Saw-Pierced Overlaid And Carved Egyptian Ibex

Saw-Pierced Overlaid And Carved Egyptian Ibex

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.

  • AR

    Ashley Rigsby

    For Crown Of Thorns Ring
    5.0

    I received the wedding band for my husband today. It is gorgeous! I absolutely love the work that Ken created. I know that when my husband gets home from work tonight, he is going to be excited. Thank you so much Ken for helping to create this custom ring for my husband.

  • Ryan JohnstonRJ

    Ryan Johnston

    For Personalized Sterling Silver Money Clips
    5.0

    Ken did an amazing job! He was great at documenting the process and I knew what I was getting was hand made. He made me a money clip that very few people could make for me. I will be having Ken make me more things in the future!

  • TM

    Tom Miller

    For New Project
    5.0

    Ken was an absolute pleasure to work with. He was great at keeping me posted during the making of the ring, sent along progress photos, and was easy to talk to. The final work was gorgeous and I was thrilled to receive it. In today's world, it is rare to find such an impeccable craftsmen. I highly recommend him to anyone in need of high-quality and hand-crafted work.

  • KC

    Kevin Cole

    For Recycled Sterling Silver And 14k Yellow Gold Inlaid Two-Tone Wedding Band
    5.0

    Ken made custom wedding bands for us and they turned out beautifully. He communicated with us each step of the way and it was great seeing the progress. He made sure we were happy with the finished product and we will treasure our rings eternally. I would definitely work with him again.

  • CS

    Christy Sweet

    For Wedding band to match ring
    5.0

    Ken was great to work with. He thoroughly communicated every step of the project's completion. The finished ring is beautiful and fits my wedding ring perfectly. I can't believe I have a custom made ring! Ken is an incredibly talented artist.

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