Back to Your Roots
Behind the design of Tracey Beale's family-tree–inspired Legacy Ring
By Tina Snyder
Most of designer Tracey Beale’s jewelry is story-based. Inspired by ancient Egyptian artifacts and articles of adornment, she strives to emulate their mystery in her modern relics. With the Legacy Ring, Beale sought to capture the essence of a family lineage through the generations.
“Every family tree has roots, and those qualities and characteristics continue to be passed on generation after generation,” she says. “I grasped onto the imagery of tree roots to showcase the resiliency that comes with a family legacy and translated that lineage in metal.”
Of utmost importance to Beale was fabricating the Legacy Ring design from one continuous length of wire, representing the concept of a single family lineage. To begin, she wrapped 20 gauge copper wire around a mandrel in a wavy circular pattern at about a size 4. She then used a sewing technique to weave the wire in and out of the wave, removing it from the mandrel to anneal. Using pliers, she curved, twisted, and bent the ring, hammering and stretching as she formed it from the single length of wire to the desired size.
Tracey Beale
Baltimore