Formal Falconry. Tiroler Goldschmied's Exclusive Diamond-studded Hawk's Hoods in Abu Dhabi.

My friend Jaci is traveling in the Middle East and taking fabulous pictures, a few of which included photos of Faloncry. This reminded me of an Italian Jewelry company I had read about that makes outrageously diamond studded, gold threaded, leather and crocodile falcon hoods for Abu Dhabi.



For more than 40 years Italian Jewelers Tiroler Goldschmied has been working in the profession of goldsmith's craft. Numerous international awards are confirmation for the particular team-work of the Gamper family and exquisitely designed jewellery has become their trademark. Driven by its passion, the Gamper family also designs exclusive refined and bespoke falconry and hunting accessories.



Tiroler Goldschmied developed its own new process to create exclusive diamond-studded hawk's hoods for those who participate in Falconry. Every hood is one-of-a-kind piece and designed according to individual ideas and tastes.








Each accessory can be transformed into a precious one-of-a-kind piece, as unique, mysterious, and graceful as the fascination of hunting and falconry itself. The diamond-studded falconry hoods can be engraved with your handwritten signature, personal initials, or coat of arms (for those who have one).




The well known artisan Mr. Giancarlo Pirrotta makes the falconry hoods out of the finest materials and Tiroler Goldschmied refines them with unique gemstones underlining the grace and magic of hunting and falconry.




Not quite as fancy, Mr. Pirrotta also has a collection of luxury falconry products for Tardini. "Royal Hoods" is a range of falcon hoods, made in American Alligator and embellished with precious feathers, lapis-lazuli beads and 18kt gold thread or rich heraldic embroideries for Tardini of Italy:


Tiroler Goldschmied Falconry Products
Via Castello 3
39019 Tirolo
Italy

Wrap Your Loved One Around Your Finger. Literally. Contura Rings by Thomas Geison.

Jewelry designer Thomas Giesen has been creating and producing his own jewellery collections in his own workshop for 20 years.



With several beautifully crafted pieces to his credit, it's his Contura rings that fascinate me. He developed the idea of crafting luxury rings from a human profile in 1998 and it took him a few years to develop the technique to get it precisely right. The final result is a very unique and personal Red Dot Design Award-winning piece of jewelry.




The Contura Rings can be crafted from yellow, white, rose or black gold, silver, titanium, platinum or stainless steel. Available in 8,10,12 and 14mm widths, the rings are suited to any gender or age.




And many options are available. Diamonds, pearls and other gemstones may be added in a variety of styles (see below):


Jeweller Thomas Giesen:


Prices range quite a bit depending on the style and material. For more information or to order one visit this site.

Wearing Words From The Heart. The Love Letter Ring by One Origin.

Here's a very romantic piece of jewelry. One Origin jewelry will take your wedding vows, love letters or any words from the heart and bind them together in a custom ring that can be worn upon your finger.

The I(Thou) Ring is perfect for celebrating special occasions such as Valentine's Day or your first year anniversary, for which the tradition just happens to be 'paper.'



The ring is a simple silhouette crafted of sterling silver designed to hold the folded love letter.  Once you have placed your order you will be contacted within 24 hours with detailed instructions on how to submit the text that you would like to be printed out and inserted into the ring.

For obvious reasons, take it off when washing your hands, showering, bathing or swimming.



Price $200.
Order it here. 

Thanks to General Valentine for bringing this to my attention via materialicious

Super Serious Super Bowl Ring Bling Info. New Details, Pics and Facts About All The NFL Championship Rings.

Each year I run this post, updated to include the latest NFL Championship Ring. This year, I've also updated several of the specific jewelry design facts and added new images.

One of the most recognizable pieces of bling are given to the players of the National Football League's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Who makes them? Who gets them? What are they worth?

What's On Each Ring?

The rings almost always include the team's name, logo, and Super Bowl number (usually in Roman numerals), the final game score and the names of the particular player. Several include inscriptions of team's mantras or mission statements such as the Baltimore Raven's "Set the Standard."

Most of the rings also have larger diamonds or diamonds made into the shape of the Lombardi trophy, that represent the number of Super Bowls that franchise has won.

For example, Pittsburgh's 2008 ring has six trophies and six large diamonds, representing the six Super Bowls they have won to date:

above: The Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl XLIII ring weighs 104 grams and incorporates 63 round, brilliant cut diamonds totaling 3.61 carats. The colored gems appear to be citrine, pink tourmaline and blue topaz.

What Are The Rings Made Of?

Gold:
The rings are predominantly crafted of 10k or 14k yellow or white gold (in some cases, both). The varying degrees of yellowness in the gold depends both upon its purity and the other ores with which it is mixed (brass adds yellow, copper adds red, silver adds  white).

Diamonds:
Earth-mined white diamonds are clearly the stone of choice for the Championship rings. Many feature Marquis cut stones because of their resemblance to the shape of a football. Brilliant cut (round) stones in many sizes from solitaires to pave (chips) cover the majority of the rings. Some feature tapered baguettes and still others square or princess cut stones.


above: The Super Bowl XXIX San Francisco Forty Niners ring (by Balfour) shown above features 5 large Marquis cut diamonds and 5 tapered baguettes along with pave diamonds.

Enamel:
Many of the rings, especially the earlier ones, feature accents of single colored enamel such as the examples shown below:


All three New England Patriots rings featured 2 colors of enamel:


Colored Diamonds:
The Denver Broncos seem to favor colored diamonds as an accent. You can see the use of the cognac, brown or yellow diamonds found in their two consecutive Championship rings for Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII, made by Diamond Cutters Int'l and Jostens, respectively:


The Baltimore Ravens Championship Ring from Super Bowl XXXV, made by Jostens, has enamel, cognac or yellow diamonds and a ruby for the eye:


Rubies:
The Washington Redskins Championship Ring from Super Bowl XXII was the first to feature rubies along with diamonds and the first ring made by Tiffany & Co.:


Sapphires:
Adding some blue to the bling, there are 37 sapphires (and some blue enamel) in the most recent ring for the NY Giants from Super Bowl XLVI by Tiffany & Co.:


I don't know how much the total carat weight varies from year to year or the actual market value, but here are some facts about the rings:

Who Pays For Them?

•The NFL pays up to $5,000* per ring, with up to 150 rings per team. The NFL pays for the cost of 150 rings to the winning team, at roughly $5,000 apiece, depending upon the fluctuating cost of gold and diamonds. If the rings are over the $5,000 limit, the team owners must make up the difference.

* I suspect, with the increase in the price of gold over the past five years, this number is now higher

•Recent rings have been appraised in excess of $20,000, with some valued at $45,000. but manufacturers keep this information confidential.

Who Makes Them?

•The rings are made by the company of the winning team's choosing. The majority of the Championship Super Bowl rings have been manufactured by Jostens in Denton, Texas. They've made 30 of the past 46 rings.

•The Indianapolis Colts' Super Bowl (Super Bowl XLI) rings were manufactured by Herff Jones (based in Indianapolis), at their Warwick, Rhode Island ring plant.

•Austin, TX based Balfour Company has manufactured nine Super Bowl rings to date.

• Diamond Cutters International of Houston, Texas has manufactured two of the rings thus far; for the Dallas Cowboys (Super Bowl XXX)  and the Denver Broncos (Super Bowl XXXII)

• Tiffany & Co. has now made five of the rings; Washington Redskins (Super Bowl XXII),  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Super Bowl XXXVII), New York Giants (Super Bowl XLII), New Orleans Saints (Super Bowl XLIV) and the most recent for the New York Giants (Super Bowl XLVI).

Tasteful? No.
Impressive? Yep.

The rings are made after the game for obvious reasons, so this years' ring is not included among the images below, shown in chronological order.

Rings from 1966-1974:


Rings from 1975-1983:


Rings from 1984-1992:


Rings from 1993-2001:


Rings from 2002-2010:


The 46th Super Bowl ring:


And now, added on June of 2013, The 47th Super Bowl Ring:

Tentacles, Fungi & Anatomy Cast In Fine Metals. The Very Cool Jewelry of Peggy Skemp.

Peggy Skemp has a knack for turning things that are usually considered creepy into beautiful, detailed jewelry. Anatomical hearts, musculature, lungs, brains, tentacles, squid, octopus and fungi are hand cast in everything from 18k gold to bronze.



All types of sterling - high polished, antiqued and blackened as well as bronze versions of her pieces are available. Some are even studded with diamonds or gemstones.

Anatomical Collection

Lung locket necklace:


Lung pendant necklace closed and open on model:

Anatomical heart pendants, lockets and rings:







Thigh muscles pendant necklace:

Muscle rings and pendants:


Dendrite and Neuron necklaces and bracelet:


Brain rings:



Tentacle Collection

Sterling silver tentacle pendants:

Yellow and white bronze tentacle pendants:

Sterling silver tentacle necklace with black diamonds:


Blackened sterling silver tentacle pendant with diamonds:

Blackened Silver tentacle ring with diamonds:

Sterling Silver tentacles rings:


Sterling tentacle stack rings, without and with diamonds:

Sterling squid rings:

Sterling octopus ring with gemstone eyes:

Sterling silver tentacle earrings with and without gemstones:

Blackened sterling silver tentacle earrings:


Fungi Collection

White and yellow bronze fungi rings:

Blackened and sterling silver fungi rings:

Sterling silver fungi pendant and ring:


About Peggy
Peggy learned metalsmithing and gemology at The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) before going on to earn a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where her focus was sustainable design. In between, she also studied natural science at De Paul. Having grown up in rural southeastern Minnesota, she currently lives and works in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, at home in her menagerie of ungovernable succulents, cacti, and hanging ferns.


Peggy Skemp Jewelry