Saw-Pierced Overlaid And Carved Egyptian Ibex

Saw-Pierced Overlaid And Carved Egyptian Ibex

$2,800

Saw-Pierced Overlaid and Carved Egyptian Ibex with textured background. Inspired when customer saw reposed Ibex on a chair found in King Tut tomb,and brought me a book from the collection when it toured the USA.,to work from.Boston Globe used a photo of it in a Sunday Globe artical done on me in April,1987.

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Ken Spencer

Ken Spencer

Ken Spencer Goldsmith Studio

Warren, OH
Member since: 2012
5.0
58 Maker Reviews
  • Long-time member

    A Maker who has been a valued part of this community for several years.

  • Fast shipper

    Customers say that this Maker ships promptly after completing a project.

  • Great service

    This Maker has consistently demonstrated excellence in craftsmanship and customer service.

I was approved to be in the Custom Made network of makers in August 2012. and only work exclusively through them.
I have 48 years experience as a hand manufacturing at the bench Goldsmith and Jeweler making each of the pieces you can see in my 9 page portfolio of listings once by hand, with macro close up photos sent daily through the transcript provided by Custom Made.
Many pieces pictured there have 5 extra photos of the piece at 5 different stages of being made.
I've never had to cast any thing, nor bought manufactured cast parts to assemble, to then call that "custom" or "customized"
My unique Goldsmith skills were acquired at 19 years of age in Boston. I was taught to be a Silversmith in Maine, NH, and Cape Cod, with Fire-sign Silversmiths. I was later offered an apprenticeship with Platinum worker, John Mulligan, of Mulligan & Hone Jewelers of Charles Street in Boston. I then passed up on a scholarship to go to the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts…figuring I could make a better living as a Goldsmith than as a Watercolorist.
In 1978 I opened Signet Custom Jewelers in Harvard Square Cambridge and was written-up in the April 1987 Boston Sunday Globe by Mopsey Strange Kennedy.
I operated it for 10 years until due to sudden family deaths I returned home to Ohio in 1988 when I went to work as a special order jeweler for a Tiffany Trade Account store near Cleveland, Schreibman Jewelers for 9 years, then I worked 13 years for King's of New Castle….
This diversity of experience and training is part of why my work is unlike other makers in this country who are limited to doing only wax casting and Cad-cam wax carving that also gets cast..
I am offering my customers a chance to commission a custom handmade artwork using the unique self-taught Goldsmith skills of drilling and sawing, called saw-piercing, that I uniquely combined with 3-D hand carving which I do with traditional palm push gravers, producing pieces that are more detailed, are impossible to cast, and pieces unlike any seen elsewhere….
I only use rolling mill hardened precious metal sheets that I then attach a exact-size millimeter graph paper drawing to. Then I drill, saw, and 3-D hand-carve, or sometimes I've made multi-piece, multi-metal, multi-color gold assemblages, then carve…taking photos of each step.
Each piece is a signed, quality stamped, original artwork, with time-dated progress photos sent daily through the Custom Made transcript .
By allowing you to see your piece being made by my unique Goldsmith process from drawings to completion, you get exactly what you want and assurance that your piece is the only one like it anywhere.
In July 2012, MJSA Journal did a 2-page article on me doing a 5-piece assembled and carved handmade replica of a 1-carat diamond ring from 1900 using 16 pictures I wrote captions for explaining my process.
Now I work for myself, I'm 67, retired, and am a "Freelance" Goldsmith…still using my original West German jewelers tools from 1969…a purely independent Cottage Industry, still pursuing my Goldsmith art and striving for the level of workmanship of the 'Old-Timers'…I'm getting closer with each piece.
I love the customer's ideas and requests that I have fun figuring out how to create from scratch…
Each always different from the last.

  • PG

    Patrick Gotschall

    For Patrick's pendant
    5.0

    Ken did a wonderful job throughout the process. From the very beginning, he articulated the kind of work that he does and made great suggestions on how to make what I had entered on the "generic" custom made form really come to life in such a beautiful way. I believe I got great value for my money and he was very good about keeping me up to date on the status of the project. We were able to collaborate through messages and pictures to ensure that the final design was just what I wanted. I would absolutely work with him again and encourage others to do so as well.

  • AK

    Ahmad keshk

    For Men's Custom Ring
    5.0

    Very good communication. The product is of very high quality. The workmanship is excellent.

  • KD

    Kelly Daniels

    For necklace design
    5.0

    I had a wonderful experience working with Ken. He did an amazing job with our request, and we couldn't be happier. We gave him a sketch of what we wanted and he did a beautiful job of turning it into a work of art. He was great to work with, was very flexible, receptive to all my questions and requests, and was reasonable priced. I would recommend him to all my friends and coworkers.

  • JK

    john karnes

    For Sterling 50 Cent Size Celtic-Shield Sawed-Pierced Carved, Engraved
    5.0

    I never leave reviews but must make an exception for the wonderful experience we had working with Ken Spencer who made a one-of-a-kind solid gold college pendant for our daughter's recent graduation. Ken made the proposal and design process easy and fun. His creativity turned our idea into a beautiful reality. We were totally confident of what we were getting and how much it would cost. Once the work began, Ken updated us daily, sometimes more often, and usually with wonderful pictures of the progress. At the conclusion of the project, Ken bundled all of the photos together into a keepsake CD showing every step in his creation. When the finished pennant finally arrived, it absolutely took our breath away. Pictures did not do it justice. It was perfect in every way and exactly as we had envisioned it. The artistry and craftsmanship are absolutely amazing, creating an heirloom that will be in the family for generations. I would highly recommend Ken Spencer to anyone considering a handmade piece of gold jewelry, And my wife and I are already making plans to consult with Ken on another project.

  • Jacob HIllJH

    Jacob HIll

    For 18 Karat 3-D Carved Roses,Buds,Leaves,And Stems Band
    5.0

    Ken is great, communicated with us the whole way through the project, and my fiancee loves the ring! Highly recommended

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