Behind the Scenes: Commissioned Shield Intarsia Cufflinks
As a competitive fencer, my client asked to see if I could make shield-shaped intarsia cufflinks that he could show off when he traveled to out-of-state conferences.
The first step was coming up with a few design options to be whittled down.
He liked the look of both 2C and 2D, so we chose those to try out with different stone color palettes.
This is always everyone’s favorite part—selecting from my huge rock collection for their custom pieces! I started out by showing everything and having my client pick out a few patterned stones that he liked best for the center stone in this design. From there, we pulled together a few color palettes that I was able to put into the designs so that he could get a better visual of the end piece.
Using the design 2C as a starting point, we came up with a variety of color combinations for my client to start whittling down even further.
After seeing this design with the colors, he realized that he preferred the design 2D after all so we were able to reach a final selection of the three designs below.
I prefer that my clients take their time with these decisions, and when he had time to think it over, he ended up going with the design on the far left with purple petrified sponge in the center, Magliano jasper for the yellow banding, and petrified wood for the outer band.
I used my faceting machine to create this intarsia so that all of my angles and lines would be precise.
From there, I took it over to my trim saw to split in half so I would have two identical cufflinks. I then was able to refine the outer shape to my client’s size specifications, slightly dome the surfaces, and bring everything to a perfect polish.
Because these stones are unique, I hand-forged the sterling silver bezel for these special intarsia cufflinks. These are the final pieces after everything has been brought to a mirror-polish!
Upon receiving his package, my client wrote me back to tell me that they are amazing and he is just thrilled! With a conference coming up the next week in DC, he couldn’t decide which of the 4 pairs of cufflinks he commissioned he would wear first!