Branding Day

19/21 Jewelry is my personal creative collection that are one-of-a-kind pieces using an early 19th century method of collodion and bringing it to life in the 21st century - hence, “19/21.” Each piece is magical in its own way and represents all things that are lasting and beautiful.

The shape of this piece of polished black agate is so interesting! I shot a picture of a unique pen & ink drawing by western artist, Joe Milazzo. His work is stunning and I wanted to create a western piece that had a rough look just like it has survived the 1800’s. The image has so much texture and has several varnish layers to protect it on the surface of the agate. The cowboy sitting on his horse watching cattle being branded is iconic of the western culture. I fell in love with making this and hope you love it too! 24” silver plated chain with lightweight shiny non-tarnishing aluminum bail. Measures approx 1 1/4” x 2 1/2”.

This is a hand crafted, one-of-a-kind 1800’s collodion process. This rare process on metal is called a tintype - on glass it is called an ambrotype and on stone (though I did not coin the phrase) I am calling it an “Agatype”. This piece of polished agate was shot directly onto the stone with my large format camera and is incredible.

These little gems are definitely labor intensive and no two are alike. If you are interested in a piece, I suggest to snatch it up before it is gone because there will never be another one like it again. The artistry of tintypes, ambrotypes and on stone can be intricate and intense. Chemicals often can react differently each and every time, therefore, giving each piece beautiful and unique attributes with perfect imperfections. Small inclusions, chemical sweeps or blemishes are a part of the charm of each piece and come individually signed.

I photograph each piece using my 10x10 Chamonix large format camera in studio and take much time and effort setting up each shot. I use an early 1900’s brass lens that enables me to capture such magical “gem” sized images. I shoot the image, develop it in my darkroom, fix and varnish every gem individually. Each one has an iridescent quality due to the embedded silver and looks curious at different angles.

Be sure to use a soft, 100% cotton cloth or microfiber to wipe and care for your jewelry and treat it kindly for years and years to come. They are beautifully exquisite and can be handed down for generations.

Each piece comes with it’s own suede pouch and cleaning cloth.