Leaves and Greens

Perhaps you remember this special little number from last year. The custom engagement ring designed by the husband-to-be featured four woven leaves holding a 2+ carat diamond. Obviously, she answered his proposal with a resounding ‘yes!’. The wedding plans were quickly underway. This spring the lovely couple returned to me in hopes of carrying the leaf motif over into their coordinating wedding bands.

His wedding band features a trio of relief carved leaves and a single bezel set gem. The ring is cast in palladium and high polished, which has a great look alongside her platinum bands. The emerald harkens to the emerald accents on the leaves of her engagement ring.

Her band features an alternating leaf pattern with 8 larger diamonds set in prongs, and 8 teensy diamonds set in bezels, and the entire ring is cast in platinum. The finished trio of rings is romantic, whimsical, and uniquely them.

  

Square Dance

Step cut square diamonds, like those seen in this handcrafted 18k ring, have a delightfully deco feel. The original dozen were harvested from an old ring which the owner rarely wore. Step cuts are less common than their princess counterparts, so it took some digging to find just the right match for her hand cut antique stones. The finished ring feature 25 of these dazzling diamonds flush set into the golden surface.

Groomsmen’s Gifts: Cufflinks

We created seven sterling cufflink pairs for the men who’d stand at his side through anything.  A thoughtful gift for the guys who matter most.  

 

Lyndsay + Matt

I had a lot of personal stock in the engagement of Matt and Lyndsay. It’s heartwarming to see old friends embark on the adventure of marriage together. I was pumped about creating their engagement ring for a number of reasons: Lyndsay’s color palette was right up my alley. She had set her heart on a dark blue sapphire in a rose gold setting. Matt, whom I befriended during art school nearly 10 years ago, has great design sense. I knew collaborating with him would result in a truly unique piece of jewelry. And finally, I was thankful to finally repay a huge personal debt to Matt. He introduced me to my husband Ryan almost 5 years ago.

Lyndsay and Matt are one of the best travelled couples I know. Because of their jet setting ways, we designed a ring that was comfortable, practical, and special enough for her to wear wherever the wind takes them. The gemstone was sourced during my yearly trip to the Tucson Gem Fair. From the road I sent photo selections of the best sapphires I could find. Back in the studio, Matt’s keen eye for detail came into play as we dug into the ring creation together. Through more sketches and photos we created a turned bezel to just the right silhouette he desired.

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The finished ring was cast in 14k rose gold with a sandblasted finish and millgrain detail on the bezel’s rim. It’s enchanting, modern, and elegant.

Nathan + Tara

Tara + Nathan

Tara and Nathan are a darling San Francisco couple whom, if I had to sum up in just three words, are lighthearted, energetic, and adventurous. They’re the kind of couple who are willing to try anything once. They believe you have the best time when you’re in good company. And most notably, they approach everything in life with a wonderful sense of humor. Seeing these two tie the knot made me happy in so many ways, especially because they weren’t afraid to pack their bags and hop a plane to make their wish a reality. Just a few months after their Vegas engagement, they jetted back to tie the knot in a fun and delightfully simple ceremony.

Nathan designed the following ring with me last winter. Together we sourced a 1.5ct marquise diamond and set it into a handcrafted palladium ring with a single row of twinkling pave diamonds across the band. The millgrain border gives it a touch of softness. This ring is truly a showstopper;  A perfect fit for their sparkling personalities.

Woven Leaves Engagement Ring

Early this spring I met a client with a distinct vision for an engagement ring. He had taken the time to draw up intricate sketches for his idea (and they were pretty darn good, I might add) and confided that he was on a quest for the right local jeweler to create it for him. A few conversations and a handful of sketches later we were ready to dive into the real fun– hand carving the wax model.

While I am happy to help my clients source the perfect diamond or colored gemstone I also regularly work with their own gems. Sometimes it’s an heirloom diamond from a relative’s ring, and other times it’s one they have purchased themselves from sites like blue nile or brilliant earth. In this case I was delighted to work with his brilliant cut white diamond which clocked in at over 2 carats. It was so gorgeous… and so intense!

In our model and finished ring, each side of the shank splits into two leaves. The right leaf tucks under and emerges to the right creating the north-south prongs, while the left leaf does a seductive curl around the diamond, peeking up on the opposite side to create the east-west prongs.  The final touch is subtle but will prove useful down the line. Despite the ring’s curvy profile the weaving leaves are actually raised above a flat spot on the side of the ring which allows another band to sit flush. Picturing them on their wedding say as they exchange their rings, he will place the wedding band on her finger and it will tuck perfectly into place below the overlapping leaves. It warms my heart just thinking of it.

The final ring was cast in 950 platinum-ruthenium and given a high polish. On the underside of the long and curvy leaf we pave set three emeralds to represent her Colombian heritage. It’s an intimate detail which you need to peek at just the right angle to see. He flew her her and their loved ones to DC to surprise her with a proposal. As we expected… she said Yes.

 

Palladium & Sapphire Vintage Inspired Ring

This little beauty made it across the pond this week… A deco -inspired setting which was crafted from a hand carved wax and then cast in Palladium. It features a .62ct blue sapphire center, and an outer frame of sparkling white sapphires in a scalloped edge. Milgrain borders around the edges add a delicate vintage feel. The wedding band, which we carved and cast as well, features this same milgrain detail.

C’est magnifique!

Nick + Megan

Sometimes all you need is a subtle band to compliment your style. Meet Nick and Megan, a very dear couple who married this summer with palladium white gold bands created by yours truly. Thank you so much to the newlyweds for sharing these gorgeous photos, and mad props to their photographer Heather Jowett who capturing these dreamy pics.

All photography courtesy of Heather Jowett

AJ + Vanessa

I know I’ve been bragging a lot about my clients lately. But can you blame me? Don’t you just love their stories?? My next incredible couple hails from my hometown of Detroit.

Vanessa and AJ are my favorite example of Detroit youth and the city I know and love. Aside from being a stellar photographer who’s painstakingly chronicled her years of life in the city, Vanessa is also a teacher and an inspiring activist. Visit her blog to see how she brings the Make it Happen mantra to life on the daily. She’s founding member of CAMP Detroit: a program that gives Detroit artists, makers, and thinkers the opportunity to create inspired objects for display at DEMF and placement back into Detroit neighborhoods, and Detroit Soup: a monthly dinner that micro-funds creative projects within the city. AJ is one of the founders of OMNICORP Detroit, a hackerspace which provides the space, tools, and community for exploration and invention.

Together they are a true tour de force of the impact an individual (or dare I say power-couple) can have on a city. Our actions and attitude can and do propel good ideas forward. Since leaving Detroit a few years ago I have been following the growth of my beloved city through this couple and their incredible actions. It’s an honor that I could give something back.

AJ came to me with a very special and personal mission in mind for his ring for Vanessa. They already had an existing, extravagant engagement ring that Vanessa could wear on special occasions.  What they needed was a very personal piece she would be comfortable wearing every day. After all, the author of this article on how to properly wrap your DSLR camera within your Chrome bag so you don’t crush it when you fall off your bike is a rough and tumble gorgeous gal who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. The solution: A shiny gold band with hand carved shape, delicate engraving, and a subtle, special sparkle from two tiny diamonds on the side. One for him, one for her.

And now here comes the part where I swoon over the photo taken by Vanessa when they finally shared their engagement with the world. As the jeweler I know these things are coming but once that ring is on, I’m always amazed at what my couples continue to do. Together. 

Lloyd + Breigh

Working with creative couples is always a treat for me. It inspires me to push the limits of my designs, explore working with new materials (peach gold anyone?) and create truly custom pieces that leave run-of-the-mill adornments in the dust. This summer I began work on some custom wedding bands that fulfilled everything jeweler daydreams are made of.

When Lloyd and Breigh reached out to me to craft custom wedding bands, I could not have been more excited. Breigh is the fashion forward media maven behind Minx Boutique in Asheville, NC; Lloyd, a long-time family friend whom has always impressed me with his high fashion and live performance photography. Together, they are a design savvy, active, and adventurous couple that in every-possible-way embody the clients I dream of seeing my jewelry on.

For our cross-country design consult we discussed via email the styles, shapes, and precious metals they envisioned for their final rings. The surface they sought was right up my alley: organic, wabi-sabi facets that repeated over the full circumference of the band. Since the designs relied so heavily on a tactile pattern, I carved a handful of samples in lieu of simple sketches. We had 3 variations on the pattern in both mens and womens silhouettes. These 6 rings were then shipped from my coast to theirs for Lloyd and Breigh to select their favorites.

The finished rings were cast in 14k peach gold, an alloy with a delightfully subtle and warm hue that looked incredible with their skin tones. And their ceremony? A gorgeous, mountainside wedding aside with fireworks and fireflies adorning the night sky. Fitting, right?

Special thanks to Lloyd and Breigh for this amazing opportunity, to Paola Nazati Photography for the stunning photos of the couple together, and to Lloyd for photographing the sample rings!