My search for a spectacular engagement ring ended at 22 West Gay Street!

After searching high and low, scouring the city of Columbus, running in and out of every possible store selling diamonds, my search for a spectacular engagement ring ended at my last stop, The Diamond Exchange 22 West Gay Street in Columbus, Ohio. Being a first time 52 year old bride, I wanted everything.... big, bling and a bargain! My fiance knew me well enough to know that the shopping process would be way to painful for him so he gave me a budget and set me loose solo. Knowing him, I appreciated picking out my own ring! I have always loved jewelry and have lots of it but did not own a diamond. I started out with a visit to the internet extracting all the important information for buying diamonds. I learned that cut, color and clarity were the important factors to keep in mind and in that order. I shopped for weeks, checking off jewelers in the Columbus area and seemed exasperated by the end of week six. I shared my frustration with a girlfriend who promptly said, "Have you been to the Diamond Exchange? My son was recently engaged and had a beautiful ring custom made there and the price was astonishing." I said no. I had not heard of them but made a plan to visit the following day and so I did. The sales associate lead me to the case with the bridal and wedding rings. I looked down into the case and immediately saw my ring. It was big, had a ton of bling and I got a bargain. Oh by the way, let me introduce myself. My name is Georgia and I am the new sales associate at the Diamond Exchange.

Update: Beth’s New Platinum Ring!

On September 14, I posted the story of Beth, our client whose platinum ring fell apart when she clapped her hands. The jeweler who made the ring used substandard welds to secure the center diamonds.

Here’s what Beth’s ring looked like after the stones fell out (the bad welds are circled in red):  

The jeweler who made this tried to cut corners ...

Beth found the missing diamonds, but the setting could not be salvaged. So Beth asked Steward to set her 2-carat oval brilliant-cut and two trillion-cut diamonds in a new, well-constructed platinum mounting. 

Steward found this stunner, adding 16 rich blue sapphires for a subtle pop of color:

The diamonds are really white; the photographer was wearing a red shirt!

Beth now has a ring that will hold her diamonds in place for years to come … and look amazing doing it!

 

Custom Design: A Case Study

You need three basic things to create a piece of custom jewelry:

1. Inspiration
2. Design sense
3. Fabrication skills

Not all jewelers have the ability to take your ideas from concept to creation. Steward does. Here’s how the process unfolded for one of our clients.  Let’s call him Eric.

As he watched the movie The Great Gatsby, Eric was struck by the bold design of Jay Gatsby’s cufflinks. 

These geometric cufflinks have an Art Deco flair. 

Eric came to the Diamond Exchange and asked Steward to make him a signet ring with a similar look. Their first meeting produced the following sketches:

Note how the original idea evolved during the brainstorm.

After Eric approved the final design, Steward constructed his ring of 18k yellow gold. To make Eric’s initials stand out, he chose to cast them into the top of the ring rather than engraving them. The result: an elegant, weighty piece with crisp details that will stand the test of time. 

Every detail of Eric's ring was cast into the metal.

 Eric's ring is still in progress. But stay tuned; I'll post photos of the finished piece as soon as I get them!