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The piece, named the Diamond Tsunami Ring, is made from palladium and a range of coloured diamonds. It was designed to echo elements of the natural disaster and required the expertise of six separate craftsmen.
The jeweller, Paul Draper, created the design from scratch, and enlisted the help of others in the trade to complete the project. He said: “One doesn’t have to look far these days to see how inventive people have become with their money-raising activities and it’s left me thinking that maybe I could do and give more if I only changed my tack and put in some effort.”
On creating the piece, Draper said: “I had the two halves moulded and cast which, on return, I then cleaned up and drilled out ready for setting. It was then very much a case of handing it over to each of the remaining four craftsmen in turn so they were able to do their bit.
“Along with the drawings its first stop required the independent expertise of a chaser and chiseller, then on to the setter, then to a dab-handed laser welder and finally an engraver for a poignant inscription.”
The inscription on the inside of the ring reads: “Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami – 14.46 (JST) Fri. 11th March 2011”.
The jewellers, formerly known as Glitterati Creative Goldsmiths has changed its name to Jewel Mechanic after another company was found to own the “Glitterati” trademark.
Initially, Draper planned to auction the ring through Christie’s auction house, but because of a conflict with other jewellery events and concerns about publicity costs, the ring will be sold via eBay’s Special Auction.
Elements of the ring included:
- Jubilee hallmarked 900 palladium ring mount with a platinum centre collet. approximate total weight – 35 gms
- GIA certified marquise centre diamond weighing 1.00ct G color SI 1 in clarity
- 165 coloured diamonds total weight. 2.09 cts
- Platinum collet set with 2 x white, 2 x heat treated blue and 2 x natural brown 1.2mm diamonds
- Head and shoulder cracks and crevices set with natural black and brown alongside heat-treated orange diamonds 1.2 – 1.9mm
- Two rear ruptures set with natural brown green and blue diamonds 1.2 – 1.5mm
- Three waves set with natural green and blue diamonds 1.2mm
The date of the auction remains to be confirmed.
