Hand Made Sterling Silver Ring featuring an oval Cuprite and Turquoise Cabachon.

This is a large beautiful stone! The background is a very deep reddish blue highlighted with bright blue Turquoise. In some areas you can see clear to white Quartz which gives it a lot of depth. It is impossible to capture the "spirit" of this stone in a photograph. Every time I look at the stone I see something new and different. It is amazing! We cut the stone from rough material which came from the Superstition Mountains in southern Arizona.

The ring itself is Sterling Silver with a simple design on the sides making it very masculine in style. It has a Medieval feel to it. The texture is our "Mother Earth" texture which is in keeping with the very organic nature of the stone. This is a very unique and spiritual ring. It is very deep in character ... as though it has existed for centuries

Our jewelry catalog can be viewed at www.bowmanoriginals.com. For further information on this item and other one of a kind items please email Myfriends@bowmanoriginals.com

Summertime Ring ... White Quartz, Green Enamel, Florentine finish on Sterling Silver

This White Quartz material, also called King Quartz, looks great in Sterling Silver for the summer months. A slight accent with hard Enamel creates a suttle contrast and helps define the fine leaves engraved on the band circling the ring. It looks fresh and clean ....like Spring time! I like this look. We cut the Quartz in house which allows us to create any shape, height, width, etc. provided the material cooperates with nice clean areas to cut from.

Special Order Sterling Silver and Turquoise Pendant

A client brought this interesting piece of Turquoise into the shop to have us hand make a Sterling Silver pendant for her. She wanted the Turquoise to touch her skin as she wore it. She believes in the healing qualities of Turquoise. We created this design which secures the Turquoise yet permits it to touch the wearer. In the design, I used the repeating spiral pattern, which represents eternity to highlight the healing properties the client desired. The large pendant has a hinged bail for comfort and easy movement preventing potential breakage at that critical point.

www.bowmanoriginals.com

Medussa Necklace

This is a Medussa Necklace I recently made for a client. It is Sterling Silver, 18k yellow gold, Antique Rose cut Diamonds, Black Vitreous Enamel, Red Enamel, and Pearls.

I took into account the fact that this client is "vertically challenged" as she humorously describes herself. As an observer looks down at the necklace they see the snakes looking up at them with a pearl in its mouth. 

The snakes were the challenge. They have scales etched into the black enamel. This causes the snakes to sparkle when they move. Otherwise, a bright finish looked too "slick" and did not have any character. I enameled the inside of the mouth a fleshy pink color. It can be seen beyond the pearl when you look down at the mouth.

Hinging was a challenge as well. The diamond setting serves as the top of the riveted post. The snake is free to move in the bail. By doing it this way I was able to finish the necklace by assembling it cold ... after everything was polished.

This project led to this design. I'm now making the model for the "dragon wings".

Enamel on Glass, ... my next "layer" of design for my Silver and Gold Jewelry Collection.

Join me on my venture to developing a technique to incorporate enamel on glass, enamel on silver, enamel on gold, silver and gold into jewelry designs reminiscent of the Art Nouveau.

I am starting this blog stream after I have started my experiments therefore there will be an initial period of frequent posts not necessarily in chronological order. This stream of blogs will also serve as a journal for my experiments and observations.

Initially the items I will be making will fairly closely resemble the original Art Nouveau piece which served as the inspiration. This is so I can see how closely I can emulate the look. As time goes by, my own style will develop.

Below is the inspiration for an early project. It was made around 1900.




Below is rendering I did of a "Winter Scene". The finished piece will fall somewhere near the two.


Ned Bowman
www.bowmanoriginals.com
ned@bowmanoriginals.com

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great , Alexander III of Macedon, was born on July 20, 356 B.C. in Pella, Macedon. He was the son of Philip II of Macedon and Olympias of Epirus. Alexander reigned as King of Macedon from 336 B.C. ... at the age of 20 ... till his death in Babylon on July 10th or 11th in the year 323 B.C. at the age of 32. His successor, Alexander IV, was his only offspring.

Twelve years of heavy military campaigning took its claim on Alexander's life. Possible contributors to Alexander's death include malaria, poisoning, typhoid fever and viral encephalitis or the consequences of alcoholism.

Alexander assumed the kingship of Macedon after the death of his father, Philip II, who had unified the city-states of mainland Greece. He then executed a plan to expand the conquests of his father. Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military commanders of all time and was presumed undefeated in battle. By the time of his death, he had conquered most of the world known to the Greeks.

Alexander integrated many foreigners into his army, leading some scholars to credit him with a "policy of fusion". He also encouraged marriages between his soldiers and foreigners, and he himself went on to marry two foreign princesses.

His legacy and conquests lived on long after him and ushered in centuries of Greek settlement and cultural influence over distant areas.

Alexander himself featured prominently in the history and myth of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. His exploits inspired a literary tradition in which he appeared as a legendary hero.

The ring you see above is designed and handmade by Ned Bowman of Bowman Originals in celebration of the legacy of Alexander the Great. The ring is made of Sterling Silver, 18k Gold, and Jet Black Enamel.

Thank you for visiting.
Ned Bowman / Bowman Originals

Happy to be starting this blog!

I look forward to creating this blog to inform others about the Art of Handmade Jewelry. It is my goal to "open a window" into my world. I have been making handmade jewelry for 38 years.

My designs focus around various classical "themes". I look to explain these "themes" by posting "Medallion Stories".

In addition, I will post information to explain how my jewelry is made in an effort to promote understanding and appreciation for handmade jewelry.

Thank you,
Ned Bowman / Bowman Originals