About
The word ‘diamond’ comes from the ancient Greek adamas meaning invincible and unconquerable. Since the first diamonds were discovered in India during the 9th century BC, the precious stone’s strength has been legendary. Diamond is indeed the hardest natural mineral in the world. Greek and Roman soldiers would wear diamonds into battle, believing they would be infused with the gem’s qualities of invincibility. Diamonds are April’s birthstone, and are given on 30th or 60th anniversaries.
Though we now know that diamonds are made up of pure carbon "� the same stuff that makes the graphite in your pencil and the charcoal you might use to light a fire "� diamonds have inspired many different origin stories throughout history.
The Greeks believed diamonds were teardrops from the gods. Hindus thought diamonds originated in lightning bolts. The Romans came a little closer to the truth with their belief that diamonds were shards of starlight fallen to earth. Some diamonds may have formed on asteroids in the interstellar environment, making their way to earth upon impact some millions of years ago.
Artist
Designer
Midori Ferris Wayne became a jeweler in part because of a passion for antique jewelry. While she was an employee of the Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Art department at a Boston museum, Ferris-Wayne became fascinated with the jewelry of those civilizations. She began creating custom pieces using broken or unwearable vintage jewelry, and ever since has made it her mission to create new and artful designs form reclaimed materials and ideas.
Midori Ferris-Wayne creates her earthy, organic designs in her studio in Sonoma County, California, overlooking rolling hills of vineyards and apple orchards.
