Home » Jewelry » Larimar Stone and Real Progress

Larimar Stone and Real Progress

 

This past week has been a “Meeting a go go” session. Lots of stuff happening all at once but its all good !

  • Larimar ! Just got a shipment of the pictured high grade samples (AA+) of  this incredible stone at the end of last week. I’m totally floored ! Larimar only comes from the Dominican Republic and is,  for all I can see the perfect mimic of warm blue waters of the Caribbean. If you have ever flown over that area you know what I mean. I had been looking for a kind of blue stone to compliment my sea life themed jewelry and this is it ! Most of you know how blue is the perfect compliment to silver. However unlike turquoise, Larimar is translucent and catches the light beautifully and has incredible depth.

In 1974, at the foot of the Bahoruco Range, the coastal province of Barahona or the DR, Miguel Méndez and Peace Corps volunteer Norman Rilling rediscovered Larimar on a beach. Natives, who believed the stone came from the sea, called the gem Blue Stone. Miguel took his young daughter’s name Larissa and the Spanish word for sea (mar) and formed Larimar, by the colors of the water of the Caribbean Sea, where it was found. -Wikipedia

The Gemological Institute of America has Identified Larimar as a blue Pectolite that is found nowhere else in the world. I can hardly wait to start setting Larimar in my jewelry designs !

  • JTV Had another great meeting with a former executive from Jewelry TV this past week as well. A very well connected individual that has shown a great deal of interest in my work. I found out many things about the jewelry scene and how a person can find themselves on Jewelry TV.  I think this may be a possibility in the future.  We’ll keep the options open.
  • Video Shoot My jewelry and I will be the subject of an upcoming series of video shoots.  Shots of me working on various pieces, discussion of my designs, and the direction I will be taking will be featured in several high definition videos. I will be posting them up here as they are finished.
  • Studio Prep Had a great get together at the studio with a  cabinet maker who is working with me to create a really groovy and workable infrastructure for the studio. Lots to prepare for with the casting equipment that will be ordered soon. We are coming up with an arrangement of drawers not unlike the wide yet somewhat shallow map drawers that you used to see in the Library. This will allow me to keep track of my molds and wax models easily. I quite of ten pull out the wax mold and work with them much as Rodin used to with his sculptures. Mix and match, Change and modify,  rework and re imagine.  It always surprises me how much you can do with what you all ready have, and the results are wonderfully surprising.  Rodin, the old master was right again.

When you work in a jewelry creation workshop you quickly learn that it is imperative to keep things put up and out of the way. Clutter is        really harmful to the creative spirit and small parts and tools can get scattered about very quickly  in the creative flurry. The solution for me was to go up the wall.  I will be installing a modified peg board system that will allow me to attach small custom wooden ( I believe wood lends greater ambiance to the creative atmosphere) drawers for holding all sorts of small but important parts (precious stones, findings, etc).  I can access them quickly but can get them back out of sight in a hurry as well thus maintaining good order in at the bench.

pixelstats trackingpixel

Tags:

 

About the author

Brett Garrett was born in Somerset Pennsylvania. He is a descendant of Cosimo Gherardini the first great Duke of Florence Italy though Dominus Otho Gherardini who at the time of Edward the Confessor migrated to England, and for exemplary service to the Saxon king and later the Normans, was awarded lands and a Barony. The name Gherardini, became Gerrard, Garard. and eventually Garrett. Artistic feeling was evident in Brett's growing up years but did not come full circle until he attended Brigham Young University Hawaii Campus where he was fortunate enough to receive a classical education in sculpture and the human form. Following graduation in 1989 Brett was the principal assistant on many famous monuments that are now installed in Hawaii. Some of which include The Duke Kahanmoku monument on Waikiki Beach, the Koloa Sugar Monument in Kauai, and the Mamanuhi’i monument next to the LDS Hawaii Temple in Laie Hawaii. In 2009 Brett attended the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco where he received a Graduate Jeweler degree. He has now turned his sculptural talent to creating fine jewelry with an oceanic theme, which also utilizes stones such as Larimar, Aquamarine, sapphires and other precious stones associated with the ocean. After nearly 10 years of living directly on the North Shore of Oahu Hawaii the sea became ingrained in the artist. In fact Brett is often heard to remark that he has "withdrawal symptoms" if he is away from the sea for too long. Brett's work will be created in silver, gold, pearls, precious stones and semi precious stones

More posts by Brett Garrett | Visit the site of Brett Garrett

 

1 Comments

  1. RJ Stribley says:
    December 21, 2010 at 6:57 am

    Brett:

    Very interesting! I love the look of the stone… sort of like a marbleized turquoise; however, different. I look forward to seeing some of your first pieces!

    Bob

    Reply

Leave a Comment

 





 

 
 
 
Login