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!

Some people get engaged and married within a year of meeting each other. Some people date for a couple years, then get married. And then there are those couples that date FOREVER before they get engaged. This piece is for a couple that fits in that last category.

This piece is special to me because it is for some close friends from college. I knew that when the time came, the guy would come to me to make the ring so I had to figure out a way to find out her preferences without being suspicious. Luckily, she knew he wasn’t going to propose until much later because they wanted to get through school and settled in jobs before they got married. A couple of years ago (yes, this ring has been in the works for years) I simply took her to a jewelry store, got her finger sized, had her try on a couple of rings to figure out what size center stone she would want, and had her take a look around to get an idea of her style. It was very nice being able to come right out and ask the questions of the person who the ring would be for without having to beat around the bush at all.

I went home after the trip to the jewelry store and designed a ring for her right away. That way I knew I had the ring size correct and I wouldn’t forget any other details.

She wanted a 1/2-3/4ct center stone, a little wider band, not too many extra diamonds that would make it too busy, and she wanted the ring to be different but simple.

I decided that she needed a cushion cut center stone because they are not very common but they sparkle like crazy. I set the center stone sideways, with double prongs, to make it a little bit more different and I used just 2 stones on either side that I gypsy set so it had a little extra sparkle but was very simple. I also made sure the center stone was set pretty low to the ring so it wouldn’t easily get caught on anything. Here are the renders of the original design.

Several months ago, the guy finally came to me and said he was hoping to propose on a cruise they had planned in September and could I make a ring for him. It was so nice that I already had the design done. I opened the file, showed it to him, and we started looking for center stones.

He wanted a really nice stone so it took awhile to find one that had the right specifications, in the right size, for the right price. The one we settled on was VS1 clarity, D color, and 0.78ct. It is a truly spectacular stone.

We decided to make the ring in platinum. It turn out soooooo pretty. This ring really makes we want to re-do my own engagement ring!! I can’t wait to hear about the proposal and future wedding plans!

I think this is the first actual re-mount that I’ve done even though what I do lends itself so well to them! A re-mount is when a customer decides for whatever reason to take a stone out of a ring they already have, and mount it in a different ring. Pretty simple and a great way to use stones out of a ring that you don’t wear anymore. Some people choose to just use the center of their ring (like this customer did) and some choose to use all of the stones out of an existing ring.

This customer came to me because she’d seen a design of mine on a different website and wondered if I could make it for her to fit her stone. Of course I could!

The original ring was designed for a 1ct center stone with diamonds going down both sides.

My customer wanted to alternate sapphires and diamonds going down the sides of the shank instead of just diamonds. She also wanted the ring fit to her smaller diamond. Here are the choices I sent her for ways to change the mounting to fit her stone better:

The top version just switched out the 1ct stone for my customer’s smaller stone. The second brought the “bands” on the sides of the ring in to close the gap between the ring and the stone. The third made the chevron less pointed, also to reduce the space between the ring and the center stone.

She liked the second (middle) version the best so I sent her renders of the other angles of the design before she made a final decision.

After deciding to raise the height of the center stone a little, we decided to go ahead with manufacturing in 14K White Gold with diamonds and sapphires. The customer also decided to have the center stone set locally so we didn’t have to deal with shipping her stone.

The final piece that I shipped to her was absolutely beautiful…

but it was nothing compared to how it looked when she got her stone set!

I love all of my clients, but this couple was especially amazing. The bride to be contacted me first to start talking about designs. I ended up meeting with both her and her boy a couple of times since they also live in Omaha and they were so sweet!

She put together a collage of rings ideas she had found that she liked and we went from there. She knew she wanted an opal for her center stone and was willing to take the risk of having a soft center stone. She also liked the idea of sapphire but didn’t HAVE to have one. I took her ideas and put together several designs for them to look at.

After a lot of consideration, they both decided that the 4th design was “their ring.” Then the question was diamonds or sapphires for the side stones and what size center stone. I brought in opals in 5mm and 6mm along with diamonds and sapphires that could go on the sides and let them decide when they could actually see the color combinations in person. He didn’t want her to know exactly what she was going to get before the ring was actually finished so it was his choice, but it was pretty obvious when she saw the stones, which combination she preferred.

The final piece is done in platinum with a 5mm genuine opal in the center with pear shaped diamonds on the sides. The opal I found (and they chose) has amazing color play. Here are the stones and the casting before the piece was finished.

The piece came out amazing! I can’t wait to hopefully work with this couple again!

In the last few months, I have had several clients come to me who do not want diamonds for their engagement rings. Not only do they not want diamonds, they don’t want other super popular stones for engagement rings either.

A long time ago, diamonds were not “THE” stone for engagement rings. Sapphires were. Then the big guys (DeBeers) got ahold of the diamond mines and they marketed the crap out of diamonds until every woman though she needed a diamond. I don’t think there is any reason someone should get a diamond if they don’t want a diamond. That being said, there are some limitations with other gemstones that should be taken into consideration.

Each stone type has a different hardness. The scale used to gauge hardness is called the Mohs Scale and it goes from 1-10. Diamonds are a 10 and are the hardest. This makes them great for jewelry worn every day for long periods of time because they don’t easily scratch, crack, chip, or break. All other gemstones are softer than diamonds. Sapphires are VERY hard and are a 9 on the Mohs Scale. They are also very durable like diamonds which make them a great option if you don’t want a diamond but want sometime that will last quite well. Rubies are also a 9 on the Mohs Scale (they are after all just red sapphires) which would make them another great choice for an engagement ring.

After you get past sapphires, you get into stones Chrysoberyl which is an 8.5 then Spinel and Topaz which are both 8 on the Mohs Scale. These would be pretty durable stones but probably the only one that sounds familiar to most people is Topaz.

Once you get into the hardnesses less than 8, stones are considered “soft.” When a stone is soft, it doesn’t mean that it will crumble in your fingers or anything. It just means that if you knock it on too many things, you could scratch the surface or even crack or chip it. Aquamarine, Beryl and Emerald are all 7.5 on the Mohs Scale. Emeralds are famous for being soft but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t used all the time and I even know several people with Emerald centers in their engagement rings. My aunt has an Emerald and while the stone is still intact, it is very scratched after wearing it every day for so long.

Going down the scale after that are:
Amethyst, Citrine, Garnet, Iolite, Quartz and Tourmaline at 7 on the scale.
Jade, Kunzite, Peridot, Tanzanite, Tzavorite Garnet and Zircon at 6.5 on the scale.
Moonstone and Sunstone at 6.
Opal at 5.5.
Pearl at 4.

I have never, and will never tell anyone to get a different stone than what they want because of the softness of the stone they want. I have made pearl engagement rings and am working on an opal one right now. People just need to be aware of how to care for and prevent damage to their stone.

The most important thing is to be careful when wearing your jewelry. Don’t do dishes or shower with your jewelry on. I basically don’t wear my jewelry unless I’m going out and trying to look nice. Take special care when cleaning your jewelry when you have soft stones. Some soft stones should never be put in an ultrasonic cleaner and even regular liquid jewelry cleaner can be too harsh on some things. There are jewelry cleaners specifically designed for pearls that should be safe on any stone. Most of all, try not to hit your jewelry on anything. I’ve never chipped a stone that way but I haven’t loosened stones by knocking my jewelry on things at work and at home.

Diamonds may be forever; jewelry is not. But, with special care and attention, any stone should be just fine though so buy what you like without worrying about what you are “supposed” to have for an engagement ring!