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!