Every once in awhile I get a request that requires less computer work, and more catalog flipping. I know it sounds strange, but some designs just work better if you buy pre-made parts, and assemble them. This is one of those pieces.

This client contacted me because she wanted a gift to give a friend that had the friend’s children’s birthstones (two emeralds.) She thought she wanted a pendant but wasn’t sure. The big thing was that she didn’t have a ton of money to spend.

When I get requests under a certain dollar amount, I often go to my catalogs. I have several sources where I can buy pre-made parts that I can put together to create a new design. This works especially well with pendants because you can get moving parts this way and you would never guess that the parts are pre-made.

I sent the customer several ideas based on different price ranges and different shapes.

She decided that she liked the circle design with two pieces. We decided to use natural emeralds, real diamonds, and sterling silver.

The jeweler put everything together and suggested that the bottom circle piece have a sandblast finish. They thought that the sandblast finish would wear better since it was likely that the top circle would scratch the bottom circle.

I think the sandblast finish added depth to the piece and the diamonds were just enough sparkle next to the deep green of the emeralds. What a great gift to be able to give a friend!

A couple weeks ago I was watching Good Morning America (I know, I’m such a suburban mom) and they were talking about “push presents.” I’ve talked about the idea of giving a mother jewelry after the birth of a child but I never knew there was an actual name for it! And such an obnoxious name at that. I have some new opinions on the topic after watching the story on GMA and also after having a baby myself.

The story on GMA had some really ridiculous examples of actual “push presents” women received for having a baby. One woman they talked to had a diamond bracelet her husband bought her after having their baby. They also had examples from Hollywood of celebrities spending thousands and thousands of dollars on presents for women having babies. I think their examples were completely crazy.

I think I said before that if I had a baby, I wanted a present. I’ve totally changed my mind. The baby is my gift. My husband’s support through pregnancy and his help in taking care of our son is my gift. I don’t need him to spend money on me that we could put into a college fund for our baby. Of course, I am in a little bit of a different situation than most people.

I happened to have a diamond baby (born in April.) He was supposed to be born in May which would have been Emerald but both worked for me. I liked the idea of May baby because I have an Emerald from my grandmother

but April works too because I have a nice diamond pendant that I wear all the time.

I don’t need to spend any money to have pieces with my child’s birthstone. I also have an extensive collection of stones that would cover pretty much any month. Even if only had the stone, I don’t think I would have pushed to have piece made right after my son’s birth.

I think mothers’ jewelry is very fun and special but I think it has to be sensible and I don’t think it should be a reward for having a baby. I will probably wait until I am finished having children and maybe even until we have a lot of money saved for their college funds before I spend any money on myself. Having a baby should be the reason for having a baby, not diamonds.

I’m not usually a huge birthstone person. I don’t really believe that the stone for each month have a special meaning and can reflect a person’s personality if they were born in that month. But I do think they are a fun way to represent your loved ones in jewelry.

Topaz is the original birthstone for November. Usually one would use yellow or imperial topaz for November rather than any other color(Imperial topaz is a kind of yellow-y salmon-y color. Very pretty). These days Citrine is also considered to be a suitable stone for November. Natural yellow and imperial topazes are quite rare and can get very pricey so Citrine is a slightly lower priced alternative.

Citrine is a naturally occuring stone, it is a quartz like amethyst, but it is usually heat treated. Not all Citrines are low priced. Citrine ranges from a light orangish yellow to a dark orange color. The more intense the color, the more expensive the stone. Color variations can be helpful when putting together a Mother’s Ring or any other type of jewelry where a customer is representing specific people with gemstones. If a yellower Citrine will not look as good with the other stones in a particular piece, one always has the option of using an oranger stone or vice versa. Color is such a personal choice that chances are that not everyone born in the month of November is going to like every Citrine.

I personally love oranges and yellows so I don’t find many Citrines that I don’t like.

Check out some pictures of some Citrines in my personal collection!

Fortunately for her, rubies can be quite pink and pink would look great with her other colors!

Then there is the next problem; there are 3 different stones which makes it impossible to make the ring symmetrical. I tried adding her and her husband’s birthstones in but both of those are amethyst. The color works well, but it doesn’t help with symmetry.
My first thought would be to have a wide band with the stones randomly on the top of the band in bezels. Again, we had another problem; she doesn’t wear big rings.

I thought that this design manages to accomplish everything she wanted without being too big. I used one larger amethyst for the middle to symbolize her and her husband with the smaller stones at the end of wavy cut outs to represent the children.

The band of the ring will still be the most prominent aspect of the design but it is only about 7mm wide. The bezel set stones will add a clean, modern flair to the ring but the colors shouldn’t be too overwhelming so as to make the ring look gaudy.

My friend’s third and last child was born in July 2008. I think she has waited long enough for a mother’s ring so I hope she likes this design so we can move forward with making it for her!