|
Albert Jake was born in 1959 at Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico. He has been smithing silver for over fifteen years. He makes all manner of nice jewelry, including rings, bracelets, bolos, pendants and always uses fine quality stones in his work.
Six years ago, I bought a half-dozen rings set with Bisbee turquoise made in this style by Herman Smith. Two of the rings fit me and I kept them and sold the others. Since then, I've bought all of Herman's rings I could find, but then he had serious back surgery and stopped smithing for some time. When he got back to work, he didn't want to make many rings. Making rings is like working in miniature; the painstaking labor of cutting the split shank, bending the shank to form, making small bezels and adding tiny raindrops, etc. Most smiths will tell you that they'd rather make bracelets all day; it's simply easier to work with larger pieces of metal and stone. So (to get back to the story), Herman wasn't making such rings anymore and we'd developed a great working relationship with Albert Jake, who makes stellar rings and will happily tear into an order of relatively large size. Through an unsolicited contact, the Bisbee turquoise fell into my hands and it was time to see this design come back to life (learn more about the stone at the bottom of this page). This ring is heavy on the shank. In sizes 6 through 8, Albert made the shanks from 14 gauge Sterling because the thicker 12 gauge Sterling was too difficult to bend to the smaller size required to make small rings. In sizes 9 thorugh 12, Albert made these rings with the heavier 12 gauge sterling. These ring shanks are comparable in weight to those made by Calvin Martinez, who also uses both 12 and 14 gauge Sterling on his shanks.
The basic design of this ring is classic Traditional Revival. The shank is 7/32" wide and split into three narrower bands as it approaches the ring back. The weight of the shank is a good counterbalance to a heavy, thick stone and is the first design element which reduces the tendency of a ring to roll on the finger. Splitting the shank like this gives it additional width and gripping power on the finger. This is the second design feature which inhibits the ring from rolling on the finger with the weight of the stone. Notice the line of larger raindrops to left and right of the stone. While this line of raindrops is clearly an aesthetic element of the design, these raindrops make contact with the adjacent fingers and further impede the ring from rolling on the finger. These are the basic elements of this ring's design which make it maximally comfortable and essentially indestructible. At the same time, these design elements allow any size stone to be set in the ring without its becoming an unwieldy annoyance on the finger. This is a thick stone of Bisbee with a nice dome and we had Albert set it well in a 3/16" bezel which showcases the stone perfectly while holding the stone tight and right and protecting the edges of the stone. The cut is superb and the polish on this natural, untreated stone is perfect. This is "new" rock, cut from the rough in the spring of 2007. Bruce has his sources and, though the Bisbee Mine has been shut down for something like four decades, Bruce still gets rough rock for fresh cutting. You'll look around a long time to find something made this well.
This ring is hallmarked "A JAKE" and stamped "Sterling" on the inside of the shank.
Stone: 9/16" x 3/8" Ring face: 7/8" x 5/8"
Weight of stone: 5 carats
Width of shank in back: 7/32" Size: 6
Note on this Bisbee turquoise: This is simply some of the best cut turquoise we've ever seen. This is wholly old school stonecutting wherein the stone itself suggests how best it can be flattered. As Bruce told me, "I don't cut for weight." Meaning that he doesn't cut a stone to maximize its carat-weight, rather he cuts a stone for shape and with regard to matrix and pattern. He cuts his stone with a high dome as often as possible and the gradation of the slope on the edges of his cut stones are clearly designed to improve the grasp of the bezel on the edge of the stone. He adds 1/32" thick backing to his stones to assure a perfectly flat back to make for tight setting, whereas as most stonecutters these days add a full 1/8" thick backing (which counts in the carat price of stones). When we first saw Bruce's stonecutting , we immediately sent him a batch of rough Persian turquoise to cut for us. Expect to see more of Bruce's artistry on the website. As well as his masterful skills as a lapidary, he is also a goldsmith.
|
