Fiddlehead Citrine Necklace

My great-grandfather, William Cross, made the original Fiddlehead ring for his daughter’s 16th birthday. The ring was 14K yellow gold and set with a green Maine tourmaline which he cut and polished. When I inherited the ring, I put it away for someday…someday when a daughter would be born.

William passed away in 1931. I was born in 1949. I never met him. I now own his jewelry store and I feel I work with him every day. William was a master mechanic, a fine jewelry maker, a fine finished hand-engraver, a gem cutter, and a gem setter. I have his tools, his jigs, I even have his original polishing machine. It’s a beauty. I also have a thousand original master models of rings he made in the teens and 1920s. Above all, it was the Fiddlehead ring he made from scratch that I cherish most. I value it for its exquisite perfection, the cutting and setting of the gem, and all the detailed hand-engraving.

I had a daughter, then four years later, another daughter. I remember thinking, at the arrival of daughter number two, that I had a problem of inheritance because there were two girls and only one ring. From time to time, I thought about it and then seriously considered it as the older one approached 16, and we gave her the ring. Then one day, as the younger daughter approached 16, it suddenly dawned on me I could make another ring. We did, and it came out so good that we made several more. It’s now 16 years later and we’ve made hundreds of this Cross original with Maine tourmaline, blue sapphire, diamonds, and rubies. It’s been an amazing ring.

My most favorite part of these ancient Cross designs is that I get to work with my great-grandfather on not only this ring but hundreds of other projects. Rarely do any of us get to go back in time to visit with the generation before, who made our lives possible. And, rarely do any of us get to hold a talisman of love from some earlier genius in our family. It’s also interesting that I feel I know William Cross well, although he had no idea that someone would be born 18 years later and would someday run his business and cherish and duplicate this ring that he had made. All the more reason we should make good choices in our lifetime, believing that 100 years later, someone will appreciate what we have done

Fern and Fiddlehead Design Books

I have several of William’s design books: alphabets, plants, trees, and one simply titled Ferns. The books are small plain-covered, grey-green. As a master hand-engraver, these were pattern books he referred to for layout and sketching designs to be engraved. I still have these books over 100 years later. I don’t expect anyone will understand why I’ve kept them.

Twenty years ago, I was in an antique bookstore and saw a three-volume set of books titled, “Choice Ferns.” The books were huge, perfectly bound, with gold leaf stamping on the green spine and covers. The edges of the pages were gold leafed as well. It’s a nice set.

Inside each book were hundreds of hand-drawn ferns of the world and detailed descriptions of the countries and places they were found. When I bought them, I thought about my great-grandfather, his love of design, and the fiddlehead ring he made. I bought the books for him even though he had passed away 70 years before. I know he would have loved this three-volume set.

Honoring Family

We all do things like this, honoring family, even people we’ve never met. Jewelry is one of the few things we may choose during our lifetime that will move through time and become cherished items for descendants we may never meet. Cars, homes, furniture are all too big to pass on the future generations. Jewelry, though, is small and packed with sentiment and meaning and can pass through time and many generations carrying with it our whispers of love to children of children we may never meet. The chair stands much less of a chance to make it through 100 years and cannot convey with clarity the meaning of family in the way jewelry can.

Why Do I Love this Ring and Necklace Design?

Because William Cross cut the original gem, designed the ring, cast the base, finished, polished, hand carved, and set the gem. It was inherited by my daughter, five generations later. We make the Fiddlehead ring 100 years later as part of an ongoing collaboration with our founder William M. Cross, and now we make the Fiddlehead necklace as well.

Fern Forest
On an Island Surrounded by Ocean

There is an island in Casco Bay called Jewel Island. It naturally has an appeal for a jeweler. I remember camping out on the island with my son. Early morning, we walked the length of the island to the submarine tower at the far end. Mid-island, we came to a forest of ferns. I remember them because my legs were bare, and in the dip and lean of the ferns, they were tickling waist-high to just below the knees. There are moments in life when the beauty and reality of certain places in nature come rushing back 20, 30, 40 years later. That morning, walking through the ferns is still vivid. I remember the tall, sturdy stalks, the pure green frothy fronds, the stillness of the middle of the island, and how the ferns swished past.

This is our nature lover’s ring called the Fiddlehead Ring. Our founder made the first ring for his 16-year-old daughter. On the hand, the rich fiddlehead engraving is set around a Honey Gold Citrine, bright, glowing gold. We make the ring in gold or silver.

Why We Love The Fiddlehead Ring and Necklace

The ferns and fiddleheads are a reminder of warm summer days, a walk in the woods, a stream running through, and ferns at the side near a blue pool. On your hand, feathery fine tracery and curls.