Charoite Revisited

I previously posted about some of my charoite cabs, here. I recently set one of them, and wanted to show you the result, and share the process that led to this design:

Hard-angled stones tend to pose a bigger design challenge for me than rounder ones, so I sat with this one for a while before the idea took hold. I originally was going to set it vertically, with the point facing down (sound familiar?):

and:

but that's sort of my "go to" for teardrop stones, so I wanted this to be a little different. Also the charoite triangle is a scalene (each side is a different length) rather than an isosceles, where two of the three sides are the same length, so it wouldn't really have looked right (at least not to my eye) if I'd set it vertically. 

Charoite comes from Siberia, Russia, and that made me think of rugged mountain country. So I made a mountain-ish backing for the stone. And the stone itself, set sideways, has a slope kind of like a mountain. I didn't want the mountain to be too rugged, since the stone's finish is a soft satiny look, so I added just a few sawn cutouts on the sides:

I gave the overall piece a soft satin finish to complement the stone. The back is softly textured as well:

I like for my jewelry designs to have some meaning, because jewelry is the most personal form of adornment. And I really enjoy writing the descriptions for the stone items. In this case it wasn't just the stone itself but it's host location that influenced the design. Also, charoite is considered quite ugly in its natural state. It's not until it's cut and polished that it becomes this fantastic creation. And that made me think about personal growth, how we go through changes and constant learning in life. So here's the description:

"Through life we all climb our personal mountains. The work of growing emotionally and intellectually is never done; not if we want to keep reaching and striving for our own personal goals. Sometimes it is raw strength that pushes us through and sometimes it's learning to be gentle and receptive. The journey ends when we do; before that it's about moving forward and experiencing everything that life offers us."

Sometimes I think I'm a big cheese-head, but this does reflect how I try to live my own life and so I guess if it's cheesy, I'm okay with that. There are worse things.  :)

So that's the story of this particular design journey. I'll try to post some more in the upcoming weeks as time permits. I can't wait to see where the next design will lead me!