Published on by Olivier Maupas-Sehikyan · Rings
Some commissions mark a passage in life. This is one of them: a blue zircon yellow gold ring imagined for a young woman about to celebrate her 20th birthday. A loyal client, whom I have known for several years, entrusted it to me for her daughter. Everything was made by hand, in my workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, just south of Nantes. Let me tell you how this jewel came to life.
A ring to celebrate her daughter's 20th birthday
One day, the door of my workshop opened onto a smile I recognised. This client had a very precise idea: her daughter would soon turn 20, and she wanted to mark the occasion with a jewel that would truly mean something.
I understand that choice. Legal adulthood was reached two years ago, but 20 is something else: higher education, first responsibilities, projects taking shape further ahead. This mother hoped for a jewel that her daughter would wear from today, and that she might, perhaps, one day pass on to her own daughter.
The young woman came along too, and the final word was hers. We talked at length. She loves colour, luminous stones, jewellery that does not go unnoticed. Blue is her shade, a vivid, almost electric blue. So I placed before her a stone that few people know: a natural blue zircon, cut in a cushion shape. She did not hesitate for long. Her eyes said it all.
I then took out my notebook and drew several sketches. The design we chose sets the zircon at the centre, held by claws and surrounded by a halo of small diamonds. The shank, split in two for a more contemporary look, carries a succession of diamonds along each branch. The design was approved that very day.
Natural blue zircon, a stone of character
Before moving to the bench, I must tell you about this gemstone, because it deserves a moment of attention. Zircon is one of the oldest minerals on Earth: some crystals are thought to be 4.4 billion years old. To wear a natural blue zircon is to slip a fragment of geological history onto one's finger.
A clarification, as confusion is common. Zircon has nothing to do with cubic zirconia, the laboratory-made stone often used to imitate diamond. They are two distinct materials. Zircon is a genuine gemstone, drawn from the earth.
Its hardness, between 7 and 7.5 on the Mohs scale, makes it perfectly suited to a jewel worn every day. But its true signature is its brilliance. Its high refractive index and strong dispersion give it an adamantine lustre, very close to that of diamond. Few natural stones are so brilliant.
The best-known deposits are in Cambodia, notably in the province of Ratanakiri, but also in Thailand and Sri Lanka. As for the colour, it owes a great deal to heat: brown zircons are heated, at around 900 to 1000 °C, under controlled conditions. This heat treatment, practised for centuries, reveals the azure blue that is so prized. It is accepted by gemmologists and remains stable over time.
In some traditions, this stone is also the birthstone for December. It is associated with wisdom, prosperity and balance, fine values with which to step into adulthood. For this piece, I chose a zircon with vibrant nuances, examined under a x10 loupe, along with diamonds selected to the same standards of purity and calibration.
Melting 18-carat yellow gold and building the ring
For the metal, I chose 18-carat yellow gold, an alloy of 75% pure gold, enriched with copper and silver. Its sunlit warmth speaks to the blue of the zircon like a summer sky to the light.
I began by melting the gold. The metal was brought to around 1,064 °C, its melting point, purified with borax, then cast into an ingot. The ingot was rolled into a sheet, then drawn through the draw bench to obtain the sections I needed. It is a moment I always love: the raw material begins to find its direction.
The split shank required particular care. Two separate branches were cut out with a piercing saw, bent individually on the ring mandrel, then joined into a divided band. I then built the central mount. The claws, shaped from round wire, were fitted one by one with a needle file, until they embraced the zircon perfectly.
Bezel settings, a casket for every diamond
Next comes the most distinctive stage of this piece: the bezel settings. Unlike bead setting, which is more fluid and continuous, a bezel setting places each small diamond in its own circular casket. The work takes longer, I will not hide that. But the result is very luminous: each stone seems set in a tiny medallion, and the points of brilliance multiply.
Each bezel was shaped from fine gold wire bent into a ring, then soldered onto the ring with millimetre precision. The halo around the zircon has around ten bezels, each holding a diamond. Along the two branches of the shank, a succession of bezels was aligned following the same logic.
Then came the setting. I seated the zircon in its claws, closed over with a pusher, with all the gentleness that a stone of this value demands. Each diamond of the halo and the shank was then set, bezel by bezel, using a bur and a pusher. This work demands constant concentration: one hears nothing in the workshop but the faint sound of the tool.
Finally, the ring was smoothed, then polished with felt and cotton. The yellow gold took on its warm glow, and the zircon regained all its vivacity.
The day she slipped on her ring
When the young woman came back for her jewel, I confess I was a little nervous, as always. She slipped the ring on her finger, turned her hand towards the light, then met her mother's gaze. Their knowing smile was enough. There was nothing to add.
This birthday jewel marked both a milestone and a passing on. That is what I love about my craft: a piece of gold, a stone and a few hours of work become the memory of a moment one never forgets.
If you too have a turning point to celebrate, I would be delighted to talk it over with you. Step into my jewellery workshop in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, near Nantes: we will take the time to talk, to look at stones, and to imagine together your next bespoke jewel.
