Cornelia Goldsmith TRANSFORMATION Creating Iceberg was one of the greatest challenges of my skills to date. What the project really did for me, however, was to reinforce a deep commitment to using my craft to convey important messages with passion and determination and to always keep searching for solutions. I worked over a two-year period from the conception and planning stages, to researching new techniques, and finally in the technical execution of the piece in 900 Platinum. While making the ring I encountered several stumbling blocks on my path to realize my vision. The ring represents a big development for me, both artistically and technically, and it was necessary to put the project away and return to it several times, sometimes in total frustration and despair. Iceberg symbolizes TRANSFORMATION, specifically, the melting of ice into water, and is meant to be a commentary on the challenges of planet Earth’s changing environment and the role that our species plays in that change. It also represents a sort of transformation for me personally, both artistically and also because I felt I had traveled a great distance … from conception to realization of the piece. Frozen water in the form of an iceberg is symbolized by a stunning 36 carat artisan-cut blue topaz. Within the underbelly of this magnificent stone are what appealed to me as air pockets …“bubbles” from beneath the ice. In my mind it was a clear suggestion of Earth’s warming oceans. Contained in the upper portions of the ring shank is my attempt to represent fractured shards of ice breaking away from the larger ice mass by stacking many individual, elongated triangles of platinum, each set with blue and white diamond mêlée. One of the main technical challenges in making Iceberg was to individually apply and solder each shard of platinum to the massive ring shank. 50