Published on by Olivier Maupas-Sehikyan · Rings
A Bespoke Ring for a Birthday and a Rediscovered Stone
She pushed open the door of my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, near Nantes, with a very clear idea. She was approaching her sixtieth birthday and wanted to mark the milestone with a piece of jewellery that truly felt like her. Not a whim: rather a desire for something exactly right.
Born in November, she has always loved blue topaz, her birthstone. Her mother had given her a small pendant set with this gem when she was twelve. Over the years and several house moves, it was lost. She did not tell me how much this memory weighed on her, but I heard it in the way she spoke of it, with a slightly distant smile.
We talked at length. She loves understated elegance and prefers refinement to ostentation. Her ring had to be worn every day without catching on clothing, while having more character than a simple solitaire. It is a brief I enjoy: precise, sincere, personal. For me, a bespoke ring always begins this way, with a conversation before the first stroke of the pencil.
Choosing a Swiss Blue Topaz Against the Skin
From my collection I took several topazes in different shades and laid them out in front of her. Sky Blue, light and airy, like a summer sky. London Blue, deep, almost nocturnal, more sophisticated. And the Swiss Blue topaz, a vivid, sparkling blue.
She held each stone against her skin, one after another, in silence. It is the best test, far more reliable than any description. Her choice fell on the Swiss Blue, whose hue reminded her of the tropical waters of a journey that had meant a great deal to her. So the stone already carried two memories: that of childhood and that of this journey.
What You Should Know About Topaz
Topaz is a semi-precious stone, not one of the four precious stones (diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald). This administrative distinction says nothing about its beauty. With a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale, it withstands everyday wear very well. It does have one sensitive point, however: cleavage, that is, a direction along which it can split under impact. I take this into account every time I design its setting.
I should also say, in all honesty, that most blue topazes on the market are colourless topazes whose colour has been brought out by irradiation followed by heating. This treatment is stable and widely accepted by gemmologists. The Egyptians called this stone the "golden stone", and today it is said to bring serenity and emotional balance. For this client, the November stone took on its full meaning.
I chose an oval-cut topaz of beautiful transparency. Its colour harmonised with my client's complexion, which is never a minor detail.
An 18-Carat White Gold Ring, Handcrafted in My Workshop
I drew several sketches in my notebook before settling on a design: the topaz in a closed setting at the centre, carried by a band in 18-carat white gold whose body is set with a pavé of diamonds in grain settings. Once the design was approved, I moved to the bench.
The work began with casting. 18-carat white gold contains 75% pure gold, alloyed here with palladium. I brought the metal to its melting point, around 1,064 °C, then purified it with borax and poured it into an ingot. It was then rolled into a sheet, and drawn through the draw bench to obtain the required sections.
The ring shank was cut out with a piercing saw, curved on the mandrel to fit the finger size exactly, then soldered into a band. The surfaces that were to receive the diamonds had to be perfectly flat: otherwise, the regularity of the setting is compromised.
For the central mount, I shaped a fine strip of gold to the exact perimeter of the topaz. This closed setting protects the stone's corners, precisely because of the cleavage I mentioned, and lets its transparency breathe. I then cut the small seats for the diamonds with a conical burr, in a very even rhythm.
Setting and Finishing
Then comes the moment I like best, and the quietest: the setting. The topaz was placed in its gold bezel, then the strip was folded over the stone with a pusher, with gradual pressure. The diamonds, sorted under a x10 loupe for purity, colour and calibration, were grain-set with the graver and the beading tool. Each one is held by a tiny bead of metal.
Finally the ring was sanded, filed, then polished with felt and cotton. A rhodium bath gave it its bright, mirror-like white. All this jewellery work in Nantes is done on site, by hand, with nothing entrusted to anyone else: I can thus follow the piece from the first wax to the last stroke of the polisher.
The Handover: A Pendant Found Again in Another Form
On the day of the handover, I placed the box on the counter and stood a little apart. My client opened it, then slipped the ring onto her finger. She remained motionless for a moment. She told me she felt again the sensation of the little pendant from when she was twelve, the one her mother had given her.
I never try to reproduce an object that has been lost; it would be impossible. But I can create a piece of jewellery that carries on its emotion. This ring, born from a birthstone, now marks an important milestone in her life, and she will wear it every day, just as she wished.
If you too carry within you a stone, a memory or a date that you would like to inscribe in a piece of jewellery, come and talk about it at the workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire. We will take the time to discuss it over a coffee, and we will see together what can come to life.
