A 60th Birthday GIft

The brief:

A personalized bangle to mark Jill's birthday

I first met Jacqueline and Jill at St. Barnabas' Spring Fair. They liked my style and the fact that I lived and worked on the North Downs, just as they do. We arranged for Jill to come up to my workshop on Ranmore Common to discuss what she would like on her bangle.

Jill described the beautiful landscape they live in, mentioning in particular a view of a house on a nearby hill. To truly personalize the bangle, I incorporated the 'J' from their names into the opening mechanism, ensuring that when worn, the 'J's are always together. Upon close inspection, you will also see that one of the hedgerows captures Jill's special date.

I showed a range of stones to Jill. After careful deliberation, she chose a Citrine cabochon as a reference to the color of edelweiss, her favorite flower, which was featured in the decoration of the bangle.

The bangle in its open position clearly shows the way the "J" will wrap around the stone when closed.

Edelweiss flowers are arranged on either side of the feature stone.

Rolling Surrey Landscape...

...with a House on a Hill...

...finishing with the distinctive lines of the local vineyard