ENGRAVING – Corkysaintclair Melbourne

Lorna and Geoff split their time between Colorado and Melbourne. Lorna wanted a ring that held both places, with two landscapes worked into the band.

The process was remote, which made decisions slower. We sent through samples of different engraving approaches, including line engraving, bright cut, and surface etching. Alongside these, we showed bas relief samples, where the design is carved into the metal with depth rather than drawn on the surface.

The landscapes needed presence. In early sketches, a single gum leaf wasn’t reading against the mountainscape.

We shifted the scale and increased the Australian element to three leaves, which gave it enough weight to sit with the ranges.

The ring centres on a blue green Australian sapphire. The band carries a carved mountainscape in bas relief, cut directly into the platinum by our goldsmith Eva. The peaks hold a rough texture, with smoother transitions around the leaves.

From a distance, the ring reads as a textured band with a strong central stone. Up close, the two landscapes resolve. The sapphire shifts between green and blue depending on the light.