brilliant finish. You can find a short video of the finished charm here.

For gift packaging, I always try to choose something that matches the jewel inside :) A beautiful blue and gold peony pattern hints at the surprise to come:

Thanks S, for trusting me with this project!

 

Testimonal from S

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 :)

 

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