It didn't take me long to realize that being a master goldsmith isn't just about working gold into something beautiful. It's also about working with jewels and precious metals to create one of a kind pieces. More than jeweler, a goldsmith learns and works with, the properties of the metal and the stones.
Apex Peak Fest gave me a chance to stop by Virtuoso Jewels, a shop that's been closed during my other visits to downtown Apex. There, in a small shop upstairs I found a working studio -- there was no doubt about it -- the tools, the hammers, the workbench. Everything from this goldsmith, Larry, is done in the shop, the design, the creation and, should it become necessary, the repair. He has several projects working at any one time.
There are three small display cases of work, two are his, a third is from Sheila, another artist who creates unusual pieces replicating old techniques. The cases displayed, among other things, a gorgeous opal and tourmaline pendant and for me, some wonderful black pieces I later learned were blackened silver drawn with gold. I never really considered how beautiful silver could be when it's tarnished, although mine doesn't blacken on its own nearly as perfectly as this.
Still, it was a good reminder of appreciating something unusual. read more