Gary Dawson Designs
  • Home
  • Custom Jewelry Design
  • Shop Jewelry
  • Small Parts Engineering
    • Hat Making Tools
  • Contact
  • Blog & Updates
  • Reuse & Recycle
  • About
  • Real Jewelry Real People Real Stories

Revisiting Janus, a Perfect Juxtaposition

4/21/2015

0 Comments

 
First posted on August 7th, 2011 in this blog, the ongoing Janus project has developed a life of its own as one of the most popular designs I offer. The Janus charm featured in the movie The Tourist with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie was the original inspiration for this project.  I haven’t kept the best records going back that far so I don’t have exacting info but my version of the Janus design has shipped to many far-flung locations in Europe, Asia and Australia over the past few years!
Since I elaborate on the development of the design in that 2011 post, I won’t do it again here. If you haven’t seen that post and are interested, you can use the blog’s search feature using “coupla” as a search term and get right to it.
Earlier this month I got a call from Cathryn Feely (name used with her permission) in Southern California asking about the possibility of a two-toned version of the Janus pendant/charm. This is something I had thought about before but had not yet implemented. This is the story about that implementation and it is a perfect example of the juxtaposition of old and new technologies…the idea of “appropriate technology” being one of my current focus points.
Picture
In working with Cathryn, the first step was to do a concept rendering. For this I imported an existing photo of the pendant in Sterling Silver into Rhinoceros, my 3D design application and simply superimposed a circle of yellow beads around the perimeter.
​
Picture
We agreed that it looked pretty cool so far! We then proceeded to discuss the idea of also making the connection jump-ring and bail gold. Using a fantastic little (and free) application called Zsurf I was able to create a hightfield-difference surface of the Janus image and use that instead of the photo to create the rendering above.
Picture
Then, by trimming an injection-wax version of my original Janus
carving, and printing the bead ring with bail connector on my trusty B9Creator®, I was able to show Cathryn a live version of our progress.
Upon receiving Cathryn’s enthusiastic go-ahead, I cast the two components separately, the trimmed Janus faces in Platinaire® (a Sterling Silver alloy containing 5% Platinum) and bead ring and bail in a warm-toned 14K yellow gold. Mating the two with a laser tack-weld to insure perfect alignment and then soldering with silver solder resulted in this finished piece!
Picture
This two-toned Janus is now part of my ongoing offering and can be found here on the Gary Dawson Jewelry Design website. Juxtaposition isn’t only one of my favorite words, it can be a useful way to think about design.  Maybe when it comes down to it, it *is* design!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author
    ​

    I have an intimate familiarity with both the materials with which I work and the process of working with people to create meaningful designs.
    These passions, and my interest in utilizing appropriate technology to manage my business and connections, inform my current business model
     
    ​ 
    And...
    I love to write.  I've been frequently published, mostly within the jewelry industry, but on topics as wide-ranging motor-home reviews to metallurgical science.  

    Oh yeah, I love to cook and eat well so you will see me diverting to food and travel topics here too!  Have fun reading and recommend me to your friends!

    Archives

    July 2020
    May 2019
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011

    Categories
    ​

    All

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • Custom Jewelry Design
  • Shop Jewelry
  • Small Parts Engineering
    • Hat Making Tools
  • Contact
  • Blog & Updates
  • Reuse & Recycle
  • About
  • Real Jewelry Real People Real Stories