Cartographies

I have been recording imaginary topographies for years in pieces like the Gentle Mountain ring.
Several years ago, a client request for a mountain range of personal significance unlocked a new way of working.
Using a combination of sketches, CAD and carving, I trace and interpret data onto a piece that shares my visual language.
From a distance, a regular piece. Up close, the keeper of a story.

Cartographies is a specific kind of commission within my bespoke practice, one where the design begins with data.
A place, a song, a sound. Something real that can be recorded, interpreted, and worn.

The process begins like any bespoke commission: a conversation about shape, material, and meaning.
The difference lies in the design brief. You bring the source. I translate that into metal.

Cartographies in Practice

A client seeking a piece connected to landscapes had spotted the Gentle Mountain ring online and bought it for his partner as a proposal ring.
What followed was a collection of pieces, including his wedding ring.

The brief was to incorporate the topography of a mountain where they live and work together. I mapped the actual ridgeline onto the band and set a family diamond above a particularly significant spot.

A partner wanted something special for a milestone birthday. Sentimental but not obvious.
The recipient is a musician and saxophonist, so we started there.

I wrote a program to extract the waveform from the saxophone solo from a beloved piece and mapped it onto the band. The waves are the sax line, lifted directly from the track and applied to the surface of the signet.
With a little diamond of course.