Gems into Gems - The Layers of Kundan
AUD$900 +
Prices for custom rings vary depending on the feature gemstone and design.
A collection of jewels that have been created incorporating gemstone carving, 18, 22 & 24k gold with precious gemstones & Rare beads.
I have been working on a collection of jewels over the last few years that have been carved out of gemstone and then had bright coloured, natural gems set into them. While my rings, earrings, pendants and cuffs do reference fine European jewellery by French designers such as Belperron and Verdura, I was actually wanting to pay homage to the beautiful antique jewellery and objet I had seen across India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. When I visited each of these places I was charmed by their enchanting, rich jewellery history. In ‘The West’ jewellers tend to make the gemstone setting and then screw or adhere the ready-set stone and setting into the carved ring/bangle/objet but with this particular collection of rings I decided to use an old, local Rajasthani technique called Kundan.
Kundun is a way of setting where 24k gold is hammered and rolled into thin, leaf like ribbons that are pushed into drilled anchor holes behind and around the stone until, slowly but surely, the fine gold builds up and the stone is secured. This process takes a full days work for a gemstone ring and the work would be performed by an artisan who would specialise in this area.
Setting gemstones using the kundan technique is often considered too delicate to be used on rings to be worn by people who go about their modern lives but these rings have all had deeper anchors drilled and extra gold added to ensure the stones safety. While accidents do happen, my artisan Sanjay has assured me that with average but mindful, daily wear, the gold should stay exactly where it should.
Please contact me if you are interested in any of the pieces in my collection, if you would like to discuss having a bespoke piece of jewellery made just for you or if you have any questions about anything you have seen on my website.
