Sunshine is the younger brother of renowned silversmith Gary Reeves and of David Reeves (now deceased), who was so instrumental in teaching the craft to both Gary and Sunshine, as well as their half-brothers Darrel and Andy Cadman. Sunshine's work, like that of his brother Gary, is present in the collections of the Heard Museum in Phoenix and he has won numerous awards for his work.

In late December 2007, Sunshine made his first batch of rings in over two years. Deep-stamped and individually sculpted, these rings were an instant success. So we got together a large group of stones of both natural Bisbee turquoise and natural Persian turquoise and had Sunshine make a large batch of rings spanning all sizes from 5 through 12. The stones are rare and gorgeous and the smithing is divine.

This is a Sunshine Reeves 14-gauge Sterling, single-piece, sculpted shank ring. The stone is set in a straight-edged bezel wrapped with twist wire which forms the border of the ring face. The stampwork bites deep into the silver and no two of these are stamped exactly alike. We won't re-size these, nor attempt to stretch them. This is set with a high-domed perfect oval stone of pretty blue Bisbee turquoise. This is natural, untreated turquoise from the Bisbee Mine in Arizona (which closed in 1975). The stone was cut by master lapidary Bruce Mead.

Hallmarked "SUNSHINE REEVES" and stamped "Sterling" inside the shank.

Stone: 7/16" x 5/16"           Ring face: 9/16" x 7/16"

Widest width of shank: 9/16"           Width at back of shank: 3/8"

Size: 5 1/4

Note on this Bisbee turquoise: As with all of Bruce's stones, this is simply some of the best cut turquoise you'll ever find. 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.

Click here to see our entire collection of Bisbee Turquoise!