I was introduced to jewelry making several years ago by my sister who gave me some beading wire and crystal beads and showed me how to make a bracelet. From there I was hooked! Since then, I have taken many classes and have been fortunate to sell many of my designs. It didn't take long for me to discover goldsmithing classes that were offered at local jewelry design studios. I immediately fell in love with working with precious metals and semi-precious gemstones. I remain passionate about learning new techniques which I enjoy including in my work.
I earned my Graduate Jeweler diploma at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts (located in San Francisco, CA) and have recently completed the Applied Jewelry Arts (AJA) diploma from the Gemological Institute of America (located in Carlsbad, CA). I will begin my Graduate Gemologist studies in August 2012.
I am inspired by ancient jewelry styles and techniques. I prefer to design pieces that can actually be worn (versus the art jewelry styles that are interesting to look at in magazines but not practical to wear). I love working with semi-precious gemstones: Amethysts, Garnets, and Tourmaline are always a favorite. I hope to one day be able to share my knowledge of this amazing art with others by teaching and publishing a book (with lots of pictures!).
Tonia Rockwell
www.sageinspirations.com
http://www.facebook.com/tonia.rockwell
Jewelry Designer and Graduate Jeweler
Graduate Jeweler (GJ), Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts
Accredited Jewelry Professional (AJP), Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
Applied Jewelry Arts (AJA), Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
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Comments (4)
shonsu
Lovely opal work. They only thing I could say is that there is no variation with your opals.
trockwell
Shonsu, Thank you for an incredibly discerning and critcal eye! Yes, you are correct and this never occurred to me. I'm lucky I guess in that the Rhino drawings I create are actually pre-fabrication drawings. I usually create the real thing after I am done (depending on orders of course). In the real world I won't find any matching opals like you see in my drawings so they will all differ just as you indicated they should. In the future, I may add actual photographs of the finished jewelry pieces so people can compare the CAD/CAM work with the real item. Although, I'm not sure if non-CAD/CAM pictures are allowed on this site (i.e. renderings only?). Regardless, I appreciate you taking a portion of your own very valuable time to critque my work (as soon as things slow down on my side I will do the same for you and others here as well). I have so very much to learn yet! TJ.
jocko500
there is opal find in Louisiana. i do not know where but i meet the son of the man who was mining it, he say it hard work and the locals would destroy they equipment. they do not mine any more as the oil company will not renew they lease wonderful image
UVDan
Beautiful ring. You can post pictures of the actual jewelry. We will not complain. You should do a side by side comparison. If you post a photo only, then it should be in the Photography Gallery.