A Wax Artist’s Palette: The Alchemy of Hand-Sculpted Jewelry

"A Wax Artist’s Palette: Where the alchemy begins. Every color represents a different level of hardness, carefully layered on my hand—my true canvas—to build a foundation of strength for each one-of-a-kind design."

From Wax to Wonder: The Art of the Carve

When you look at my workbench, you’ll see a vibrant mix of pinks, greens, and blues. These aren't just for show—each color represents a different hardness and flexibility in the wax.

In this custom ring, I use a "harder" wax for the structural base to ensure it holds its shape on the mandrel, while a "softer," more pliable wax is used to meticulously "grow" the organic vines around the diamond. This allows me to capture the delicate, overlapping flow of nature that defines my signature style.

My hand-sculpted palette of colorful waxes, each chosen for its specific hardness to build a foundation of strength and beauty.

Visualizing the Final Piece

Because these multi-color waxes can be difficult to imagine in a single precious metal, I want to help you see the final vision. This is a one-of-a-kind ring with a cast-in-place rough diamond. Since the wax model is lost during the casting process, I can only cast this ring once.

Precision in motion—using a heated tool to carefully "grow" the soft green and blue wax twigs around the rough diamond.

By showing you these recreations, I can give you a solid choice between styles prior to the final pour.

Your Choice: Silver or Rose Gold?

The metal you choose completely changes the "soul" of the ring:

Sterling Silver with Light Oxidation: This option highlights every tiny detail. The light oxidation sits in the deep crevices of the hand-carved vines, creating a beautiful contrast that makes the organic textures look like a piece of forest floor.

My hand-sculpted palette of colorful waxes, each chosen for its specific hardness to build a foundation of strength and beauty.

The completed 100% organic vision, where the twigs serve as the setting, locking the diamond in place forever during casting.

14k Rose Gold with a Light Antique Finish: The 14k rose gold offers incredible durability for daily wear. The light antique finish removes the harsh "new" shine, giving the ring a soft, heirloom quality that glows against the skin.

My hand-sculpted palette of colorful waxes, each chosen for its specific hardness to build a foundation of strength and beauty.

 

The warmth of 14k rose gold finished with a light antique glow, perfectly capturing the organic flow of hand-sculpted vines around a rough diamond. 

The Final Touch

As with all my work, I have hand-carved my "DV" initials into the wax. It’s a signature I’ve used for 20 years, inspired by my father, Hubert, who signed every one of his wildlife paintings. It is my promise to you that this piece was sculpted by hand, with heart, right here in the North Carolina foothills.

 

The Floating Gemstone Collection: Crafting Nature-Inspired Jewelry With Heart

In the world of jewelry design, every new piece begins long before metal meets flame. It starts with an idea—a spark that grows, branches, and evolves into something tangible. Over the past few months, my creative journey has been shaped by a design that has quickly become one of my most requested and personally meaningful pieces: my floating gemstone branch ring.

This blog is a behind-the-scenes look at how these pieces are created, why they resonate with so many people, and how I use modern tools like AI ethically and transparently to help me refine ideas that originate from my own designs.

---

Where the Design First Took Root

The foundation of this ring comes from one of my original pieces—an organic, branch-like design that wraps naturally around a gemstone. This style developed from my fascination with nature: twisting roots, growing limbs, and the way light gets caught between them. The first iteration was raw, wild, and textural, almost as if the ring had grown on its own.

Soon after sharing it, people were drawn to its shape and story. Customers began asking for variations—different stones, sizes, and moods—while still keeping the essence of that original, organic design.

---

How AI Fits Into My Creative Process

I want to address this directly, because transparency matters: the designs you see here are mine—conceptually, structurally, creatively, and physically. Every ring I make begins with my own sketches, my own original finished pieces, and my own design language.

I sometimes use AI as a sketching assistant, not as a designer. By feeding the AI images of my own work, I can explore alternate angles, stone proportions, or textural variations. AI helps generate rough visual prompts so I can better imagine how a stone of a different size or shape might look in my existing design.

Another important way I use AI is to help customers visualize options. Once I complete the wax carving and later the finished cast, I upload a photo of the real piece into my AI preview tool. From that single real ring, I can show clients how the design would look in silver, white gold, yellow gold, or rose gold—without recasting it. I can also swap gemstones, such as previewing the ring with a white moissanite or a vivid green peridot.

This feature has become one of my customers’ favorites because it lets them confidently choose both metal and stone based on an accurate visual reference of their exact ring design. It saves time, reduces guesswork, and empowers them to personalize their piece.

But the hands that carve the wax, sculpt the branches, and set the gemstone—those are mine.

AI is a tool. The artistry is the craft.

---

The Wax Carving: Where the New Piece Begins

With customer requests building around a white moissanite version of this design, I moved from concept to creation. Using jewelers’ wax, I began carving the branches—letting them rise, curve, and divide in a way that feels natural and alive.

The wax is where the gemstone first begins to "float." I carve negative spaces intentionally—allowing light to pass through, ensuring the stone is supported but not enclosed, creating the illusion that it hovers between branches.

This is the heart of my floating gemstone style. It’s not about making the stone sit higher—it’s about making it appear naturally suspended, like a drop of light balanced within the structure of the ring.

---

From Wax to Metal: The Final Transformation

This design will soon be cast in Sterling Silver and set with a 1.5ct (6×8mm) white moissanite, a gemstone whose brilliance enhances the floating effect beautifully. The process takes about 3 to 4 weeks from carving to completion.

Once cast, the branches will gain strength and detail, the prongs will be refined, and the stone will be secured in its airy, living setting. The finished piece will retain the same organic motion as the wax—just crystallized into its final, lasting form.

---

Why This Design Matters to Me

This branch ring is more than a commission or a popular request—it’s a milestone in my journey as an artist. It blends:

• my original design language
• my love for nature
• my carving work
• modern tools used ethically
• my customers’ trust

And most importantly, it represents the moment where an idea becomes a form—a place where a new piece begins.

---

Thank You For Being Part of the Journey

To everyone who has asked for this design, who has followed its variations, or who has simply appreciated its style—thank you. Your support allows me to keep pushing my craft in new directions while staying rooted in the work I love.

More updates will come soon, including the finished cast and final stone setting. I can’t wait to share the completed piece with you.

---

If you’d like to follow more of my creative process or commission your own variation of this design, feel free to reach out. Every ring has a story, and I’m honored to help create yours.

Enchanted Midnight Bloom: Pear-Cut Blue Sapphire Leaf & Pearl Engagement Ring Set in 14K Rose Gold

💘

Product Description

A breathtaking symbol of timeless romance, this engagement ring features a 1.5ct pear-cut deep blue sapphire cradled in delicate, hand-sculpted leaf motifs crafted from 14K rose gold. Tiny seed pearls nestle among the foliage, adding a whisper of vintage charm and ethereal elegance.

The organic, nature-inspired band flows seamlessly into a contoured leaf wedding band, adorned with a single flush-set sapphire accent—designed to hug the engagement ring perfectly for a harmonious, stacked look.

Inspired by moonlit gardens and secret vows, this set is for the bride who dreams in twilight hues and golden whispers.

This is a one-of-a-kind, custom designed ring.

Center Stone: 7x5mm pear-cut natural blue lab sapphire (~1.5ct)

Metal: Solid 14K Rose Gold

Accents: 2mm seed pearls, 1.5mm blue lab sapphire

Band Width: 1.8–2.2mm (tapered)

Finish: High polish with textured leaf detailing

Each piece is handmade to order—allow 3–4 weeks for production.

Handmade with love. Worn with forever. 🌿💙

Enchanted Hibiscus Morganite Ring by Dawn Vertrees

Introducing the Enchanted Hibiscus Morganite Ring, a stunning new design crafted through the lost wax process. This unique piece features a radiant 6.5mm round morganite gemstone, elegantly framed by hand-sculpted leaves, a delicate hibiscus flower, and a subtle twig detail. Cast in Sterling Silver with a light oxidation, this ring highlights the intricate depth of each component, offering a nature-inspired masterpiece for your collection.

Once cast, this ring will be featured on Shopify and Etsy.