Early this year our Soundwave Ring was featured along with other unique personal rings on Buzzfeed's " 17 wedding rings that go above and beyond" . Check it out here:

https://www.buzzfeed.com

The author seems to think that your encrypted sound wave message can not be read. In her words: " ....because seriously, there is no real way for them to know what you said."  Guess what? Sound waves can be read!

There is no question about how instrumental Alexander Graham Bell research in the field of sound, sound waves and communication was. Did you know he worked closely with the deaf? It was his goal to teach the deaf how to perfect their speech. His early research included drawing sound waves on smoked glass by tracing their vibrations. He word use the image of the sound wave to teach the deaf how to pronounce the word properly.

 has done some fascinating research into images and sound and has successful been able to play back old recordings which can be heard on his blog post:   "how to play back a picture of a sound wave" .

And of course there is an app for that! This app can read images of sound waves and translate them into sounds:  http://sploid.gizmodo.com/watch-this-magical-app-translate-analog-images-into-sou-1580732709

While each sound wave is unique to the individual the all have defining properties. After working with sound waves and people in love for over 15 years I can identify the the words " I love you" from looking at the image of the sound wave. People who study linguistics are actually taught how to read the variations in sound waves to identify vowel sounds and consonants. For example vowel sounds are elongated and consonants are tall and sharp peaks. This Soundwave Necklace says "Love". You can see how the hard letter "L" sound is a higher peak then the "ove" sound.

love-sound-wave-jewelry

For those of you who do not feel like studying linguistics to read your Custom Soundwave Ring rest assured all Soundwave Jewellery comes packaged with an audio CD so you can still hear your loved ones message.

custom sound wave mens jewelry dog tag

 

 

It was a pleasure to welcome back Milo's parents into the studio to create a second piece for this dog tag necklace. It features the voice of their third child. (Don't worry the second one wasn't forgotten! I was blessed enough to have made a piece for Milo's mother as well.)

I wrote about having little Milo in the studio for one of my first blog posts back in 2012.
https://soundwavejewellery.com/baby-milos-first-words/

I love making this type of Soundwave Jewellery because I feel it is truly something to be cherished as a family heirloom and something can be passed on in future years.

Every parent waits patiently for their baby's first words. In general baby's start talking between the ages of 12-18 month.  It is not uncommon for  baby's first words to be momma or dada.  Science has linked this occurrence to sound patterns.

http://www.livescience.com/32191-why-are-mama-and-dada-a-babys-first-words.html

Check out these funny first words:

http://www.parents.com/baby/development/talking/moms-speak-out-on-babys-hilarious-first-words/

What were your baby's firsts words? Or maybe they haven't spoken them yet? If so get your smart phone ready so you can capture a piece of their history!

Custom Soundwave Dog Tags and Custom Soundwave Necklaces are perfect ways to commemorate the occasion.

Custom jewellery design is a special way to create a truly one of a kind piece to celebrate meaningful occasions in your life. In this age of disposable mediums and instant gratification it is nice to invest in a process which requires you to really think about what occasion you are commemorating and how to best express yourself.

One of the most interesting aspects of creating custom jewellery is working with clients visions. Sometimes clients help me to think outside of the box and look at things from a different perspective. This allows me to break out of my cycle and helps to expand my own creativity.

Design options are offered to help clients with their end results but unique suggestions are always appreciated. Being trained as a classical goldsmith give me lots of tools to work with in order to achieve clients visions.

I like to think of Soundwave Jewellery as a collaboration between me and the client. After all without your voice there would be no sound wave to work with!

The beauty in custom jewellery design is seeing all the ideas come to life. The best part is knowing you nailed and hearing the client say "Its perfect!".

Check out the collection when you are ready to create your custom piece of soundwave jewellery, of course your creative suggestions are always welcome!

Custom Soundwave Jewelry

This special little dog tag is made for an young man attending his parents weddings. The bride and groom will be wearing soundwave rings and wanted a little something special for him.

In this picture I am using a brass brush to brush this silver dog tag in between applying layers of liver of sulphur ( which makes the sound wave turn black). It is important to brush the metal to insure even coverage and long lasting of the black surface treatment.

All pieces of Soundwave Jewellery are made with longevity in mind. It is important to me to celebrate life experiences and achievements with something meaningful which will stand the test of time and not go out of fashion.

There will be times in this young man's life wear he may wear his dog dog everyday, there will be times when he pulls it out for special occasion and there will be years which he doesn't even look at it. However it is not something that he will throw away or easily part with. It is a special gift from his mom that he will cherish for his life.

This sterling silver Soundwave Bracelet is a real beauty.

The cuff bracelets take a lot of work to complete but when they are finished its really worth it. They truly are unique pieces of art.

This is a sterling silver bracelet is inset with palladium. Palladium is a grey metal and silver is a bright white metal. This gives a nice subtle contrast between the wave and the polished outside.

The pieces are all run through a magnetic tumbler. This is a different tumbler then the first tumbler used. The first tumbler hardens the metal after soldering or casting. This second tumble has smaller shot which can make its way into the small crevasses of the sound wave.

It brightens up the sound wave and adds a texture which makes the sound wave sparkle like snow on a sunny winters days!

I have started a new collection! This is a sneek peak of the first piece in the new Soundwave Jewelry roster: "Love Necklace"

In order to get the colour inside the sound waves of the soundwave jewellery I create I use a process called electroplating. In the jewellery industry we simply call it plating. Plating uses an electronic current to coat one metal in another metal. In this picture I am getting these necklaces ready for plating.

Pieces need to be nice and clean in order for the second metal to adhere to the first metal. They need to be free of all grease and dirt. Part of the process to get them nice and clean is the use of the ultrasonic cleaner. This is a machine that uses sound waves to clean grease and dirt off the surface of metal. Soundwaves cleaning Soundwave Jewelry !! I love it

Working at the bench!

While it may look like my pinky finger is ready to casually hold a tea biscuit, in reality it is helping to keep my hand steady. Filing metal requires pressure. It is not soft and malleable like clay, you need to put some strength behind it. As I am pushing the file into this ring I am also pushing my hand against the bench pin. This helps to stabilize the ring so I can out some pressure on it and file away. My little finger is up in the air to help with the balance of the whole procedure.

Every action requires balance.

Creating using our hands reminds us of the importance of process. As we advance through the process of anything we see improvement. We learn techniques to make things more efficient and more precise. We refine our process by discovering ways to create balance.

Balance is what allows is to stand on one foot effortlessly. It is why sports professionals, musicians, artists and teachers make things look easy. It is balance that is the key to achieving excellence. To create balance in a part of your life you feel it is missing mindfully focus on your process and strive for excellence.

Continuing the process of creating this cuff bracelet. Once the piece is cut from the silver sheet it is then filed on all side to even out the saw marks. The two short sides are filed at 90 degree angles parallel to each other. The piece is then heated to make sure the metal is soft enough to bend. This process is called annealing. It is then bent into a "D" like shape. The two short ends that were filed perfectly straight need to meet each other. If they do not meet exactly your solder seem will be weak. This might cause the piece to split open during the rounding phase. When making jewellery it is important that each stage is done correctly and with precision and care. If not then the job will become more difficult in the later stages. As in life it is important to set a good foundation to build off of. Only then can we expect to achieve the real essence of truth, beauty and excellence.
#SoundwaveJewellery #excellence #beauty #truth#foundation #howitsmade #handmade #process#studiolife #craftsmanship #madewithlove#torontojewellery #design #art

Oops! I made this ring a half size too small. Mistakes happen but it is important to know the proper way to fix them.

The are a few ways of sizing a ring. Some rings can be stretched by hammering them against a steel mandrel. This leaves hammer marks out the outside of the ring which need to be filed, sanded and re-polished.  That technique is not an option here with this beautiful soundwave already engraved on the outside, hammering it would surely damage the design.

In order to achieve this sizing I needed to grind it out from the inside using my favourite titanium rotary file. It is quite aggressive and created that big pile of metal shavings! These shaving tend to get stuck in your hands like little splinters.

It sounds very luxurious to have splitters of gold in your hands but in reality the really hurt if don't pick them out with tweezers right away. Luckily goldsmiths always have tweezers around. They are used to pick up hot metal when soldering, position delicate design elements and sort through and examine stones. I usually use my prized stone tweezers for this job. These tweezer are only used for stones therefore they are sharp and most importantly clean.

As with all jewellery techniques it's important to be patient and go slow and steady. You want to make sure you are removing material evenly so the walls of the rings stay the same thickness all the way around. This requires a steady hand and a gentle touch.

Once the correct size is reached a hand file is used to smooth out the deep marks the rotary file has created. Then three or four grits of sandpaper are used to prepare the ring for polishing. Polishing involves two or three polishing compounds which leave a greasy film on the surface of the metal. In between polishing compounds it is important to clean your piece so you do not contaminated your polishing buffs. Cleaning is done using an ultrasonic cleaner, it actually uses soundwaves to remove the dirt and greasy from the ring.

When polishing is completed the ring is steamed cleaned with a machine which uses heat and pressure to create steam. This removes any residue from the surface of the ring and steams away water marks so the ring is ready for presentation!

 

SOUNDPIECES was the first line of jewellery I created. Before I started working with sound waves directly I was working with other motifs of music culture in order to record history. It started in 1999 when I decided to cast the 45 adaptor in silver and wear it as a necklace. 

 'Soundpieces' has definitely taken a back seat to 'Soundwave'.  It is a collection which is full of untapped potential. It will require work put into order. However I am waiting for the day I get a chance to relaunch it.

I'm not sure when I defined it as a collection but this is one of the many artist statements that accompanied it.

 Soundpieces is a line of jewellery that uses motifs inspired by contemporary music culture.  Its purpose is to communicate tradition, record history, promote unity, and give individuals a way of expressing their identity.

Cultures are precious, helping us define ourselves and shaping our relationship with others.   Members of a society rely on symbols to structure their thoughts, express their values and form their identity.  These cultural markers provide the limits of their customs and traditions.

Soundpieces uses the traditional goldsmithing techniques of casting, wax carving and hand fabrication to remove objects from their original environment redefining what makes them precious. Viewing forms out of context provides the object with a venue for further study.  Questioning its placement solidifies an object in time and records its relevance to society today. The subtleness of these pieces allows the wearer to communicate commitment towards their culture.  The recognition of these objects creates a bond between the wearer and the admirer, helping people to connect on a more intimate level.

With the racing pace of today's technology many musical mediums are quickly rendered obsolete. These pieces make reference to the impermanence of our society and define a culture using a visual language. Combining these symbols with precious metal transforms them from disposable objects into cultural artifacts, they will not be forgotten and will continue to arouse interest, trigger a memory or become a learning experience.  Creating tribute to these mediums preserves them for years to come. Future generations can study these pieces, their design process and materials to draw a conclusion of the values present in today’s society.

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