#JOTW My heart by Van Craeynest

[snlee]

What a beautiful unique pendant! I can''t wait to see some neck shots!

 

[Stone Hunter]

Lovely just lovely and the story is very special too.

 

[wolftress]

Wow, what an amazing story. It sounds like the necklace was custom-made for you, and it WAS a mingling of ideas. The result is breathtaking - it looks like something out of a fairy tale.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay, I am jealous...again! What a beautiful heirloom! I simply must decide on something from VC because their work is just perfection! You are a very lucky girl!!!

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Now THAT is beautiful! I love it, congratulations!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/13/2007 6:08:23 PM
Author: Selkie

Whoa. Now THAT is a gorgeous piece of jewelry. Love the Art Nouveau look of it, and those sapphires are astounding. Did VC source them for you?

Yup Selkie, VC did source them for me. I remember Larry saying that they were cornflower blue sapphires. I''m not sure if that refers to color, or if that term is indicative of origin. I''ll have to ask where the stones are from. The sapphires sparkle like crazy but it is very hard to capture that on camera.

 

[Love in Bloom]

Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments!

Angeline - My heart really did come from San Francisco, so I think I will be obsessed for life

Snlee - I''m still working on those neck shots. I really don''t like my neck but I''ll try.

Stone Hunter - I love the story of how my heart was made. The memories dance in my head and make me smile! Be sure to
stay tuned for part III...

Wolftress - It is just like a fairytale! I still can''t believe people can make stuff like this with their hands.

Diamond*Dana - I am so mezmerized by it, I can''t stop staring

. It sounds so vain but I think my heart is beautiful too!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/14/2007 12:37:23 AM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Okay, I am jealous...again! What a beautiful heirloom! I simply must decide on something from VC because their work is just perfection! You are a very lucky girl!!!

If you decide not to go with a VC mounting for you stone, I would definitely suggest considering a hand chased/ hand pierced piece. The tiny details are so sublime, it is unreal! When I first saw the heart I was just speechless and stared at it quietly for about 10 minutes as it is small but is a lot to take in. I do feel like the luckiest bride on earth!

 

[poshpepper]

That necklace is gorgeous!!!! I love how you designed it and it was made just for you!! Fabulous!!!!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/14/2007 12:26:08 PM
Author: poshpepper
That necklace is gorgeous!!!! I love how you designed it and it was made just for you!! Fabulous!!!!

Thanks Poshpepper! Here are some illustrations from the design process:

 

[monarch64]

LIB, I

your new VC heart pendant! Wow, it is really beautiful!!! Congrats, I was wondering where you were, good to "see" you again.

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/14/2007 1:54:38 PM
Author: monarch64
LIB, I

your new VC heart pendant! Wow, it is really beautiful!!! Congrats, I was wondering where you were, good to ''see'' you again.

Thanks Monarch. I have been a slave to wedding plans. Great to ''see'' you too!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Here is a photocopy of the hand carved steel hub on the left. On the right, a scan of the solid lead stamping Van Craeynest sent me to so I could see how it would look proportion wise:

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/14/2007 8:01:06 AM
Author: Love in Bloom

Date: 8/13/2007 6:08:23 PM
Author: Selkie

Whoa. Now THAT is a gorgeous piece of jewelry. Love the Art Nouveau look of it, and those sapphires are astounding. Did VC source them for you?

Yup Selkie, VC did source them for me. I remember Larry saying that they were cornflower blue sapphires. I''m not sure if that refers to color, or if that term is indicative of origin. I''ll have to ask where the stones are from. The sapphires sparkle like crazy but it is very hard to capture that on camera.

According to Van Craeynest the stones are ceylon sapphires, probably from Collins & Collins Gems. He said the company was located in San Francisco, but has since relocated to Texas.

 

[kcoursolle]

Beautiful pendant. I''ve never seen anything like it, and it''s very pretty. I loved looking at the sketches too.

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/14/2007 3:34:09 PM
Author: kcoursolle
Beautiful pendant. I''ve never seen anything like it, and it''s very pretty. I loved looking at the sketches too.

Thanks kcoursolle

. I have never seen anything like it either and I''m glad you enjoyed the sketches!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/14/2007 12:26:08 PM
Author: poshpepper
That necklace is gorgeous!!!! I love how you designed it and it was made just for you!! Fabulous!!!!

Ooops, I forgot to say I only came up with the idea. Van Craeynest designed it and made it work. I only *wish* I could make something like this!

 

[Linda W]

All I can say is WOW!!!!!!! What a beautiful, Beautiful necklace. I LOVE it!!!!! Beautiful design and what a family heirloom that will be!!!!!

 

[Rock Candy]

You are a very creative soul! I love how your idea unfolded and really appreciate you sharing the process. Your rings and pendant are just exquisite! Could you comment on the time frame it took to complete the pendant please? I’m just blown away by your story and the end product! WOW!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Linda W - The idea of having babies makes me nervous but I''ll figure it out somehow so I can pass my heart down and keep it ''in the family'' LOL

San Diego Lady - I totally agree about the carving! The heart is hand carved, chased, engraved, and pierced. I would like to think of it as timeless, and I believe the design truly is, but unfortunately there are not many people these days who can still do this kind of work. It is a dying art really because most other jewelry nowadays is computer or wax designed and cast, and I don''t think you can pierce cast metal

.

 

[Love in Bloom]

The story continues...

Part III – The mingling of Metals

I have a severe nickel allergy that results in red blotches and really itchy blisters…that is definitely not sexy. Due to platinum’s reputation as a hypo-allergenic metal, I wanted to play it safe and go for all platinum. I told VC about my skin issues. He listened, and then explained that he thought it would look best two-tone; a yellow gold sculpture with platinum scrolls. I do like the look of mixed metals so I agreed. For the ‘something blue’ part, Larry suggested a cluster of sapphires. The only requests I made were that no nickel-bearing metals touch my skin and that the sapphires be set in a white metal. Van Craeynest took care of the rest. I would call and ask about the project, and from time to time I would get little clues here and there on how it would look.

The only time I was really nervous was when I told Larry I wanted to wear it all the time after my wedding. He said, “Great, so I put a hole in the back of the heart so you can wear it all the time. I think it will look great!”

Whaaa? A hole in my heart? Oh my, that comment had me really worried. So I inquired more…he said he put a platinum underbezel on the back but made it open, both allowing light in and so very little metal would make contact with my skin. What a relief!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/14/2007 5:26:07 PM
Author: Rock Candy
You are a very creative soul! I love how your idea unfolded and really appreciate you sharing the process. Your rings and pendant are just exquisite! Could you comment on the time frame it took to complete the pendant please? I’m just blown away by your story and the end product! WOW!

LOL, Rock Candy, you said what my grandmother always says to me! That is very sweet! Thanks about the rings too. I am so in love

. The time frame is a difficult thing to explain. The only thing I specified was that it had to be done by October so I could wear it at my wedding. Here is the time frame it took to make my heart, but please see the note at the bottom

Early March - I created and sent my sketch
Mid April - Van Craeynest faxed me a copy of his sketch (not sure when that was drawn)
Early May - I received a solid stamping of the design forged in lead
Early August - It was polished and the stones were set
August 9th - The design was re-chased (sculpted) to restore texture after polishing, and my heart was shipped to me
Augist 10th at 8:45am it was delivered to me. VC really surprised me because I thought they had shipped it registered mail via the USPS, but it was sent Next Day Air. The bizarre thing was that I was watching The Illusionist when the delivery man came (I have an odd sleep schedule).

NOTE: Because of the way Van Craeynest makes their jewelry, in order to make a custom piece a very skilled person must hand carve the design into a piece of steel called a hub. I understand that this process is quite time consuming and difficult. If you wanted to purchase from their already produced collection of jewelry I would imagine it would take a lot less time to make. Oh, and their stone setter was out for a while so that may have caused a bit of a delay.

So Rock Candy, are you thinking about getting a VC piece??

 

[Rock Candy]

Date: 8/14/2007 6:58:02 PM
Author: Love in Bloom

Date: 8/14/2007 5:26:07 PM

Author: Rock Candy

You are a very creative soul! I love how your idea unfolded and really appreciate you sharing the process. Your rings and pendant are just exquisite! Could you comment on the time frame it took to complete the pendant please? I’m just blown away by your story and the end product! WOW!

LOL, Rock Candy, you said what my grandmother always says to me! That is very sweet! Thanks about the rings too. I am so in love

. The time frame is a difficult thing to explain. The only thing I specified was that it had to be done by October so I could wear it at my wedding. Here is the time frame it took to make my heart, but please see the note at the bottom

Early March - I created and sent my sketch

Mid April - Van Craeynest faxed me a copy of his sketch (not sure when that was drawn)

Early May - I received a solid stamping of the design forged in lead

Early August - It was polished and the stones were set

August 9th - The design was re-chased (sculpted) to restore texture after polishing, and my heart was shipped to me

Augist 10th at 8:45am it was delivered to me. VC really surprised me because I thought they had shipped it registered mail via the USPS, but it was sent Next Day Air. The bizarre thing was that I was watching The Illusionist when the delivery man came (I have an odd sleep schedule).


NOTE: Because of the way Van Craeynest makes their jewelry, in order to make a custom piece a very skilled person must hand carve the design into a piece of steel called a hub. I understand that this process is quite time consuming and difficult. If you wanted to purchase from their already produced collection of jewelry I would imagine it would take a lot less time to make. Oh, and their stone setter was out for a while so that may have caused a bit of a delay.


So Rock Candy, are you thinking about getting a VC piece??

Thanks for your response. The quality of work they produce is absolutely breathtaking! I would love to own a piece of their jewelry someday!

 

[Love in Bloom]

You are welcome Rock Candy!

Here is a neck shot as promised. I don''t know how the PS ladies manage non-blurry neck shots. The clearest one I could get was in incandescent light with flash, but all of the other shots were taken in daylight.

 

[Love in Bloom]

Here is a pic of the back so you can see the hole in my heart. It really isn't as bad as it sounds and I think it does its job quite well...I think it looks perfect inside and out!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Another sleepless night...so I''m posting more pictures

 

[Love in Bloom]

 

[Love in Bloom]

I don't know what this says about the cut of the stones, but they are almost completely clear pale blue from behind, and a deep but multifaceted bright blue face-up. The sapphires are quite fiery in person. They give off colors ranging from aqua, bright blue, royal blue and deep purple. This shot captures the range of colors (although the pink reflection is from my shirt!):

 

[Love in Bloom]

And since my neck shots were a disaster, here is one of the heart in my hand to get a better idea of size...

 

[feathers]

Love in Bloom, I am mostly a lurker. But I had to log in to comment on your lovely heart! The craftsmanship and design are both exquisite.

Wear your heart pendant in good health.