Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Jewelry Art: Fetish Bracelet

I knew from its inception that this bracelet design was not going to be one of the most wearable designs I ever came up with. None of the compromises I conceived really made it any more practical - so I decided to procede with it anyway, and just build it so well, it would never come apart in use. The imagery was worth a little inconvenience - in short, it was just a neat damn bracelet. The fossil walrus teeth jutting out either side, one dark and one light, formed a really different line when mounted as a tangent to the curve of the bracelet - one I had never seen before.


Photo by George Post -click image to enlarge

The mounting structure that juts up from the center of the bracelet is inlaid with green fire agate and Faustite on the top, flanked by pieces of purple African Sugilite ... and then lower, by pieces of spiderweb chalcosiderite from Lander County, Nevada and more sugilite. The 18K gold bezels that seem to hold the walrus teeth belie the fact that there are heavy silver rods running inside the center of each tooth to ensure their stability. The transparent green stone on the lighter tooth is an emerald mounted in a gold bezel and inset into the surface of the ivory. The polished round "pebbles" of metal underneath the Fetish shape are made of bronze, copper, brass, silver and gold. The outer surface of bracelet between the polished rails is textured with stamps I made myself, evoking the feel of a fossil bed that might contain this artifact from another world.

There will never be another one just like this, but if you like the concept, let me design one specifically for you that's a variation on this theme. Call me at the studio to discuss the particulars at (505) 296-1400, or Email me at David@StewartArt.com, and play a part in its creation.

DESIGN, PHOTO AND TEXT © DAVID LLOYD STEWART - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED