From the workbenck of MT Malony

I just ran across a great blog by jeweler MT Maloney. His web site is here – alas all in flash, which I hate, but nevermind, it’s a good looking site with some good looking jewelry. I have not yet seen any of his work first hand, but I’m really enjoying seeing his creative process […]

I just ran across a great blog by jeweler MT Maloney.

His web site is here – alas all in flash, which I hate, but nevermind, it’s a good looking site with some good looking jewelry.

I have not yet seen any of his work first hand, but I’m really enjoying seeing his creative process as it happens in his blog, From the Workbench.

MT has shots of a number of projects in process, from concept to design to final piece; for example the Mako Shark, or the Ace of Spades skull.


    

MT’s a pretty talented artist and designer; I’m looking forward to seeing more from him on the future. Meanwhile, I absolutely love seeing his work as it develops.

Deadringer ‘Mourning Beads’

It should be no surprise that I’m a HUGE fan of Steve Gillespie’s Deadringer jewelry. Steve’s just a brilliant designer, a jeweler of consummate skill, and a hell of a good guy. I love everything they’ve ever made, and would happily own one of each, if I were made of money. That said, I’m particularly […]

It should be no surprise that I’m a HUGE fan of Steve Gillespie’s Deadringer jewelry. Steve’s just a brilliant designer, a jeweler of consummate skill, and a hell of a good guy.

I love everything they’ve ever made, and would happily own one of each, if I were made of money.

That said, I’m particularly thrilled with this new set of beaded necklaces they call “Mourning Beads”. They’re elegant in a way nothing Steve’s done before is, without loosing that deadringer edge. They’re 100% Steve Gillespie, 100% Deadringer, but they’re also something I can see with evening wear.

They’re just stunning.

Mark describes these necklaces thus:

Some time last year during a workshop argument animated debate on jewelry of the Victorian era, we struck upon the idea of a string of beads. Hardly an original concept, granted, but we wanted to give them a Deadringer twist without loosing the essence of yesteryear. Steve was already well underway carving a small skull and a selection of bones, so after a few months of trialing a variety of beads and bead sizes in various formats, we have settled on the combination of the skull with polished natural black Agate in a traditional necklace format, terminated with a femur & ring clasp based on your customary fob assembly

Pictured below are a couple of variations on the necklace; it’s offered in three variants (Alternating, Regulated and Sectional), and in 16 or 18 inch lengths. Ranging from $295 to $655 (depending on length and configuration), these are actually pretty affordable.

Click here to order or to see more details and pix.

I just love these; I want to put them on every beautiful neck I know (for an example of a beautiful neck I don’t know, modeling the necklaces, look after the cut).

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(click to embiggen)

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Belladonna and Fetish skulls

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about my friend Juilan Lamb’s work. Julian’s company, Ruby Crush, makes some distinctive and creative jewelry. But as with many creative people, he’s lacked a good web presence. His original site was updated once and then left. Recently though, he’s started over; new site, new blog, and to […]

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about my friend Juilan Lamb’s work.

Julian’s company, Ruby Crush, makes some distinctive and creative jewelry. But as with many creative people, he’s lacked a good web presence. His original site was updated once and then left.

Recently though, he’s started over; new site, new blog, and to go with it, some fantastic new jewellery (to use the british spelling). The new site looks great; new logo, new slogan (Infamous English Jewelry, which I think is great), great gallery.

As well as skull rings, he has cufflinks I’m absolutely drooling over, some wonderful pendants, earrings, and some stylish, elegant bracelets.

But it’s the rings that really make a statement. I’ve blogged about his elvis ring before, but he’s gone far beyond that now, adding Sid Vicious and Jimi Hendrix. I have three of his earlier skull rings, the Classic, the Vintage and the Femme Fatale (an xmas present for Barb a few years back). But he’s got several new models; the Absinth, the Belladonna, and the piratical Sweet Revenge, and the new Fetish skull (all viewable here, though I can’t direct link to the individual pages).

The other thing that’s really terrific about Julian’s new site is that it’s got some breathtaking examples of Julian’s custom work. Like many of my other jeweler friends, this is where the creativity really shines (though obviously, this is also where the prices skyrocket.) Make sure to brose the custom gallery, though, for some amazing work, AND for some really wonderful, moody photography (I wish I could figure out how to take shots like this of my rings).

Julian, who in addition to beaing a gifted artist, is also a hell of a nice guy, recently sent me a couple of samples to check out.

Below are pictures of his brand new ‘fetish skull’, which is a smaller skull, well suited to smaller hands, or as a pinky ring on big fists like mine. Also pictured is his ‘belladonna’ ring, which reminds me of the Deadrings Classic, though it features some distinctive details I really like (It’s also a bit more delicate than the Deadringers).

Also pictured in the full hand pix are the older ‘classic’ and ‘vintage’, mentioned in previous postings.

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(click these to embiggen)

I’m very happy with these two rings. The Belladonna is very wearable – reasonably light, and low-profile for a large ring. The Fetish ring is interesting in that it’s a toothless skull, the only one like it I’ve seen. The effect is particularly macabre.

My sample of the fetish skull was an early casting, so some of the edges (particularly the gum-line) are faintly sharp; however Julian assures me this is corrected in the production casting. A tiny bit of filing should correct this on my sample (and I in no way mind this). The distinctive features work extremely well aesthetically though; it has the slightly exaggerated look needed to make a small skull make sense. This is the first pinky ring in my collection, and as such, will get lots of wear.

Both rings came sized exactly as ordered, which is a huge plus for me; comfort depends on sizing.

The Piston Ring

I have to share these photos of Carlos’ new piston ring, customized for celebrity chef Guy Fieri. More details over in Dora’s Guy Fieri Blog. Carlos is such an awesome guy; I really want one of everything he makes. I wear his spade ring every day, and he recently gifted me with a prototype of […]

I have to share these photos of Carlos’ new piston ring, customized for celebrity chef Guy Fieri.

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More details over in Dora’s Guy Fieri Blog.

Carlos is such an awesome guy; I really want one of everything he makes. I wear his spade ring every day, and he recently gifted me with a prototype of his huge skull ring. I’m stoked to see him getting wider notice. If you’re watching Minute to Win It (Which is supposed to be cool, though I have not yet checked it out), you’ll see more of Carlos’ work all over Guy’s hands.

Carlos’ web site is here: http://www.sinners-inc.com/ though it’s out of date and (alas) flash heavy. He’s looking for a web designer to help him revamp it though, so it should be updated soon. He’s also got a myspace page with more current info.

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Deadringer Minima – a smaller skull ring

Since I’ve been back on the skull ring thing lately (thanks to Carlos at Sinners Inc), I realized I never posted about the latest DeadRingers skulls. People have been asking me for ages about smaller rings; the cool thing is, some of the jewelers I’m friends with have started to listen. The Deadringers version is […]

Since I’ve been back on the skull ring thing lately (thanks to Carlos at Sinners Inc), I realized I never posted about the latest DeadRingers skulls.

People have been asking me for ages about smaller rings; the cool thing is, some of the jewelers I’m friends with have started to listen.

The Deadringers version is called The Minima. It comes in two versions, the Minima Yorrick (jawless), and the Minima Classic (full skull).

Examples below; each side by side with it’s big brother. I have the larger versions of both of these.

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These are pefect for smaller fingers (pinky rings, ladies rings, or just for someone who wants to go more subtle).

Dimension comparison for the Classic is below.

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I’ve been craving one of these since Mark announced them months ago.

I’m planning to get one as a pinky ring, though I’m still waffling over which one I want. Really, I want them both, but that blows too much of my silver budget all at once.

Gary Rocks on Keith Richards skull ring

Gary at GARY ROCKS has a great writeup on Keith Richards C&H skull ring. Over the past 30 years Keith Richards silver skull ring has taken on its own mythology and iconic status. The most famous ring in the world has come to signify not only Keith Richards the man – seen wearing it at […]

Gary at GARY ROCKS has a great writeup on Keith Richards C&H skull ring.

Over the past 30 years Keith Richards silver skull ring has taken on its own mythology and iconic status. The most famous ring in the world has come to signify not only Keith Richards the man – seen wearing it at every gig and in every photograph – but Rock and Roll itself. The ring has inspired both an international cult following and unlimited fake copies. There have been countless claims as to who designed and made the original but this is the true story.

Read the whole entry here.


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Sinners Skull

My new ring, courtesy of of my brutha Carlos of Sinners Inc. The first thing you’ll notice about this thing is, it’s freakin’ huge. I mean, absurdly huge. When Carlos decided to make a skull (after working with me for two years and seeing my double fistful of skulls every day), he decided he had […]

My new ring, courtesy of of my brutha Carlos of Sinners Inc.

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The first thing you’ll notice about this thing is, it’s freakin’ huge. I mean, absurdly huge.

When Carlos decided to make a skull (after working with me for two years and seeing my double fistful of skulls every day), he decided he had to make a statement. He did it with pure mass.

This skull weighs about a third of a goddam pound, and is nearly an inch and three quarters from the tip of it’s pointy chin to the top of it’s forehead. Below is a picture with some of the rest of the collection (left to right, that’s the Sinner, the Courts and Hackett ‘Keith Richards’, Deadringers ‘Classic’, a Dave’s Custom, a Ruby Crush jawless, and my old Elvis LIves skull from Tony Creed. You can see how out of scale this thing is when you realize that the Deadringers and the Courts and Hackett are both really, really big rings,

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The second thing you’ll notice is that it’s gorgeous. Carlos started with an anatomically accurate model of a skull; like me, he wanted the real deal, not some snarling cartoon. Like most of my favorite rings, there’s no exaggeration, just beautiful bone rendered in silver.

I love this thing.

It’s not a ring you’re gonna wear every day. I had to take it off to work a mouse; there’s no way I can work with it on. I’m almost certainly going to hurt myself with it. But it’s a ring I’m reaching for when I put on the full set.

Really, the only issue I have with this thing is that next to it, my other rings will be invisible; but what the hell. Sometimes you gotta go big.

Carlos and Sinners Inc’s work, by the way, is currently showing up on the great big ham fists on Guy Fieri. Keep an eye out on the current season of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives; Carlos’ signature piston ring should show up prominently in some of the latest episodes.

Courts and Hackett ring released

I can finally post pictures; David just emailed me and let me know the wait’s over. The Courts and Hackett ‘Keith Richards Death Head RIng’ is available for purchase at courtsandhackett.com Here’s the ring on my hand, New Year’s eve. This thing is heavy. It’s solid. It’s the biggest skull ring I own. And it’s […]

I can finally post pictures; David just emailed me and let me know the wait’s over.

The Courts and Hackett ‘Keith Richards Death Head RIng’ is available for purchase at courtsandhackett.com

Here’s the ring on my hand, New Year’s eve.


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This thing is heavy. It’s solid. It’s the biggest skull ring I own. And it’s the one with the pedigree; based on Keith’s ring, hand made by David Courts and Bill Hackett in 1978.

I love this ring. It’s absolutely stunning.

Courts and Hackett Skull Ring

For years I’ve heard the question among skull ring collectors – Who made Keith Richards skull ring? From what I can tell, the origin of the guitar-players-in-skull-rings thing is Keith. Eric Clapton wears one, Billy Gibbons wears one, Zakk Wylde wears one, James Hetfield wears one. Johnny Depp wears one. But Keith’s is the original. […]

For years I’ve heard the question among skull ring collectors – Who made Keith Richards skull ring?

From what I can tell, the origin of the guitar-players-in-skull-rings thing is Keith. Eric Clapton wears one, Billy Gibbons wears one, Zakk Wylde wears one, James Hetfield wears one. Johnny Depp wears one.

But Keith’s is the original.

Who made it is the easy part. David Courts and Bill Hackett. The hard part though, has been how do I get one like it? For years people have attempted to copy Keith’s ring (or just put jewelry up on eBay saying it was a ‘Keith Richards ring’ without any attempt to make it look authentic).

Finally, David and Bill said – look, we’re getting jacked with this, why don’t we make our own version. After long talks with Keith, they came to agreement.

David and Bill works long and hard to get a version of the ring they could do commercially (since Keith’s was made one-of-a-kind). And shortly, it will become publicly available (any day now as I understand, as soon as final business details get worked out).

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But heres the important part; I just heard from David (who’s a lovely human being) that mine shipped last monday. And I can’t be more stoked about it. I’m expecting to get it somewhere around the end of the week. And I’m just vibrating with excitement about it.

[EDIT]

I just got my ring. While David asked me not to share pictures yet, until the new site is up and the ring is shipping (soon, he says, but isn’t giving a hard date), I can say that it’s stunning. It fits like it’s made for me.

It’s no identical to Keith’s own ring (as it should be, since Keith’s was a hand made one-of-a-kind), but it’s teh same in look, feel and spirit. It comes in a bead blasted ‘shadow’ finish (I don’t know if they’ll also offer it in a bright-polished finish), which will gradually grow shiny with daily wear.

It’s a big ring; as big as my Deadringers ‘classic’. Only my Ruby Crush ring is bigger. And it’s heavy; a solid chunk of silver, not hollowed out For all that though, it fits so comfortably I didn’t notice the mass ’til I’d taken it off.

It’s a stunning piece.