Simplicity: Ice Flower Round

18 Jul 2019By P. TorracaDesigns, Journal

I’ve become fascinated with simple gemstone designs. There is something amazing about how just a few well placed facets create a complexity of reflection. That’s the challenge of my Simplicity Series of designs: defining an outline and eye-catching face-up with the fewest facets possible. For my Ice Flower design, I chose to stick with the … Read More

Charybdis Square

18 Jun 2019By P. TorracaDesigns, Gemcutting

The two mythical sea monsters, Charybdis and Scyllia, opposed Odysseus as he tried to cross the Strait of Messina. Some scholars now believe Charybdis was actually a large whirlpool, a true monster for real life sailors. I’ve always like the idea of a sea monster (being an avowed landlubber), but found myself thinking about whirlpools … Read More