In April, Cheryl from Elements jewelry came to me after she'd seen this oval tourmaline on my Instagram. There's some orange in the otherwise pink stone, and the rose gold is almost the exact same hue. The stone is filled with imperfections, yet when you move it has an insane sparkle of pinks and oranges, almost as if the color moves inside of the gem. The tourmaline weighs 1.27 ct and measures 6 x 7.8 x 4.1 mm.

At first, Cheryl's request made me a little nervous - I don't often get a fellow jewelry designer asking me to create something for her. Plus her work is beautiful inside and out. Her jewelry is sustainably made using exclusively recycled precious metals sourced from the US, as well as recycled diamonds and reputable gemstone dealers and lapidary artists. Mining is one of the world's most polluting industries and I love how Cheryl encourages her customers to ask where and how the materials are sourced. Moreover, she uses environmentally-safe studio practices focusing on zero waste.

Cheryl and I both felt that the tourmaline seemed made for a rose gold ring. She put her complete trust in me and asked me to work my magic and maximise that play in color. 

I explained how I would love to see this tourmaline placed along a round band, with a small gap in the band where the back of the tourmaline can sit in. The band would connect to a thin basket holding the tourmaline, from which two prongs come up on the side of the tourmaline, sliding over the top of the tourmaline only slightly with a tension setting. I suggested to Cheryl to add a small black spinel at the end of each prong to frame the tourmaline in and give the otherwise sweet colors a different feel. 

I didn't realise that the bottom of the tourmaline was yellow, until after I finished the ring and got to see the stone from a different angle with my camera. It's such an amazing gemstone with so many beautiful shades and interesting inclusions.