one of the best 500 series.

books:


	• 500 Wedding Rings: Celebrating a Classic Symbol of Commitment (500 Series) Lark Books Lark Books, 2008 - 420 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Mostly awesome

As usual with Lark books, gorgeous photos of incredible jewelry. My one complaint, and it is the same as all the other Lark jewelry books, is the inclusion of "non-wearable" and "exhibition" type pieces. Wedding rings made out of plastic or felt with weird tangly things off them is not worthy of inclusion in such a collection. I feel as if the pages taken up by the craft hour projects is such a waste. For the people out there who think completely unwearable and some, downright painful, jewelry is worthy of admiration, please Lark, save those pieces for their own volume. Other than that, the Lark books, particularly the Rings books, are my fav source of design inspiration.

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one of the best 500 series.

This is an amazing collection of work. I own all the lark 500 books - apart from 500 bracelets, which dissapointed me and 500 brooches, which I haven't seen yet. One of my fave's was 1000 rings because of its combination of outlandish and imaginative ideas, I found it very inspiring even though at that point I wasn't really constructing rings myself. However, this one is better, in my humble opinion. The wearability is much higher and more realistic and you can take this book to be 500 "wedding" rings or 500 just plain awesome rings - it doesn't matter, they are still stunning. Quite a lot more precious too.
This is, like the others, not an instruction book, there are no projects. Its a collection of inspiring works to inspire and appreciate for both jewellers and collectors. If you liked any of the 500 books, I'd be quite confident that you would really like this one - the standard seems to have leapt up a few notches.
Another lark series to look out for is the new "Masters" series. So far I have only got one, masters in gemstones. Because of the quality of this I am eagerly awaiting any others! Its amazing and goes a step further than the 500 series. Instead of just submission after submission a group of master jewellers has been selected and each chapter showcases thier work and writes a little bit about them and thier process, so in some instances this can be quite insightful into the process and methods used. Really really stunning.
(Two reviews in one here!!)

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Glorious Rings

The title for this book almost made me hesitate to purchase this, to say I am ecstatic I did is an understatement. The tag line of celebrating commitment also does not do justice. Whilst the intent is to focus on the arena of weddings, the vast majority of the rings shown could be worn by anyone at anytime, certainly not "restricted" to weddings.

A wonderful array of styles and techniques are showcased, I especially loved the use of non precious metals such as iron, set between gold - fabulous contrasts of raw, uncut stones alongside the sparkle of brilliant cut gems. All the precious metals are here of course as are the precious and semi precious gems. It was good to see a small number of non traditional materials being used such as rubber, acrylics, resins etc.

There are indeed a couple of pieces that stretch the imagination in this field, a few that are in my opion hard to be classified in the wedding/commitment category, but who are we to judge another artists vision? Simply marvel at the construction of this wonderful adornment.

Folded, Formed, Inlaid, Fabricated, Mokume Gane, Forged, Etched, the list goes on and on, every technique and style imaginable seems to be represented, best still - 95% of them are wearable.

I would go so far as to say I prefer this book to 1000 Rings, and I liked 1000 Rings a great deal. I have this book in my studio where students are free to browse through the library, to date no one has made any comment other than "I need this book"...

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Breathtaking rings

This book gives you a fascinating tour throughout a huge variety of amazing and creative rings. Either if you are a jewelry afficionado or are going to get married, this compilation is a must-have.

Love It!

I love ALL of the 500 books from Lark. They are great for inspiration and for learning new artists. I have almost the whole series!

reviews: page 1, 2

Wedding rings symbolize commitment and eternal love?but in the hands of the world?s most creative jewelers they become works of art to interpret in endlessly intriguing ways. This breathtaking book, which showcases a stunning collection of contemporary, handmade wedding bands and engagement rings for men and women, shows just how far their imaginations can go. Masterfully set diamonds stand alongside conceptual designs that reflect a cutting-edge approach, such as Etienne Perret?s ring made for two fingers. The large gems in James Kaya?s sleek platinum setting, by contrast, seem almost suspended in air; it?s the tension of the surrounding metal that holds them in place. For jewelers in search of new ideas, and those about to whisper ?I do,? these designs provide beautiful inspiration.

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