Aaron, one of our all-star jewelers who specializes in a variety of our one-of a-kind and custom designs was responsible for this particular piece. He was kind enough to sit down with me to answer a couple of questions.
For over four weeks, I watched as Aaron created this cuff completely from scratch. For me, it was very impressive to watch this piece of jewelry evolve from a simple piece of silver metal into one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever seen. Day in and day out he worked on it, making small strides towards the final outcome. Because I knew the process was such a long one, I asked him to share with me what he enjoyed most about the process.
“The thing that I enjoyed most about the process was finishing it… [He laughs]. There were so many processes involved in making this particular piece, the most rewarding part was when it all finally came together. One of the last things to happen was when I put in the big center stone. The center stone is by far the most amazing part of the bracelet, and yet it was the last step of the process.”
Because so much intention and so much of Aaron’s energy went into the many processes that were involved in making this piece, I asked him if he felt any personal significance to the bracelet now that it was finished. Here is what he said:
“Well, it was kind of a collaborative effort, especially when figuring out how to address each issue that arose. For instance, I had to figure out how to make each pearl, how to make them look the way Todd had intended them to look, and how to make the pearls interact with each other and flow down the bracelet. The personal connection that I feel towards the piece would be in the problem solving and the ingenuity in figuring out how to make it all work, but again, that was more of a team effort. So ultimately I am connected to the team effort of the process.”
One of the biggest hurdles for this piece came about when Aaron had to make the two pieces of metal fit around each pearl. Consequently, he had to create a process for achieving this so that any of our jewelers to recreate it again and again.
“It’s a way of fabricating it so that there’s a safety. The laser cannot pass through the metal and hit what is inside. That’s the challenge. If any of the laser shots pass through the seam, (which is very likely to happen), it could have detrimental effects on the pearl. So I had to figure out a process for making them over and over again. This is new, uncharted territory for us.”
Lastly, I asked Aaron to tell me about any challenges that he experienced along the way.
“The overall combination of making it a visually striking piece and still achieving what Todd was seeking when he came to me with his design was the most challenging part. In other words, translating the design into a tangible form… Taking Todd’s ideas and turning them into a reality.”