Custom Design

Are you seeking an unusual or one-of-a-kind piece? You are in the right place!

See some samples of my custom design work below, and stay tuned for my complete series of videos about the process of custom design.

Custom Design Guide

Video #1- Talking about the Budget

 

Video #2- Selecting Gemstones


Custom Design Samples


This ring was for the mother of three boys. Each stone is the birthstone of one child, and the challenge can be finding a way to make  three different stones harmonize with each other. In this case, with topaz, opal and garnet, the clear decision was to use tsavorite (green), garnet with a spectacular piece of Australian opal.

Here is a selection of photos that I provided to a long-distance client. The gems are tourmalines, sapphires and rose quartz. We were seeking the perfect pink stone for her "power ring". After reviewing the selections, she went with the faceted tourmaline #6.

 

The finished ring in silver, 22K gold, with tourmaline and diamonds

 



Platinum and Tsavorite Garnet custom engagement ring. 

This ring was made for a client that wanted to depart from tradition and have a lovely green stone for her engagement ring. Although she would have chosen an emerald, I suggested a Tsavorite Garnet as a more durable option. The big challenge was finding a Tsavorite of sufficient size for the ring, and I went to many sources to locate this rare gemstone.



Blackened Silver and Rhodolite Garnet men's custom ring

 This client was seeking a very bold signature accessory that he would wear every day. He feels very connected to the vine motif through his Haitian heritage, so the design incorporates this motif, and the gems are special paisley-shaped rhodolite garnets that I had custom cut.

18K and Tanzanite custom pendant inspired by Art Nouveau

This client had a tanzanite already, and was interested in having a pendant made to compliment it. She wanted to see what I would come up with, and I felt very drawn to make a more classical style piece to compliment the stone. I made a series of sketches, and she quickly picked out the bundled plant sketch. After further refinements in the drawing, I began creating it in gold. She enjoys wearing it on a black leather cord whenever she goes to a dinner party, concert, or other social occasions.

 

    Double-sided pendant. Mother of Pearl with 18K gold and blackened silver

This client had the piece of shell, with the mother pearl surface on one side and an outer layer of the shell on the other side. In order to give the pendant a very different look on each side, I chose two different metals, along with two different design motifs. The gold motif reflects the undulating lines in the mother of pearl. The client really loved my wrought series of blackened silver designs, so I chose to use that on the reverse side.

Platinum Wedding band and Pin

This client had platinum engagement rings from her mother and her grandmother and she wanted to use them to make her own wedding band. After doing some research, I determined that the alloys of these two rings were compatible. I used the metal to make wire, from which I fabricated the wedding ring. When I let her know that there was some leftover metal, we came up with the idea of making a pin for her mother, as a wedding day present.

Palladium and Tourmaline Ring

On the left is the preliminary drawing of the piece. The ring ended up being modified from this drawing, but this is a good example of what I provide to custom clients as we settle on the design. This ring is the client's engagement ring and it is a combination of a classical ring design, with a more unconventional choice of a green tourmaline for the center stone.