Ocean Blues, Silver Details & a Little True Crime

There are certain stones that immediately take me somewhere the second I look at them.

For me, Larimar is one of those stones.

Every single time I see it, I think of the ocean.

Maybe it’s the soft blue and white coloring. Maybe it’s the way the matrix can look like sunlight moving across shallow water, sea foam rolling onto the beach, or little pockets of deeper blue beneath the surface. And knowing that Larimar comes from the Dominican Republic only makes that connection to the Caribbean feel even stronger.

So when I sat down with these two Larimar stones, I already knew I wanted this piece to feel a little different.

Lighthearted. Coastal. Fun.

But still very much Golden Rune Jewelry.

Stepping Outside My Usual Box

Larimar isn’t a stone I reach for nearly as often as turquoise, which was part of what made this piece so much fun to work on.

And the stones weren’t the only thing that pushed me a little outside my usual routine.

I also started pulling out silver accents I either rarely use—or had never used on one of my pieces before.

Shells.

A starfish.

A sand dollar.

And that little turtle.

Basically, once I started, the entire piece decided it was going to the beach whether I had planned on it or not.

I laid everything out around the stones and started moving the accents around until the composition began to feel right. That's one of my favorite parts of designing. Sometimes I'll move one tiny piece of silver half an inch and suddenly the whole design clicks.

The two Larimar stones became the center of it all, and the silver accents started telling the rest of the story.

Larimar Really Does Look Like the Ocean

One of the reasons Larimar is so recognizable is that beautiful mixture of blue, turquoise, white, and sometimes greenish tones running through the stone.

It’s also a pretty special material geographically.

Natural Larimar is found in the Dominican Republic, and that limited origin is part of what makes it so fascinating. When you look at those swirling blues and whites knowing where it comes from, the whole beach-and-ocean association makes even more sense.

These particular stones have so much movement in them.

One has those gorgeous concentrated blue markings, while the other has softer cloudy areas and natural matrix running through it. They're different, but together they work.

I didn't want to cover that up with too much silverwork.

I wanted to build around them.

Meanwhile, in My Headphones...

Now here's the slightly ridiculous part of this very happy, beach-inspired piece.

While I'm sitting at my bench adding seashells, a turtle, a starfish, and all these cheerful little ocean details...

I'm listening to a true crime podcast through my headphones.

Because apparently nothing says sunshine, turquoise water, and tropical vacation quite like listening to the details of a murder investigation.

That is pretty much a normal day at my bench.

From the outside, it probably looked like I was peacefully creating this whimsical little ocean-inspired ring.

Inside my headphones?

Absolute chaos.

And somehow, the combination works for me.

There’s something about having a podcast playing while I work that lets part of my brain disappear into the story while my hands concentrate on the silver. Hours can pass without me realizing it.

By the time an episode—or sometimes several episodes—is over, there’s suddenly a finished piece sitting in front of me.

The Back Deserved Some Attention Too

One of my favorite details on this ring actually isn't visible when you're wearing it.

I stamped the backplate and added details to the band because I love the idea that handmade jewelry should have little surprises built into it.

The front gets all the attention, of course.

But when someone turns one of my pieces over, I still want there to be something interesting to discover.

That includes the wide stamped band on this one. It's substantial, it's detailed, and it gives the whole piece the heavier handcrafted feel I wanted to balance all of those playful ocean accents on the front.

That's one of the things I continue to enjoy more and more as I grow as a silversmith—thinking about the entire piece, not just what you'll see in the first photograph.

A Little Different. And I Love That.

This ring feels different from a lot of the pieces I've made lately.

And I think that's exactly why I like it.

I love turquoise. I will probably always be drawn to turquoise.

But every once in a while, it's refreshing to grab a stone I don't work with nearly as often and let it take me somewhere completely different creatively.

This time, Larimar took me straight to the beach.

With shells, a turtle, a starfish, a sand dollar...

…and, naturally, a true crime podcast playing in the background.

Because apparently that's my version of a relaxing day by the ocean.

Until next time, Legends—

Wear your legend.

— Lauren
Golden Rune Jewelry