Danielle Cadef | The Worlds Within

Artist: Danielle Cadef, North Carolina Materials: sterling and fine silver, recycled 14k gold, lodolite, aquamarine, tourmaline, sunstone, sapphire, topaz, Mexican fire opalSize: 8.5 Artist Statement: What started out as an impulse buy of a handful of lodolite quartz, sparked the inspiration for my battle ring this year. They reminded me of algae covered rivers and sargassum choked beaches. I wanted to create a little aquatic world around the lodolite, selected one of my favorites out of the bunch and started sketching. With the ocean always at the forefront of my mind, I wanted to make something that was a little bit of sea treasure, a little mermaid’s talisman, and a reminder of the worlds within. The biggest challenge was to create a removable setting at the top (that could be worn as a pendant) and still have a wearable ring without the top stone. Inside the setting are topaz and sapphire embedded in a pebbly silver cave. The outside of the ring is textured and encrusted with vario