Satisfying Sparkles

There is a specific “look” that is synonymous with a popular 90′s jeweler that many designers have adopted. You’ve probably seen it–mixed metal (sterling and gold) with some sort of twisted metal accent. While this is not my favorite look, I do have customers that love it, and I try my best to make my customers happy. So, when a customer came to me for a “push gift” with a request to make a ring that referenced this style, I was happy to incorporate that into my own style to make something that she would love.

What is a “push gift?” It’s when an expectant mother picks out a piece of jewelery that she would like once she gives birth. I guess the tradition of the old days, where somebody like my mother got flowers and a heartfelt thank-you for a difficult job done well, are evolving into jewelry gifts. That’s a tradition I can get behind. Certainly moms deserve plenty of recognition for all that they do.

The customer decided that she wanted a smoky topaz cushion-cut stone, which I mounted with the pointed side up, as it seemed to suit the style of the ring. The ring itself is quite hefty, which I think will be good for everyday wear for busy mom hands. Here are the results of the custom design:

A customer of mine had a white gold ring that had been in her family for a while. She had inherited the ring, which was a beautiful antique style but showing some wear and in need of repair to ensure the diamonds wouldn’t fall out. She had decided that she wanted to duplicate the ring’s design, but into earrings instead. So, we found another diamond that matched the ring’s center stone, and went about designing the earrings.

The customer decided that for extra security for such nice diamonds, she wanted to have omega backs installed. (Omegas are the clips that swing back against the ear to secure the earrings.) So we added omegas to the earrings. We also agreed that the stones would graduate from the ear down, smallest to largest stone. Here is the result:

Antique-style diamond and white gold earrings

The really look fabulous, and special-occasion-y! I hope she enjoys wearing them.

A while ago, a customer came to me with an unusual request. She had a an ladies gold antique wrist watch that she could not get repaired. She wanted to give the watch a second (unintentional pun alert) life as jewelry for her daughter. So, I put together a few designs for replacing the missing watch face with some gemstones from another piece she was planning on recycling, a sapphire and pearl pin. (Pictures of the old pieces are here.)

As an added bonus, I was able to salvage a few rubies from the watch’s internal workings to use as additional decoration on the faceplate. Those all were incorporated into the final design.

The customer was on vacation, so the project went on hold for a while, but once she returned, she agreed to go forward with the design. The resulting bracelet is below:

The bracelet will now be passed to another generation for years of enjoyment. Everything old is new again!

A while ago, I had blogged about some CAD designs that I had done for a remount of a customer’s sapphires and diamonds. (Those entries are here and here.)

The customer wanted to change the linear look of her old setting and move the stones to sit more at the center of her finger. In addition, we discussed changing the metal from 14k yellow gold to platinum. After several consults, she decided that she liked the look of prongs best, as it would remind her of her old ring setting while she could still enjoy the updated look.

Here are some shots of her old ring, before the changes:

And (drum-roll), here are the customer’s stones newly mounted in her new, custom platinum ring:

The stones look very nice in their new platinum settings.