This piece was made for a dear friend in New Hampshire, who I spent many, many hours hiking or biking with her and our dogs in the woods behind our two houses. The necklace was created as an anniversary gift. The center stone is a Montana sapphire from a paired set. I used the other sapphire to make another custom ivy necklace which turned out dramatically different. This particular design was inspired by a previous rose necklace I created in yellow gold with a garnet in the center. She chose white gold and the Montana sapphire to match her wedding band. 

Cutting the petals out of a sheet of wax

Shaping the petals around the tube setting. I decided to make the tube setting in wax instead of soldering in a metal tube after the piece was cast in metal. I am using a wax pen (with a heated tip) to attach (melt) the petals to the tub setting

Final shape in wax. Next step is to cast into 14 karat white gold

Polishing the piece after it has been cast into metal. I started with a rough abrasive wheel and then switched to a finer wheel

Time to set the Montana sapphire in the center

Finished!