The Legend of the “Star of the St. Croix”

It is said that there is a legend in the St. Croix River Valley from long ago. I don’t know if it is true. 

The fabled "Star of the St Croix" diamond- 1.1 carat

Once upon a time there was a handsome French fur trader who married a beautiful Native American woman. He knew of diamonds and promised her that one day he would give her a beautiful stone that would shine like the most brilliant star in the night sky.

They had a wonderful life together but as hard as they worked there was never enough money for him to buy this precious stone. One day, when they were older, they took their canoe out on the river at night to look at the stars. It was calm and the stars were reflected in the water. She said “It looks like the stars are floating in the river.”   He reached down and in his hand there was a beautiful diamond that he gave to her.

This stone was passed on through the generations and at one point was cut into a gem stone and set into a ring. So the story goes.

I recently purchased some old gold jewelry to be recycled. Among the pieces was an old beat up ring with a hundred year old mine cut diamond. I do not normally buy old diamonds because of the expense and It may be difficult to find the right person to sell it to. (See my recent blog “Let’s talk about diamonds) But this one spoke to me. It was hard to tell how good it was because of the old fashion cut. I had it re-cut and certified. It is a lovely diamond.

Whether it is the fabled “Star of the St. Croix” I cannot say, but it surely looks like the brightest star in the night sky!

If you or someone you know may be interested in a larger recycled diamond of good quality, let me know I would be happy to show it to you.

Winter Wonderland

Final ring- Front with cabin 

Ann and Steve are good friends of mine who were recently married. Steve and his family have a cabin in the Black Hills where they have spent wonderful times together. They asked me to make their rings for them. 

Final ring- Deer tracks leading to rose

When I asked what they wanted their rings to be like, Steve thought of the cabin. He then drew a sketch. Ann wanted a rose to be a part of the design as well. There are deer tracks leading from the rose to the trees surrounding the cabin- a winter wonder land.

The "sketch"
You don't need to be a Rembrandt, I'll know what to do

Love is The Law

As a "straight" person, I grew up with a prejudice toward and a lack of understanding of people who were "gay". Age and experience, if we pay attention, enlightens our minds. 

Back in the mid '70s, a woman asked me to make a ring for her "girl friend". They had been together for ten years. She wanted me to carve a symbol of corn growing in the snow. She explained that this was a native american symbol of something that was impossible. This was to signify how hard their relationship had been to maintain in the climate that existed at that time for same sex couples. It was a moving encounter.

Ten years later her partner contacted me to make a matching ring for the first woman. I have never forgotten that experience and have had a particular fondness for the many same sex couples I have made rings for over the years.

I may have a picture of that ring but I have not been able to find it yet. However, several winters ago I was driving to work and passed a field and saw two stalks of corn left standing in the snow. It was the symbol that I had carve so many years ago.

I have been making rings for same sex couples throughout my career. These came to be called "commitment rings".  I never liked that term since it was clear to me these couples were no different from the couples coming to me for "wedding rings" and who are just as much in love and just as committed to a life together.

I would like to express my joy for my gay and lesbian sisters and brothers and my pride in the people of Minnesota for abolishing that arbitrary distinction.

A Joyous Occasion

Several years ago you may have seen one of the early YouTube video’s that went viral. The dancing wedding! It is delightful.  If you have not seen it, there is a link below.  The couple asked me to make custom rings for them and I happily agreed.  The link is for their wedding site, which contains the YouTube video that you just have to watch!  

http://www.jkweddingdance.com/#donate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0&noredirect=1

About a year after they were married, I received an e-mail from them that I thought I would share with you:

“Hello,

My husband, Kevin, and I had our wedding rings made by you last year (we love them!).

You have also made wedding rings for some of our close friends who are also in that video (Ann and Jeff Mason, Lisa and Jimmy Krieger).

We are working on making a short online ad for Google about our wedding- showing websites that we used to plan our wedding. We would like to show your website briefly in the ad- because ours rings are really special to us.  

Sincerely, 

Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz”

All weddings should be this joyful! Enjoy the video!

Roman Glass

This pendant was made for a friend of mine. His daughter went to Israel on an archeological dig. The site was a 2000 year old roman ruin. Scattered about the site were pieces of glass from that era. She was allowed to take pieces outside the specified work area and brought them home.  These delicate shards had developed an amazingly beautiful patina, after all that time, that was like an opal. The piece we chose to set was very thin and the coloration was vulnerable to flaking off, both concerns in setting and wearing.  Also the coloration was faint.  What I ended up doing was to mix two part glue, which dries thick, with black india ink and put it on the back of the glass. This gave it strength and enhanced the color. I then sprayed the colored surface with clear enamel to protect the patina.

The setting is made from tiny pieces of driftwood giving it a look of something found along a shore.