Dodgie Dator Designs

Vintage, Elegant and absolutely Gorgeous

2011-03-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

Clients always have this very common question... what should I do with jewellery I no longer wear? A few common answer might come up...sell it...give it away...but the most logical thing to do is to create a new piece that you will make you enjoy your old pieces all over again.

A met with this very nice older client to discuss just this question, so naturally I would suggest for her to work with me and create a new piece. She had very old pieces from different times in her life, some broken pieces and some that she just no longer enjoy wearing. She did have a lot of gold to melt down but I suggested for her to keep the nicest pieces, I restored them for her to enjoy again. We still had a lot of gold to work with and two very nice gems to set into this new piece, a genuine ruby and an old mine cut diamond(I am not disclosing sizes, since we didn't appraise it ourselves, we did sent it to our gemologist just to identify the type of gems they are).

My client saw this pendant worn by another lady, by her descriptions, it's a nugget piece. I highly discouraged her to simply melt down 10+grams of gold just to make a nugget pendant. A nugget pendant is not that bad if its something just to use up some odds and ends of gold. A nugget piece would be a very bad idea if we have such substantial amount of gold and really amazing gems to work with. I suggested a concept to her just to see how she would like my idea. I did a very quick sketch just to show her my concept and she loved my initial design and we went to have it created. A circle pendant with a nugget piece incorporated into one side, set with her old mine cut diamond. We then set her oval ruby on the center of the piece in a cut out pattern. We finished the piece with a really elegant bale that has a slight hint of vintage elegance. This is truly a nice piece to show what your deserted pieces of gold can look like after some slight creativity.

Needle & High Polish finish Saddle band

2011-03-31T23:00:00.000-07:00

This ring was created for one of the couples that visited our booth in the Wonderful Wedding Show back in January. The client's ring doesn't exactly have a matching wedding band for it. We did some initial consult during the show but I did encouraged them to visit me at the store to finalize all the details. It wasn't that long after when they came and visited me to proceed with the design process.

I personally loved the "needle finish"(a very fine matte finish that resembles a fine texturing that mimics needle points) that one of my goldsmiths applied to my wife's wedding ring. I thought of using the same finishing on her wedding ring to make the diamond more prominent. The client's engagement ring was set with a trillion cut diamond, we decided to contrast it with 3 round brilliant cut diamonds. The sizes of the round diamonds was graduated(.04ct, .03ct and .02ct) to compliment the tapering of the ring's sides. This style of ring is commonly known as a "saddle band", it's basically a ring that starts at one side of an existing ring and then meets up to the other side. It is very cool to work with rings with very different shapes to it and add a saddle band to it. This way the pattern can be complimented by the new ring.

A Family Wedding Ring

2011-03-31T22:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a somewhat unique way of combining 2 pieces of very symbolic jewellery, a wedding ring and a family ring. Ordering a family rings can often be very stale, choosing from close to 100 styles in our showcase here at McGrath Diamonds. Wedding bands can also be exactly the same experience, since a lot of styles are already available and why not just get something right out of the showcase? Right? Well for some of my clients they put more into buying these pieces of jewellery because of the fact that they do want something that not everyone would have.

One of my very good clients recently came to me to have an engagement/wedding ring made, incorporating her family's birthstones. She wanted something very simple yet unique. This ring may not seem like one of my most complex designs but this ring will be really special. It symbolizes her marriage and her family at the same time.

This ring is set with a Canadian diamond center stone with 4 2.5mm colored gems on the shoulders, 2 aquamarines, 1 blue sapphire and 1 citrine. This ring is very simple yet all the subtle cues that it is a Dodgie Dator design, well made and absolutely gorgeous.

McGrath Diamonds at booth 1012, Wonderful Wedding Show 2011

2011-01-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

Come visit me at the Mcgrath Diamonds booth at the Wonderful Wedding Show starting tomorrow January 22, just until January 23.

Some of my favorite wedding photographs from my portfolio

2011-01-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

Just like to share a few of my favorite wedding photographs from my portfolio, please visit www.blog.dodgiedator.com for more or www.dodgiedator.com to view my wedding portfolio.

www.dodgiedator.com

A Tribute to a Pet - created 2009

2011-01-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

I've created a lot of really different pieces and there's always something to top it off eventually.

Dave is a very good client and friend of mine and he has been my client even before I started designing. He always makes sure that his wife has something very special each and every occassion. I keep on teasing him that my custom piece would always be way more special than anything we have on our showcases. One of the very reason why we haven't done anything custom is that he is a very busy man, travelling all over the world and only has in most cases days to decide on a gift for Wendy.

Early in 2009 he came in to just say hello and we chatted about a lot of different things, his travels and my upcoming vacation to the Philippines in late 2009. He later on expressed interest on having something custom made, and asked how long do I need to create something. He needed it for their wedding anniversary in September, so we did have a lot of time to prepare. He mentioned that it would be something to do with their dog, a terrier. Dave came in after 4 months for his initial consultation and he had a outline of a terrier for me to base my design on. He also had a few different things he liked incorporated into the design, a black opal and different shapes and sizes of diamonds. It became a layout project on how to make sure that all these different gems get incorporated into the design seamlessly. We decided to make a combination pendant and brooch piece to give Wendy the variety with her different outfits. The size of the piece has to be just right for a brooch and not too big as a pendant.

The finish product features all the gems in various sections of the piece. I used the black opal as an accent for the ear, using the various sizes of pear shape as accents for the nose and the bow on the collar. Round brilliant cuts as the eyes and the rest as the collar. We added a few more round diamonds to make the collar filled with diamonds. This piece is certainly one of the most unique pieces I've created in my years in this artform. I am so happy I get to make it for such a special client.

Symbolic Duo

2011-01-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

This set of rings represent the heritage/lineage of my clients. It's their wedding bands and they had the symbols all specified and it was just up to me to make it up. This project is not a very technically challenging but the fact that it will symbolize the lives of my clients I have to pay outmost care on representing the symbols in the finish piece. Most of my pieces starts from a hand drawn artwork and this was not any different but I sent it to my casting house to have a computer redering done up prior to preparing the wax. I just want it to be perfect and a computer model is a lot more precise than any of my hand drawn artwork. With precise lines and symbols that needs to be 100% exact, I had to take that extra step to assure the success of the project.

The symbols include a tortoise, feathers, a bear paw and a wheel. I started a pencil drawing and enlarging each symbol to make sure that my artistic representation of each of the symbols are exact. The computer model just put all these drawings into a more 3 dimensional image.

The set was casted in 10kt white gold and they looked AMAZING...

Rising to a Challenge - created 2009

2011-01-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

One of the most challenging projects I faced in my journey as a designer is to create a piece for another multi-award winning jewellery designer. In September 2009, the husband of another local designer came in our shop for a design consultation. He already have the gems with him and just wanted me to draw up a ring design for an upcoming anniversary. It was quite a challenge since the husband might be totally off with the taste of his wife and knowing who she is it even makes me think twice about decisions we are making. If someone would design a ring for me, I would be very critical about the design components and the fit and finish of the piece. All of my pieces are always top notch, since I want each of my pieces to be competition grade. I can't afford to slack off in any of my pieces since it represents me to my future potential clients.

I presented him with only one design concept based on some of the inputs he made and the suggestions of my co-workers here at McGrath Diamonds since they know the wife pretty well. this design is very simple yet showcasing technical components that might be subtle but very eye catching. the shoulders of the ring showcases 2 round brilliant cut diamonds and are tension set. This gives it a very contemporary look but keeping a very simplistic profile, the main gem is pink in color(not confirmed because the client never had it appraised with us) approx 4x6mm in size. We have the main gem set diagonally on its' half bezel head, this way the ring would have a "twisted" look showing off all the design elements we incorporated to the design.

I went for a month long vacation in late October 2009 just a few weeks after we had the ring produced. I had no updates how it all went while I was away, but as soon as I got back I heard some really cool news how much Kristy loved her ring.

Great challenges do truly yield the greatest achievements, and for me Kristy loving my design is one really rewarding achievement. With all the awards under her name, it's such a compliment that my designs is certainly up to par with the best out there.

Black Tahitian Pearl Ring "Peacock Embraced" - created 2008

2011-01-21T10:14:00.001-08:00

I am featuring some of my really important pieces from my early years in designing here on my blog. These are really relevant pieces to my career as a jewellery designer, these would be some of the most important pieces in my 7 years in this artform.

This is my first Tahitian Pearl ring for 2008 , I love working with pearls and I think you will see more pearl pieces this year.

This stunning ring features a 10.7mm "Peacock" Tahitian Pearl with a nice mix of overtones, it's set on a swirl of 14K white gold embracing it and a 14K yellow gold tubular shank. This is a 2 piece casting and hand finished, the white gold piece has 12 0.02ct RBC diamonds, each hand set in channels. The yellow gold tubular shank has the pearl on one tip and the other end is accented with a 0.05ct RBC diamond set in a bezel integrated to the shank.

This one is for sure one of my favorite pieces as this is one of the nicest mix of overtones I've seen on all of my "peacock" Tahitian Pearls used in my designs, and the simplicity of this design adds to the enchanting look.

This ring is proudly owned by one of my best clients, Janet. Janet only wears the best of the best specially for her jewellery, and Janet and I already worked on a few custom pieces together in my years in this artform.

Simple Sophistication - created 2008

2011-01-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

This a stunning ring made for the mother of one of my best client. She wanted something different that would combine a few of her current pieces into one truly unique piece. This is truly one of those really special pieces not only because of the technical merits of the piece but the fact that my designs became a family affair. A referal goes a long way and having a whole family refering me to their friends and family is worth so much to me.

This ring a 1 piece casting in yellow gold and has swirl patterns on top, had white gold tube accenting and set with a .33ct round brilliant cut diamond tension set in the swirl pattern. This ring is built for everyday wear and has a substantial heft to it, extremely wearable and very comfortable. Nothing has been compromised on creating this ring, stunning design, exquisite finish and a build quality that would be cherished for a few generations to come.

2005 MJA 3rd Place Technical Merits - Archives

2011-01-21T09:29:00.000-08:00

I just like to disclose that this photograph was taken before my interest in photography. I admit that it would not represent it as an highly artistic photograph.

This is 2005's award winning entry to the MJA design competition, it received the 3rd place finish in technical merit.

It starts out with a two separate ring castings, one in yellow gold and the other in white gold, then set with a .28ct round brilliant cut diamond in a half bezel from the swirl integrated from the shank, the other side is then set with a 3mm round spessartite garnet set in between the 2 joint rings and then supported with a single claw. It's a nice substantial design that echos quality and the finish is second to none. It's such a sight to behold.

This ring is now owned by one of my best clients, it really didn't last long on our showcase after the competition. Carol travels all over the world to look for really interesting pieces and I've seen some of the pieces she owns. I am very proud to have one of my pieces worn right beside the best in the world.

2004 MJA's People's Choice Award Winner - Archives

2011-01-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

I just like to disclose that this photograph was taken before my interest in photography. I admit that it would not represent it as an highly artistic photograph.

This was my 2004 MJA design competition entry, and it's a People's Choice award winner. It would always be a special piece for me since it's my first competition entry and it's my humble start into this trade.

It features a paisley mabe white with pink and blue overtone pearl, with a (approximate) .10ct round brilliant cut diamond set in a white gold swirl that is an accent from the yellow gold hand made frame, and on the bottom right corner of the piece features 2 0.015ct color treated blue round brilliant cut diamonds on white gold. This gorgeous pendant was sold even before the competition took place.

I will be at the 2011 Wonderful Wedding Show, January 22-23

2011-01-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I would just to announce that I will be at the Winnipeg Convention Center for the 2011 Winnipeg Wonderful Wedding Show starting this Saturday January 22. I will be there as a designer for McGrath Diamonds, unfortunately I can't represent my photography studio there as I can only be part of one exhibitor. I would like to invite you to check out my photography website Dodgie Dator Photography, to view my wedding, portraits and event portfolio. I am booking 2011 and 2012 dates and I book only 3 months prior so if your still in the market for a photographer, I would love to hear from you. I have a very open schedule for 2011, since I was away most of 2010 preparing for my own wedding and some overseas photography projects.

I am offering a special gift for anyone booking my services through this site, just specify that you've seen this promo offer on my designs site when you email me at dodgie@dodgiedator.com .

McGrath Diamonds would be at booth 1012, we will be showcasing a HUGE collection of wedding bands and other gift ideas for your special day. We are also offering buy one get the second one half off on regular priced wedding bands for the show up until mid-February 2011. There's also a draw for a free Manitoba Marriage Licence on our booth, so please come and say hello. We are also setting up appointments for custom designing during the show, we specialize in really cool one of a kind pieces to match your engagement ring. Depending on how hectic it gets we can even start a mini consultation for your custom piece.

Looking forward to see you there...

Cheska's Alexandrite Pendant

2011-01-20T13:57:00.003-08:00

This is another one of the most memorable pieces I created, this dates back to late 2009. I created this piece to be featured in our showcase here at McGrath Diamonds, Al asked me to create a piece that would be really different for the store. I love working with pearls and most of my award winning pieces were featuring pearls. Al asked ever so nicely to try a different gem since almost every piece we submit for competition were pearls. I conceptualized different designs and I was deciding on various other colored gemstones, Ametrine and Alexandrite were my strongest preference. I decided to go with an Alexandrite since it is not often seen here in Winnipeg and the color change properties of the gem will add to its' charm.

I decided with 3 2.5mm round and a 3x5mm oval Alexandrites as my gems for this really simplistic design. I went with a very light piece to keep the cost down considering that Alexandrites are one or if not the most expensive gems to buy(yes they can be much more than a diamond). It's a very simple design to put the emphasis on the gems themselves. This two bar design in 14kt two-tone is one of my best examples of elegantly simple but stunning design.

This piece didn't stay long in our showcase since my wife expressed her admiration on how beautiful this piece is. It was near her birthday when the piece was finished so I decided to present it to my wife as her birthday gift. She was so surprised and I am very happy to see her enjoying it quite a bit a year after I gave it to her.

Cheska's Ring

2011-01-20T13:57:00.001-08:00

This is my favorite piece I created in 2010, I am a bit bias because this is my wife's wedding ring. It has to be very special, truly one of a kind.

I bought her engagement ring because it was one of those really off guard moments, where I proposed in a local jewellery store in the Philippines. I just want to be all spontaneous that day to really surprised her... and it worked flawlessly. Her engagement ring is not that elaborate but very elegant, she was just trying it on and really fell in love with it. We went to 5 or 6 jewellery stores to try rings on and just she didn't even have a clue that we are buying a ring that day. We went to 3 malls in Davao City to just "to get ideas", she really thought that I would be creating her ring based on the style she wants but I had a different idea... I truly want to sweep her off her feet that day. She narrowed it down to 2 rings and fortunately both rings were in the same mall...we don't have to drive all over the place for her to decide. We called a few of her closest friends to meet us for dinner and she had no clue it would serve as her engagement celebration. They gave their opinions on the two rings and she finally decided on the one she absolutely loved, so right there and then I asked her to marry me, she was teary eyed when she said yes...so we bought the ring. She agreed to have that ring because she loves it but she did requested me to create something really different for her wedding ring. I've created really stunning pieces before for a lot of my clients, so its no easy request. I have to make it as unique as possible but considering her preferences in the styling, simple and elegant as she decribes it.

Her ring features a .41ct Canadian Round Brilliant Cut diamond, bezel set in a one of a kind Dodgie Dator design mount. This setting is casted from a wax model I personally prepared, it wasn't carved as most models are, I melted the wax and let it flow on a mandrel and made the curves more unpredictable. I later smoothen the contours and shaped it into a ring, it took a bit of filling up gaps from the flow of the melted wax. It was certainly different than sculpting it from a block of wax, it made the ring even more unique. I asked one of the very best goldsmiths in Winnipeg to cast and finish the ring, we discussed a few different surface finish to make the ring even more stunning. I wanted it to be a 2 cast piece 14kt gold, one piece in white and the other in yellow. To secure the diamond I decided to bezel set it, my goldsmith suggested to put on a "needle finish" on the surface. I wasn't that sure if it would look good since it was a new type of finish he can apply. The finish product is certainly very unique and absolutely gorgeous.

I was so excited to present it to Cheska and it was all worth the amazing journey in creating the ring, my amazing diamond supplier in finding the perfect diamond for my needs and to my superb goldsmith in casting and finishing my concept perfectly. When my wife finally had the chance to see it on our wedding day, she absolutely LOVED it and she was so happy to be wearing such a one of a kind piece.

designs.dodgiedator.com is online

2011-01-20T13:46:00.000-08:00

As of January 21 2011, I will be featuring my designs exclusively on this blog. There's two ways to visit it, designs.dodgiedator.com or dgzstudios.blogspot.com. My dedicated designing website, dgzstudios.com would no longer be updated, and it's contents will be slowly transfered on this blog. I find it that I just don't have the time to keep posting new pages on my website for a couple of years already, specially now that my photography business is gaining grounds I simply don't have a lot of free time at all. A blog would be far more exciting to visit, since it will be updated constantly(promise I will try my very best), it will take you more into the process of the design rather than just a portfolio of images to look at. It's my 7th year in designing jewellery, it was back in 2004 when my good friend(now still a good friend but competitor, David Howell) encouraged me to venture on this artform. That very year I submitted my very first competition piece in to Manitoba Jewellers Association's design competition. I won People's Choice Award that year and that gave me the push to continue designing. I won a couple more awards in the following years and a lot of admirations from fellow artists and clients. I love what I do and I will share more and more cool stuff I get to create for clients and for our showcase here at McGrath Diamonds.

Please check out my photography website as well www.dodgiedator.com or my photography blog blog.dodgiedator.com. I am available for weddings, events, portraits, fashion and glamour, commercial and product photography. I also sell fine art prints of Winnipeg, Canadian and North American landscapes, International destinations(Southeast Asian locations) and just the odds and ends of my artistic vision.

Thanks for visiting and looking forward to hear from you.

Updates Coming Soon

2011-01-20T12:54:00.000-08:00

I will be going through my 2010 projects pretty soon to post some really cool designs I've created last year. And as my 2011 projects gets on its' way I will be doing a more detailed post on each piece.

I would like to apologize for the delays of updating my designing blog, my 2010 was so hectic. I was away for a total of almost 2 1/2 months, back and forth to the Philippines to prepare for my own wedding on October 28 2010, to my gorgeous wife Frances "Cheska" Dator. My photography projects was quite hectic too with as many as 6 weddings both here in Canada and the Philippines, Philippines workshop schedules in February and in October and a lot of portrait sessions. Please visit my photography blog to see most of my projects for 2010 www.blog.dodgiedator.com .

I also revised the layout of this blog to include more in-depth topics regarding my custom pieces, please refer to the dgzstudios pages on the right hand side of this page.

Please stay tune to all the upcoming articles I will be posting... lots of really cool pieces to come your way.

Thanks

Dodgie

REVAMPING MY BLOG

2010-05-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since my last post here... not because of lack of projects but because my photography business have been quite busy too. I have a dedicated photography blog site www.blog.dodgiedator.com to view what's new in photography, reviews and different articles. I will try to catch up with my other piece that I haven't featured here yet.

Please stay tuned....I am redoing the lay-out and adding different elements to open up my life as a designer.

Thanks.

Dodgie

Second Last Decision Session

2009-09-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a photoshoot I did for "2nd Last Decision", these guys do rock! They won the "2009 MusicLaban" and this shoot was a promotional for Artista Magazine in Winnipeg.

Thanks guys for such a fun time.

2ct Total Weight 3 across ring-Just Product shots-I didn't create this ring.

2009-09-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is just one from our inventory here at McGrath Diamonds, since sometimes clients just prefers something that is already there. A very impressive ring with a total of 2 carats in diamonds, and that's 3 large diamonds.

I love products shots and this is a gorgeous ring to photograph... you just have to see it on to see how truly impressive this ring is.

The Majestic Chevron Amethyst

2009-09-05T11:28:00.001-07:00

This is one of my personal fave for my 2009 pieces, it is quite simple yet very elegant. I love working with a client that would just let me unleash my creativity and John and Tammy have been very open to different concepts I had. We worked together to achieve what she was looking for, something quite simple yet something that would be a very good conversation piece.

This is a combination of superb craftmanship from the concept stage, involving choosing the best stone to work with such a simple design. I love working with fantasy cut gems because it is not something that people usually see.

This gorgeous fine art piece is a one piece cast in 14kt white gold, with shoulder stones in a channel setting to compliment the large 15x10mm fantasy Chevron Amethyst. The Amethyst is quite exposed with the careful choice of spots to set the stone in place.

Thanks again Tammy and John for the pleasure to create this piece for you.

Dodgie Dator's Fine Art Photographs at 2 Winnipeg Galleries

2009-06-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

I am proud to say that my work is currently being represented by 2 Winnipeg fine art galleries, The Birchwood Art Gallery at 1170 Taylor Ave and The Wayne Arthur Gallery at 186 Provencher.

I would like to invite everyone to come visit these fine galleries to view my work. I can say that seeing an actual fine art print is way better than viewing my photographs on a computer monitor.

I am excited to be represented by both these galleries, I thank them for this wonderful opportunity.

2009-05-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

The greatest compliment an artist can ever have is a request for another performance. In my case a repeat client, I have a quite a few regular clients that I create new custom pieces for, most of them send their family and friends over for their own Dodgie Dator designed piece.

The more a client comes back for another creation, it certainly become tougher but yet quite an honor. Tough because I want to truly blow their expectations away and the more piece I get to make for them the harder it is to create something more unique than the last one. One very good client already came for a few pieces and sent her daughters over for their own design consultation with me. It's always such fun working with her since I get to just "get loose" with my ideas... she loves really unique pieces.

This gorgeous ring is a combination of her 2 existing rings that she doesn't care for as much anymore and I added a Fantasy Trillion "Swiss" Blue Topaz as the center stone. It's always a challenge to work with various colour gems, since they may not at all "come together" that perfectly. She had Blue Sapphires and Green Amethysts and wanted to have a Trillion cut stone as the center piece. I wasn't too sure how to use these 2 different coloured gems to their best potential.

With this final concept I certainly used all the supplied gems to compliment each other, with the criss cross design with integrated half bezel settings. The 2 colours of gems were alternated to have a contrast against the white gold setting and had the Blue Topaz set slightly off centered to have that focal point. I loved how this piece display the different hues of the gems as the light hits it from different angles and the "punchy" vibrant "Swiss" Blue Topaz just makes this very different ring stand out even more.

I look forward to that next "project" that my good client might want to challenge me with.

DGZphotos.com and other developments in my photographic career.

2009-04-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

DGZphotos.com is now fully up and running!

I am current in some initial stages of building a network of fine art galleries to represent me and my photographs. I am quite excited about all the things that is happening in my photography career. I had the honor to talked to some of Winnipeg's finnest art galleries and the great response they had on my work was just mind blowing. I was busy digging, sorting and compiling my print portfolio for the last few weeks and I am glad that some very promising development are on it's way.

I wouldn't want to disclose all the details yet until everything is finalized, I am preparing some large exhibition pieces and framing them for display and also preparing catalogues of my images custom tailored to certain galleries.

Stay tuned in all future developments!

Exquisite Hematite!

2009-04-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

People have pre-defined opinions about certain gems, that some are just not worth investing money in to create a custom piece. This ring would sure shatter all these pre-conceived ideas regarding such inexpensive gems same as a hematite. Hematites are not exactly a very precious material but with the right design it can look stunning! The hematite used for this piece is stretching near 30mm long and in most cases long gems like these would not be suitable for a ring. It would be a very select few that can wear these extremely long gems and thankfully it suit my client's finger perfectly.

This ring is such a simple yet stunning design, the choice of materials were a bit different as well. Hematite was choosen to be the center piece to the simple fact that the client want to create something truly special using her hematite. Most people would be quite reluctant to spend a good amount of money creating a piece with such an inexpensive gem but it is not always about the cost of the center stone that makes a ring a "stunner". It is on how the designer use it to its' full potential to create a piece that's elegant and exquisite, my designs are just that they are a fine artform and not simply a pretty ring with an expensive stone. I thank my client for trusting me on this concept and together we created a ring that highlights the hematite and made it as majestic as any other precious gems. The diamond accents on the wide swirl shoulder gives it a very elegant detailing contrasted with the opposite shoulder with a cut-out to keep it quite feminine despite it's very wide structure.

2009-04-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

This ring was created for one of my best clients, we've worked on a lot of different pieces before...mostly alteration and restoration work. She came in for a design consult one day and talked about creating something that I can put my artistic flare on. She decided to have a ring created and I know that it has to unique but also a bit conservative.

The design of this ring is to highlight her main stone with all the other stones to compliment it, we went with the swirl pattern channel setting to have a sublte yet very exquisite fine detailing. The cut out on the shoulders is another fine detail that give it a more feminine touch despite the heavy look of the ring. This piece is a very conservative yet extremely elegant just as how my client loves it.

Gent's Wearable Fine Art

2009-04-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

90% of my pieces are created for women, either a treat for themselves or the boyfriends', fiancee's or husband's treat for them. Very seldom do I get to make a piece for a man...these piece are also some of my most memorable creations, since I don't make many I tend to know these "guys" quite well.

I had quite a fun time developing a gents ring for one of my client, he had some old gold and he wanted to treat himself for a piece truly unique. We bounced ideas around and he can't decide between a ring or a pendant, I suggested a ring since it would be more exposed. I prefer to create something that would show and get people asking "where did you get that piece?"...something that they can enjoy to wear everyday.

This ring is such a gorgeous piece,very well built with 29grams of gold and very precise"bark" detailing and split shank design. The rhodium plated dip to create that mirror finish accent to highlight the diamond and all the sublte details just makes this ring quite an artwork to behold. Wearable artwork at it's best with no compromise in both fit and finish same as with all of my pieces. A piece I can truly be proud to put up in any competition.

Opal Magic

2009-04-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

It's always fun to create new pieces, explore new concepts. I have regular clients that just let me explore my creative side and just push the limits of my designs. Most of the time design concepts have some input from the client since after all they are the one wearing it. My clients are always very open to my ideas but there's also clients that leaves you on your own. This particular project the client's request was just to make use of all her opals and create 3 very different pieces. In her words "just go crazy and surprise me" and it was quite a very difficult task since she's one very contemporary lady...hard to surprise someone that "has seen it all". She's one of the very select clients that would have private viewing when one of my new pieces are created prior to displaying it in my showcase. She certainly didn't give me much to work on...and I have a tough month ahead to try and create a truly amazing set for her.

Opals are tricky gems to work with, trying to use pieces that would complement each other. She had 10 opals but only 9 were useable and they are in few different sizes and 1 opal has a very unique shape. During the sketching stage trying to develop the initial artworks it was by far the most challenging project. Lots of very unique ideas but I was never happy with them... I gathered up my thoughts and just rest on it for a few days until I tried to put another idea on paper. And that few days rest did pay off, I came up with an artwork that I was just so excited to create. I presented the concept to my client and she was just so excited to proceed with it.

A custom piece is always very special to me, I get to let my creative side show but sometimes when a concept get too unique the transistion from sketch to the wax model can prove very difficult. I cut waxes myslf if there's no possible way for me to put it down on paper and that's the fool proof way of achieving exactly what I want. Since trying to orchestrate 5-7 projects in March-April I had to stick to my pencils and let my goldsmith carve the wax. We explored about 3 variations of the wax model before actually deciding on the actual casting model for the pendant. The earrings were perfect and the ring was quite straight forward, the pendant was certainly the difficult one. The bale configuration was quite unique to fit a 10mm Omega or Herringbone necklace. The rib detail was just exquisite! it gave the piece a design consistency that both simple yet very elegant. The attention to detail on this piece is second to none, the fabrication quality showed impecable skills of my goldsmith, even the click back closure on the earring was hand made.

This project is one that would always be truly special to me not only because of the gorgeous pieces created. But also the reaction of my client when they finally get to try on the finished pieces. I always get compliments from my clients but not in the way that they described how truly "blown away" they were... "you certainly blew my expectations away...". That made all the confusions and mind blowing conceptualizing stages all worth it... the few wax re-cuttings and other behind the scene HARD WORK that made this project a success.

The Canyons! Mystically Beautiful.

2008-12-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

Our summer trip all over the US was fun...but sadly too short. We hit a lot of spots but only for a day or in some cases only for hours... The Grand Canyon was one of our shortest stops...3 hrs.

Having 3 hours mostly spent trekking and rock climbing there wasn't much of photo taking time left. I have literally spent hours climbing rocks since I tried avoiding areas with a lot of tourist(viewing decks and the skywalk). I went to spots that might have been a little too scary for some...hoping to take some photographs that will be a little bit more unique. The Grand Canyon is one of the most photographed landscape in the world and for me I have to create images that will incorporate my creativity in.

I ended up with about 80 images and ended up with 55 photographs that you can view in my Flickr display. Going back to this photograph I separated the sky and edited it to bring out the washed out details and combined it with the original foreground/subject to create a "HDR" photograph. Nothing too sophisticated since I hate being in the computer for hours(that's why I went back shooting film lately...or print my digital photos as-is), I love this photo no matter what others might say. The visit was worth it even though 3 hrs is not nearly enough to plan any real creative shots with hours dedicated on climbing rocks to get a good perspective. Limited time is certainly a poor excuse people might say but I did the best I can to capture the beauty of this famous landscape. If only I get to take weeks at a time and camp out there to capture "the perfect light" then maybe I can certainly do so much more.

If only I can spend at least 2 weeks in the Grand Canyon and actually be there for a photographic visit... and maybe it would have helped if it was in the original plan too. . Climbing rocks with my Nikon F5 and 2 Olympus E330's on my neck with my gear bag with my lenses...it was too heavy, cumbersome and way too scary. I could have climbed rocks with my Nikon FE and maybe have my digital equipment limited to my Olympus C-series. The right equipment does help to create gorgeous images but having the right gear for a task do help...and climbing rocks with 10lbs of equipment is really horrible. It would have fine if I have assistants to lug around my cameras... if only eh!

On my next visit to The Grand Canyons I will be with my Panasonic LX3 and my Nikon FE with 28mm lens. Fingers crossed it will be soon!

2008 OVERALL WINNER!

2008-12-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

My photograph "Downtown Icons" is the overall winner for 2008 Destination Winnipeg's "Picture Winnipeg" photo contest.

WOW!

I was so happy with this honor... I won last year too but not as the overall winner with my photograph "Ex's Outline". This year is truly special with all the gorgeous images submitted by over a hundred local photographers I won! WOW!

Thanks Destination Winnipeg!!! I love joining contest because I love to showcase my photographs and see if I can "stack-up" against other artist...well since 2006 my first year in photography I had one of my photographs recognized as a runner-up. Last year I had a winning photograph and a few runner ups. This year winning the top honors is just really COOL!

Thanks!!!

Smooth Contours

2008-12-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

Wax carving is a skill that I learned in a pinch but yet became one of my truly treasured creative outlet. Sketching is still my main form of presenting my concepts but there's pieces that can be very tricky to simply draw or present in a computer rendering. In wax I can play with subtle details, the fluid lines and the smooth contours that can be challenging in a sketch.

I don't cut waxes that often since I can usually just sketch something out to have my wax cutter carve it for me. These pieces I carve waxes for are always quite special since they can be really complex and sophisticated or really simple yet filled with really subtle detailing.

One of my clients came in with her own gem to be set in a mount, we searched for quite awhile in various supplier books. She came to a conclusion that there's really nothing that she wants from the 5 or more books we went through. I offered to create a concept wax for her to look at and maybe it will be something that she might like. I carved a wax model with her gem bezel set in a very simple yet very detailed ring mount, the shank is fully tubular and continues on to a very smooth rounded shaped sides. SHE LOVED THE CONCEPT! and we created it in two-tone for her, predominantly yellow gold with a very small hint of white gold in the bezel.

In less than 2 weeks the client came and viewed her piece for the first time...and she loved the finished piece way better than my concept wax.

Celtic Elegance

2008-12-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

Custom designing is such a journey for me everytime. I get to meet new clients and each new client is a new inpiration to create that truly unique piece.

I was called in into an existing project to find a Celtic loveknot matching wedding bands. The clients seems not too thrilled with the pieces we found for them and the best route to take was to create something from a sketch. I wasn't too sure if I can create the exact ring they were dreaming of, since they seem to be very decided on what they want. I started sketching and presenting them with my initial concepts they became really excited that I drew their existing idea.

Celtic loveknot pieces are readily available from a few of our suppliers but they wanted something truly unique, but they didn't know how to explain their concept. A good relationship with a client can be truly rewarding since it would be lot easier to understand their needs.

The concept was perfect and the clients were very excited on the project, we started out to source out a supplier to create our shoulder panels. I opted to buy the panels from one of my suppliers since it would be too precise to carve out on a wax and or hand make it. It was a long 6weeks wait since these pieces where casted overseas but it would be totally worth it when they crossed my bench. The pieces were perfect for our rings, next item on the list were the diamonds and nothing was compromised with 2 matching VS/GH diamonds used in these rings. The diamonds where gorgeous and just PERFECT.

With the 8 weeks wait from concept to finish piece I can proudly say that the rings turned out GORGEOUS! The sparkle on my clients eyes when they saw their rings are nothing short of breath taking..

THE TRIP WAS TOO SHORT!

2008-08-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

I am back and I will be posting some of my photos soon enough.... hang tight!

Fantasy Ring

2008-07-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

www.DGZstudios.com

This ring will always be a special piece for me, this is the combination of fancy cut stone with the superb goldsmithing work. This was a challenge from the sketching stages all through the casting and finishing process, it was all worth it.

This magnificent ring features a 12X9mm Fantasy Cut Trillion Amethyst set in hand made 14K yellow gold head with a fish tail claw on one side and a long bar on the other side. The head itself touches the top of the wearer's finger so it has been crafted to contour the shape of the finger.

The half tubular shank is casted in 14K white gold in a U shape with both ends accented with 4mm cabochon Mozambique Garnets in a bezel setting integrated to the shank.
Such an amazing ring with all the necessary mix of beauty and sophistication.

TVDS-Tannis' Ring-Sophistication Personified

2008-07-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Describing this piece and just looking at it on photographs will not give you the full appreciation of this STUNNING piece. It will always be a special piece for me, since I can truly say that it is one technically magnificent piece, I've created a lot more technical pieces than this but this is a combination of different techniques to transfer it from paper to gold. My wax moulds probably surpass this in terms of complexity of design but this engagement ring and jacket set is the most challenging in terms of manufacturing. It is not mere casted out, fusing the yellow and white gold panels was quite a challenge, fitting the engagement ring into the jacket was quite a challenge as well since the bottom shank is near double the width of the shoulders(most rings taper down but this one tapers up).

GORGEOUS piece... the only piece I've crafted that would need an instruction card, the engagement ring only fits one way into the jacket. One of the wonders that simply can't be illustrated on photos... or through mere description. You just have to see it!

This gorgeous ring is one of the most technically demanding piece I have ever designed. This is a 6 piece casting engagement ring and wedding band set, the engagement ring is featuring a 1.00ct princess cut diamond set in a white gold elaborate cut out base head with a yellow gold shank. The real feature of this set is the 4 piece casting full jacket wedding band, it starts out with 10 separate pieces comprised of 2 yellow gold panels, 2 white gold(2 sets of two tone panels where made by joining these yellow and white gold panels), hand crafted tubings bridges the 2 separate sides and 4 hand crafted white gold screw accents to complete the superb finish.

AB-superb technical marvel

2008-07-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of my truly breathtaking concepts ever, I actually challenged myself to show my client that I can deliver stunning designs that she is used to from another premier design house in the city. And at the end of it all she was quite impressed and came for another piece to be created.

One of things the client was looking for, was something truly amazing, and what is more amazing than a one of a kind hand crafted piece by DGZdesigns. We created a jacket to match her existing white gold engagement ring with multi-stones in the sides, it was quite a challenge since the existing ring has a specific design aspect. Swirly on the one side and a more boxy shaped on the other, with the center diamond set in the middle. So making a jacket on a 2 completely different shaped sides would be for sure a challenge but the finished product is such a display of wearable art both technically and beauty.

The piece started out with a hand cut wax impression from my goldsmith that I later on re-cut to be closer to the initial concept. The goldsmith doubted that the wax can be cutted to the actual sketch so I re-cut his wax and achieved the final mould to be used. Set with 2 .07ct RBC diamonds on either side would give this jacket just enough brilliance to complement the diamonds on the engagement ring. One of the diamonds is set on a channel to continue the boxy shape on that side and the other diamond was set in a half bezel to compliment the swirl on the opposite side. The design was accented with a signature touch of treated blue diamonds on the bottom shank, joining the 2 sides.

This would always be one of my favorite pieces due to the true artwork that was created.

The Canadian Pair

2008-07-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

I am featuring more and more of my designs here on my blog.

This gorgeous pair of Canadian diamonds earrings in a swirl pattern is secured by an Omega back to provide unrivalled comfort and security while being worn.

Sourcing Canadian diamonds is absolutely fun, calling multiple suppliers to find just the exact stones I need.

The pride of designing a piece incorporating Canadian stones is always a pleasure. This 1 piece swirl casting(each earring) that provided the tension setting for the diamond then attached to the Omega backs, this simple yet very elegant design gave the client the perfect diamond solitaire pair she always dreamed of.

www.DGZstudios.com

My First Wax Model casted in gold-AB2

2008-07-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

Learning new things is certainly fun, and with this piece I learned to cut wax moulds.

My client came to see me and challenged me to create a new ring that would match two of her existing rings. She doubted that it can even be done and she told me that there's no pressure if I can't come up with a concept. I started my usual pencil sketches and came up with a few different concepts but I wasn't really satisfied with the sketches. It just wasn't detailed and precise enough, so I tried a different medium...wax tubes. I started cutting my model with an exacto knife and shaping it quite slowly with sandpapers. I came with a very unique and cutting edge design with my new medium, it would have been near impossible to draw it.

She was so happy with my concept and proceeded with the casting process and this magnificent ring was created.

This is a one piece casting construction in yellow gold featuring 3 diamonds on the side for accents and a .15ct RBC on the corner of the table of the ring. The ring construction itself is truly unique, with the wavy shank and faceting on the shank and ring top to match the contours of her rings.

Beautiful with or without the other two of her rings, I actually love it when it was still in wax and LOVED it way more when it was finally casted in gold.

After this ring, I've added model maker to my resume with 3 waxes casted into finished pieces and half a dozen wax models ready for casting.

Flowing brilliance

2008-07-22T19:15:00.001-07:00

I love designing new pieces from client's older jewellery and the joy to see the client's reaction when they see their new piece.

This piece features all the client's materials from her old pieces of jewellery, redesigned DGZ style. A beautiful multi diamond yellow gold pendant, featuring round brilliant cut diamonds and 2 marquis cut diamonds at each tip.

www.DGZstudios.com

Elegant Sophistication, manufacturing genius!

2008-07-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

This is a bit over due... but I would like to feature one of the most sophisticated design I have ever conceived. It was too complex that my full detailed multi angle sketch wasn't enough to convey my vision to my goldsmith. I ended up cutting the wax model myself to avoid any surprises.

This ring features a gorgeous Ceylon Blue Sapphire as the main stone and diamond accents all through out the ring. Multiple casting to fully separate the white gold and yellow gold areas(it could have been casted in 2 pieces instead of 4, but we have to rhodium plate the white areas) 12 0.02ct RBC diamonds around the Sapphire and a 0.27ct RBC Canadian diamond on the white gold side.

Gorgeous ring and truly one of a kind piece, another one of my personal favorites. Visit my designing website to view more of my creations.

www.DGZstudios.com

No clear skies today at Clear Lake

2008-07-22T18:09:00.001-07:00

Clear Lake was a place I always wanted to go to, my sister keep talking about how nice it is there...yada yada yada...

Was it as nice as how she described it??? Well for me... I think Clear Lake is nice but not as how my sister described it. Maybe because the weather wasn't too flattering for the place that day...maybe.

The sky was a little bit gloomy and the water scene just didn't look "picture perfect" without the nice vibrant blue skies. The heavy clouds just made the scene quite dull but I have to work with what I have since it's a 3.5hr drive to get there and it's not like I can just go there the next day.

I have to say that I didn't shoot as many film frames as I did digitally but at the end I ended up with a few really amazing photographs. With my really busy schedule designing, when sometimes trade off my days off to meet with the goldsmiths, I learned to make most of what I have(in terms of weather). The "right light" is hard to achieve when you don't get to choose when to head out for a photoshoot, I work with gloomy days, harsh light and work my way around them to create my photographs. Clear Lake would have been a lot more picturesque if the right skies was there but none the less I love the photographs I created...a different mood to it.

Trip coming up!!!

2008-07-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

I am getting too anxious to get through this week, I am leaving for Los Angeles this Saturday, 7/26/08. And it looks like I will be caught up with quite a bit of work ahead before my last day this Friday, a new design client came in for an initial design consultation that could be a very exciting project. It will for sure keep me busy and not think about the trip too much!

Oh well.... this trip is quite fun since we will be passing through South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and on to Salt Lake City, Utah then Las Vegas and final destination Los Angeles. Most of my travels have been a bit more local and to get a chance to see new places is always a treat. The last couple of weeks we ventured to Rushing River in Ontario and Clear Lake in Manitoba.

Too excited and confused on the equipment to bring, I am planning to shoot mostly film for this trip but my Nikon lens line up is not as good as my Zuiko/Leica glass for my Olympus... But I was also planning on bringing along my Nikon D2Xs to accompany my Nikon F5 film body...but I just hate cleaning my D2Xs' sensor. I am settling on bringing my Olympus E330's instead for this trip. I will still bring my Nikon F5 for my film shots...still thinking if I should. ;-)

Getting too stuck up on gear seems quite confusing at times, I started to shoot 35mm film again just quite recently due to the fact that I am getting too backed-up with all the albums I have to edit and post on the web. It's too much work to shoot digital, it was suppose to be convenient but trust me with my 10 albums delayed(all personal shoots around Winnipeg), it doesn't look too convenient at all. Sure you can be all relax and keep taking shots and delete bad ones but in my opinion film is a saving grace... I go to Photocentral and drop off my roll and the next day I enjoy my photos...simple! Scan then post on the web.

One thing that I always taught myself is that I always make all my shot count, digital or film... with film with the 36 exposures I have(I use consumer films...I don't shoot for anyone so consumer films are more than what I need), I end up with 20-24 really good ones, since I plan my shots ahead of time and tend to be more careful and not waste a frame. Actually a very good waste of my F5's 8 frames a second and high speed auto focus...since I manual focus most of the time and always a single shot at a time.

WELCOME!

2008-07-21T21:43:00.001-07:00

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!!!!!!!!

I will try to keep it as interesting as it can possibly be, I am no superhero and certainly not a high paid celebrity...just a regular guy that earns his meal through art. I design jewelry for a living, a fun and very exciting job that pays enough to fuel my expensive hobbies, collecting watches, building sound systems...and photography.

I love what I do and I would like to share some of the behind the scenes of my life, I get too busy with a lot of things and I enjoy every bit of it!