Jewelry of all sorts is often referred to as romantic, but few jewels know romance like the creations of New York-based designer Hannah Blount.
While buying someone a gift of jewelry can be romantic, Blount’s jewels are inherently so: idyllic, charming, picturesque. Consult your thesaurus on the word romantic and you’ll find a list of perfectly fitting descriptors.
Her latest additions feature hand-etched illustrations in India ink on one-of-kind gemstones—a modern twist on the old sailors’ engraving pastime of scrimshaw.
It’s no wonder the sea has nostalgic qualities for Blount, as she grew up on the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, the daughter of a fisherman and a seamstress. With each piece in her Scrimshaw line created meticulously by hand, there’s a distinctly personal aura to the art—it feels like you could be peering into the jeweler’s sketchbook.
JCK talked with Blount about the scrimshaw process, her inspiration behind the pieces, and why she favors mermaids.
How did you learn scrimshaw, and was it difficult?
I grew up with scrimshaw as part of my island’s history and thought turquoise would be an interesting canvas for it. It’s also my favorite stone. So I started with a setting tool and a Sharpie to see what would happen. It didn’t come out great, but it did work, which prompted me to research the proper tool, [which is a] scribe, and ink, India ink—which is much better! Since then, I have practiced my way to where I am.
It is, and it isn’t [difficult]. The process is simple: You scratch the stone with a sharp tool, wipe it with ink, and then polish it. The scratch remains dark—scratch after scratch, line after line, you build an image, hoping you don’t mess up, and thus have to start over. I draw the illustration with pencil and then take up the scribe, but the small details—the shadows and the depth of line, etc.—are all done by eye.
The difficulty is in the illustration, which takes a very different skill than jewelry making—something I have enjoyed immensely. And while drawing is not my specialty, I did learn the basics in art school.
How did you decide which images to use for which gemstones?
I always let the stone tell me what to do. Sometimes the stone has specific matrices or inclusions that immediately indicate a design, working its way into the sketch so that you can’t tell what is ink and what is stone. Other times the color, texture, size, and so on, along with my mood, will be the determining factor. It is exciting to think of jewelry differently, a 2D art form, a wearable canvas.
The ocean has always inspired me; it was my earliest landscape and my family’s livelihood. It is also connected to scrimshaw’s history in the whaling industry. I also love anatomical studies like lover’s eyes and hands—while these two inspirations seem disjointed, they have the same haunting romance as the ocean.
What has been consumer reaction to the new collection?
It has been great. Unfortunately these pieces take so long that it takes a lot of work to keep up. I try to make a new batch every year, though I wish to do more. Each one takes me anywhere from one to 15 hours.
Do you have a favorite?
I love the mermaids. There is something so romantic about mermaids, and the naked female form is an empowering symbol for women when rendered by a woman. It is an appreciation of our bodies in a way we were, culturally, never taught.
Top: Shoal Waters scrimshaw necklace in turquoise with oxidized silver and 14k yellow gold, $1,900; Hannah Blount
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
