Dive into the Deep: My First Jewelry Competition

A oxidized ring with iridescent 'poison fog' circling a cavern like design, with snake surrounding and guarding a green quartz within

If you’ve been following my jewelry journey, you know that before I started jewelry school, I was almost exclusively a necklaces and earrings person. But something about starting formal training sparked an interest, and suddenly, I’ve become completely obsessed with rings. I had also just made a pendant in my last major assignment.

And so, when biggest assignment for first-years was announced: a competition among all first-year students, I knew exactly what I wanted to make: a ring.

The Challenge: One Stone, Limited Tools

The rules were simple but strict:

We were all given the same round faceted green quartz.
We could only use techniques taught in our first year.
We were restricted to the tools in our classroom (nothing more advanced, so no enameling!).

This immediately leveled the playing field. It wasn't about who had the fanciest equipment; it was about design and concept. That was only a faint understanding at first, it was the end of the competition that reinforced that realization.

A close-up of a loose green quartz in a plastic pouch.

The green quartz that we had to use in our competition piece.

Finding the "Why": From Swamps to Samoa

I spent a few days brainstorming. Looking at machinery, florals, and murky swamps, there were many interesting concepts, but my eyes kept coming back to the ethereal blue-green of the quartz. I started researching natural water bodies with that exact hue and found the To Sua Ocean Trench in Samoa.

To Sua Ocean Trench with clear blue water, wooden ladder, and lush green vegetation

The gorgeous To Sua Ocean Trench in Samoa.

It’s this breathtaking natural pool tucked inside a deep cavern. I wanted the person wearing the ring to feel like they were peering into a hidden, magical pool, almost like a portal to another world.

The "Zodiac" Iteration: Originally, I wanted to make the piece kinetic. (No idea why, I really wanted to make something kinetic.) I even made a brass test piece! My idea involved a snake (my mom’s zodiac) guarding the pool, and a little rat (my zodiac) swinging on a vine above it.

However, after talking to my teacher, I realized a kinetic element wouldn't be seen while the piece sat in a display case. So, I pivoted. I dropped the rat, kept the snake, and leaned into a "Mythical Fog" concept.

A rough sketch of a ring design from the top. A snake circles the center where the stone will sit, with vines enveloping the rim and a rat perched on a vine overlooking the snake and stone.

Rough sketch of the ring from the top, with the little rat perched on a vine, overlooking the snake and stone.

The Process: Carving a Cavern

I decided to work primarily in wax. I built a flat ring base and attached a round structure that would become my cavern.

The Snake: I used a wax pen to build up the guardian snake bit by bit around the stone setting.
The "Ooze" & Texture: I carved swirly "mysterious water" patterns into the shank and added rugged textures to the cavern walls.
The Mistake: Here’s a pro-tip for aspiring smiths—check your seat depth! I carved the stone seat so deep that when it came time to set it later, the prongs were way too high above the stone to bend over. (More on how I fixed that nightmare in a second...)

Hand holding detailed green and purple wax ring models at different stages for jewelry casting

The progress of my wax model: the base, the snake, the rim, the textures.

Casting Day & The "Ugly" Phase

When the ring came back from casting in silver, I’ll be honest: I was disappointed.

Hand holding a textured matte silver ring with a spiky, organic design, fresh out from casting.

Fresh out of casting, I wasn't quite sure if the ring would look good at all.

It looked a bit flat. But that’s the magic of oxidation. Once I darkened the silver, the textures popped, and the "cavern" finally felt ancient and mysterious.

I also had to figure out the "fog." Using thick sketch paper, I created paper prototypes to see how the layers should sit. I realized that alternating the heights of the silver fog pieces made it look much more natural and less "busy."

Hand holding unfinished metal ring with intricate texture, showing the layers of the ring and the wires that go through them, meant for riveting.

Testing with the actual silver pieces, it immediately felt right!

Technical Hurdles (and Rookie Mistakes)

Remember my deep-seated stone? To fix the prongs, I had to "chip away" at the metal from the outside so they would partially collapse onto the stone. It was nerve-wracking, but with my teacher's guidance, we saved it!

Hand holding a spiked silver ring with green gemstone and textured metal design

You can see the groves where I had to chip away at the prongs.

Then came the riveting. Not only the fog pieces were riveted at certain points so that they would connect and overlap, the different layers of the ring had to be riveted too. I tried to do it alone, but the rivet wouldn't tighten. My teacher took one look and asked, "Did you anneal the wires?" ...Nope. I didn't. It makes the metal soft enough to actually work with. I immediately noted that down in my task app.

To-do list with ring assignment tasks and reminders on a dark background

The note I added on my phone, right in front of my teacher haha

Thankfully, with a set of extra hands (my teacher's) to prop up a hard surface on each tiny end of the rivet, I could finally hammer the rivets properly till they tightened.

The Grand Reveal: The Rainbow Effect

The final stage was the most fun: finding the right balance of polished silver vs. dark oxidation. I dipped the ring into the Sulphur water, it came out with this incredible, iridescent rainbow patina.

I wanted to leave the fog silver at first, but the fiery rainbow colors that showed made me change my mind. Instead, I pretty much oxidized the entire piece, and polished the thorns, some of the vines, the swirly waters on the shank and parts of the snake to a shine.

The Reality Check: As beautiful as the rainbow was, it’s a chemical reaction that doesn’t really stop. By the time the piece was in the gallery, it had deepened into a moody black. I’ve learned my lesson: I’ll be looking into ways to "freeze" that rainbow stage next time!

Textured silver ring with rough, organic and oxidized design on white background

My finished ring sitting in the gallery. All pieces were displayed for public viewing and voting. As you can see, the ring has darkened considerably and lost most of its iridescence.

Results & Final Reflections

I was honored to win a minor award, one of the teachers chose my ring as their favorite piece!

I didn't take home the grand prize, and honestly? The reason why was the best lesson of all. The winning design was inspired by the traffic light, where the green quartz was the "Green Man" light. The judges said it was the only piece that needed that specific stone to work.

My Takeaway? My design was detailed and personal, but maybe a bit "generic fantasy." The winner taught me that conceptual clarity is just as important as technical skill.

Next year, I’m going to spend more time in the thinking phase before I pick up the wax pen. But for now? I’m going to enjoy my magical, snake-guarded cavern ring. 🐍💚(From far, because my ring now sits in the school gallery for a year!)

A hand wearing an oxidized ring with iridescent 'poison fog' circling a cavern like design, with snake surrounding and guarding a green quartz within.

Fun Fact: I wanted to make my ring wearable, even after the teachers specifically mentioned that our focus should be to make the piece stand out for the competition. So, all the thorns are angled away from the finger and other than the weight and volume of the ring, it's pretty comfy to wear!