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!

I know my last several posts have been rings for couples but I also get smaller requests for very special gifts.

This client asked me to design a small abstract angel wing pendant for her sister. I had a perfect picture in my head of how I would do it, the problem was transferring it to the computer and making it small enough for the pendant but not too small for my jeweler. I sent her several ideas and eventually settled on the last picture in this series.

She decided to go with 14K white gold since the piece is a special gift for her sister.

The big different between this piece and some other pieces I have made, is that this one was not cast. It started with a plain sheet of gold and the jeweler used a saw to cut out the shape. Then they soldered the ring to the top and it was finished! It is really neat what you can do with just a sheet of gold and a saw (this piece just breaks the surface)!

I finished the piece with a special engraved message on the back that said “To my angel flying too close to the ground.”

I hope her sister loves it!

I know last weeks post was a pearl piece but I seem to be getting a lot of requests for pearls recently!

This week I have a pearl pendant for you to enjoy with sapphires and aquamarine.

When the client contacted me she had a pretty specific idea of what she wanted. She wanted a simple pendant with a fairly large pearl surrounded by sapphires. She also thought it would be neat to use slightly larger stones at the 4 cardinal points. I put together what I thought would fit with what she had described but to further accentuate the corners, I used nice dark sapphires for the larger stones and lighter aquamarine stones in between.

She loved the lighter stones with the sapphires! She decided to go with 14K white gold for the metal and all natural stones. Once the decision was made, I went ahead and got the casting done.

Once I had collected the pearl and all of the sapphires and aquamarines, I sent those and the casting to my jeweler.

The finished pieces was gorgeous! The light and dark stones really set each other off. I hope she loves it!

When buying jewelry you should also know the difference between good work done by a jeweler, and bad work done by a jeweler. This can affect you as a consumer when you have a stone set, when you have a repair done, or even when you just have a ring sized or a chain added.

Take a look at the difference in this piece before it was fixed.

Notice how the bezel around the colored stone (which happens to be an Alexandrite) is uneven. Also, the channel set diamonds are not all sitting at the same angle in the channel and some of them look dirty because the jeweler did not clean the piece completely. Also notice how the channel has grooves in it where the jeweler nicked the metal and did not fix it.

Now look at the same piece after it has been fixed by a jeweler who does very good work.

Look at how the bezel around the Alexandite is smooth and the diamonds are evenly spaced, clean, and all at the same angle. Also, the channel around the diamond is the same width all the way around.

These are all specific problems that could come up in this particular piece but it’s just one example of what can happen if you go to a jeweler you don’t trust and you don’t look over the piece before you take it.

This pendant is very simple heart with one flush set diamond to accent it.

Designs with two hearts seem to be very popular so here is my view on the idea.

This piece is really fun because it has a lot of diamonds and it’s three separate parts so it can be worn in an infinite number of ways (more than just what I’ve shown!)

Enjoy!