Jewelry Designer

Ascher lines

2011-10-29T11:58:00.001-07:00

These pics demonstrate the process we go through. Beyond design we spend a ton of time creating superior jewelry. This mounting was designed to hold our customers 4.5 ct ascher cut diamond. The center stone is very special being a VVS E color stone. The mounting is a simple design that sweeps up to hold the center stone. We chose to use a bar set style to show off as much of the stone as possible. We also wanted to show as much of the side and bottom of the stone as possible.

We start by assembling the parts then we burnish (rub) the metal with tungsten pointers to compress and polish the platinum. We also use 1 mm strips of sand paper to polish and clean up the nooks and crannies.

After the prepolishing we attack the ring with soft brissel brushes and buffing wheels. This ring requires 6 hours of polishing.

Then we cut the seats for the diamonds and polished everything again.

The finished ring looks more like mounting flows off of the diamond then a mounting clamped on a diamond.

The one that got away

2011-10-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been very busy at work.

Some of the cool work we have been doing is on our facebook site.

Recently though I designed a ring for a nice gentleman to gift to his lady. Because of his budget we had to cut back a lot on the final piece. Some how I have to do the full version of this ring.

We built the ring like the first view with just a few small accent stones.

You can see how insanely cool this would have been with stones all the way around.

Zab Judah

2011-08-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

We recently created the championship ring for Professional Boxer Zab Judah.

We were approached by his managers to create a ring that was more along the lines of a Superbowl ring and more bling than the current rings.

The current rings were ok but not great and the management team wanted a unique look for all of there rings.

The first step was the concept. We wanted two boxing gloves holding the belt.

We also had to incorporate all of the logos for all of the groups involved.

Zab had his own logo as did the Management group.

We did a ton of renders. Getting all of the logos sized down and still having readable detail was tough. It realy came down to Matt's skill at milling the wax model. What most people dont realize is that this ring is a size 7.5

Zab is the Jr Welterweight champion and only weighs 140 lbs.

The team at main events was great to work with. You wouldn't think of ladies as boxing managers but they are.

One of our concerns is does it look impressive on the hand.

We also added Pave rubies and diamonds.

The finished ring is one I am really proud of. One of my favorite things is the video of Zab getting the ring. I often make rings that are given as a surprise but I never get to see the customer expression when they see the gift for the first time.

Mq sideways

2011-07-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

IN 2007 I one an international design competition for and East West Marquis diamond. Most jewelers find that hard to do gracefully.
This is another masterpiece in the East West fashion.
This ring is so well balanced and graceful.
One of the best parts of the ring is the detail in the bezel.
Here is the finished piece. All platinum.
Like Jen says the coolest part is just for the customer. This is one of those piecies that truly represents my style. The closer you look the more detail you see.

2011-07-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

This customer had an antique engagement ring that had no matching band.
Color of the metal was an issue because older gold was often a different color than what we have now. The design was rather straightforward.
We actually matched the gold color of the engagement ring and carried much of the same details from the e ring.

Who says you cant create heirloom jewelry today.

Jen's Design

2011-07-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

This job started with one of the most unusual and beautiful Tourmaline's I have ever seen. Blue on one end and Green on the other. The customer also had several medium sized diamonds. I usualy like architechical design so I was out on this one. Jen came up with the concept working with the customer on an abstract design that showed off the Blue-green tourmaline to its best. I honestly had my doubts about this one but I was wrong.
This was the origional concept. The idea was to make an abstract shaped ring but have the main stone go perfectly vertical on the finger.
The render looked pretty good but really didnt show things off as well as I wanted.
On the hand model It looked like this ring might twist. That could be a big problem.
We milled the wax. and had the customer try it on but I was sure it was going to twist on her. So we added a slim extra shank to stabilize the ring.

Well that worked just perfect
Jen really created a winner with this.

Ian's design.

2011-07-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

This design started as a collection of diamonds from several different pieces. Jen worked on the concept of a branch after an ice storm. Ian tool the lead working the layout and doing the cad work. So yes Im not the only designer here.Once the design was tweaked Ian finished the casting and mounted all the stones
I really thing he captured the idea of a branch with ice.

22 kt gold

2011-07-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a case of a customer seeing a picture of a ring that she loved. However she really wanted something unique and wanted to you stones she already had.

The first thing we had to do was work on the layout. I designed the ring rough and then did a 2 dimensional layout.

Once we agreed on a layout it was just a matter of details like the shape of the rails and the placement of granulation.

The customer and I went back and fourth untill we got it just right.

The cad images are great but dont do this ring justice at all. Not even a Picture can do 22 kt gold justice.

2011-07-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes simple is the best. This one is an engagement ring but not with a diamond. We used a beautiful greenish tinted white sapphire

I wanted it to be airy but really look like an engagement ring. Low to the hand but really present the main stone..

One of the best things about cad designing is the ability to preview what a ring design is going to look like on a hand.

Amythist Love

2011-05-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

This customer had a few older pieces of jewelry and wanted something new. Great reuse of stones.

Started going down a few different roads with this design but it ultimatly came together with a clasic Harry Winston style of mounting. The first version we were trying was going to use some Rubies too but the customer decided that the Diamond only version was better. My wife took the great photos. I used a combination of Pave setting and prong setting so that we could use different size diamonds. The millagrain (the bumpy edge on the ring shank) really gave it a classic feel. Im glad to see that color is coming back in style.

You HAVE to click on the last pick to really appreciate this ring.

2011-05-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here is a amazing piece that we were able to build in 10 days. Nice green zircon about 14 cts. We created a realy simple but ballanced mounting in 18 kt gold.

When your trying to balance a large stone on a delicate hand the design is everything. Can you imagine how clunky this could be.

I started with the prong placement then swept the lines down to form the shank.

This allowed me to keep the stone low and stop the ring from spinning on the hand. And we were able to build this just in time.

I think this is one of those where the render really looks like the finished piece.

Bubbles

2011-04-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

Bubble rings have been around a long time. We used to call them bezel rings. Now Tiffany comes along and acts like they invented them. I do appreciate them coming back though. Few ring styles are more wearable then bubble rings, the style also allows you to use lots of stones that might otherwise not work together.

Here are a few of my more recent ones.

Dirty Shop

2011-02-16T12:20:00.001-08:00

I was watching a you tube video last night. The vid showed a nice girl at the jewelers bench talking about custom design. Her microscope was filthy with dirty fingerprints all over it.
Lots of jewelers are messy and I always wonder how anyone can produce beautiful jewelry in a nasty dirty shop. When I do consulting work I feel like Gordon Ramsey in Kitchen Nightmares. "Clean this place up"

When you come to our shop the first thing you will notice is that our work area is in the window, so that people walking by can see us working.

When you come in the door we are right there. A lot of stores hide there jewelers and the work area. In most cases its because the jewelers are off site.

Our work area is clean and right in front of the whole world. Just like a great chef keeps his kitchen clean we keep our shop clean, Come watch us work we love the attention.

Personal project.

2011-02-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

Trying some new render styles.

Amythist and emeralds are my favorite color combination. This render wont do the stones justice.

Celtic Knot work ring basics

2011-02-01T14:17:00.000-08:00

Here are the basics when designing knot work bands.
Some knot work is continuous around the ring with no beginning or end. These are nice but often lack when used on rings because of the small size. Continuous knots sometimes look too much like braids.

Segmented knots are my favorites. This is more correct and stands out better on a ring or small jewelry. Segmented knots also allow for more intricate patterns like trefoils flowers etc.

Most knot work rings or pattern rings need a backing or base ring. There are two elements to the base, a deck (red) and rails (blue). Knot work rings and pattern rings can have either or both.

Here is a render of a simple continuous knot without rails or deck. These look very cool I have done these with pave diamonds too.

Here is a continuous knot with rails and a sandblasted deck. The sanded deck really makes the knot stand out. We can also antique the deck.

You can cut a knot into a simple band a Here is a segmented knot engraved or cut into a simple band.

And here it is with antiquing. These styles relay need antiquing to show the contrast.

This is one where I used the customers initials to create a neat pattern. This is engraved with rails and antiquing.

This is a reverse cradle ring using almost all of the elements. The band is a raised knot on a deck without rails and the e ring has free knots that hold the side rails.

Here is a set of classic segmented knot bands. The ladies is scaled and diamonds are added.

This is a knot with and Indian R to represent the couple. Raised knot on a sanded deck with contrasting rails.

Here is knot work used in an unusual way. We wrapped the knot work around the prongs. Its very subtle but way cool.

One of my all time favorite sets. The customer designed the Knots and sent me drawings. The Gents band Is raised with contrasting rails. The ladies band is raised with no rails but the rails on the reverse cradle e ring match the gents when the rings are worn together.

French restaurants and Jewelry stores

2011-01-26T07:42:00.000-08:00

Jen and I went to meet our Opal miner Monday in NY. It was an interesting experience. Its Restaurant week so deals abound. We decided to meet at an east side French restaurant that was recommended by a friend and had a "REPUTATION". We arrived to a somewhat bland room and were greeted by several waiters in black tuxes. I was immediately put off. I just don't feel that places that put on such a front are worth it. So they took us to our seat after asking if we had reservations (like it mattered the place was empty). We mentioned that we were meeting a third party and please direct him to our table. After 15 min we get a call from Remo (the Opal guy) that he is waiting in the restaurant for us. He was sitting in the corner waiting for us the whole time and the waiters never put 2 and 2 together. So after Remo joined us we ordered. The food was not what I expected, in fact it was rather pedestrian, boring, and overpriced. Needless to say we wont go back.

I told Jen that I thought French waiters with thick accents and tuxes are just like Crystal Chandeliers in a jewelry store. All show and no go. How many jewelry stores try to stand apart by being glitzy with marble staircases pompous staff and bright lights. Then when you look at there jewelry its just the same as everywhere else. On the other hand some hole in the wall jewelry store is full of finally crafted jewelry. Some of the best food I have ever eaten has come out of small unpretentious places where the chef's love there work, and some of the most amazing jewelry I have ever seen is created by jewelers who run there own places.

So the tux is the restaurant equivalent of the crystal chandelier. The Opals remo brought were amazing. Remo's Dad is an Australian miner and specializes in Boulder opals. Few colored stones are as beautiful or as individual as Boulder Opal. I look forward to working with there stones, and hanging out with Australians is always fun.

That evening my wife cooked a rack of lamb for dinner. It was amazing.

2011-01-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

I recently came across one of my old sketches. In the 80s and 90s This is how we communicated with customers about there ideas for jewelry. The simplicity of sketches and limits of design tools really showed in jewelry design at the time. Technology has come a long way and so has design.

Today we give a customer a mechanical drawing and a V ray render. This is a tremendous tool for communicating design. I can also do a render on a hand model to show scale. Here is a sample presentation . My goal is to make sure the customer is really aware of what we are designing.

One of the first renders I ever did. Using Flamingo in Matrix 2 beta. It got idea across but didn't really look pretty. What a huge jump from hand sketches.

Here are some of my older renders. Sort of version 2 using a tool called flamingo. These did a good job of getting the idea for a design across to a customer but lacked some grace.

Some of my best renders using the new V ray tool. Using lighting and depth of field you can get a render that is photo realistic. These renders take as much as 1/2 hour to produce but the results speak for themselves.
The goal of these is to really show the customer what the finished work will look like. It makes communicating about design so much easier. Unfortunately renders still don't account for workmanship.

Rendering has reached a new level in realism. These images from the v ray site show the power of this tool. If you have seen a movie lately you have probably seen the power of rendering.

Simply Perfect Alignment

2011-01-17T13:25:00.000-08:00

This customer wanted to remount there E ring to match a Band they loved.

To build the E ring I had to create the Band in the computer first.

Here is the render of just the E ring. We had to do some fun things to get the two tone alignment to match the band but the result was a very clean design that really showed off the center diamond. And there are no prongs to catch.

Here is the ring render with the matching band as shown on the finger. The most important thing this customer wanted was that the new engagement ring lined up with there existing wedding band.

So here is the finished ring. Very simple but amazingly elegant. I love the balance we achieved with this ring.

What a Little thing can do

2011-01-17T13:13:00.000-08:00

This job started out so simple. Remount the customers 5 stones in a simple ring that would match an existing wedding band. Once I got into the design I just had to add some subtle details. The first thing I did was to arch the rail down to accentuate the center pear shape. Then I was left with an empty space. I added the small princess cut. This cost so little an added so much to the overall ring.

Once I saw this render I was convinced this was going to be great. Those two little details made this a cool design

Here is the finished ring with its mate.
That little stone does so much to make this special.

By Pass

2011-01-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

The initial concept for this ring came very quickly. We wanted two stones that represented the couple but we wanted it to look like one when it was set in the ring.

Once we had the concept sketched out I needed to work out what was the best size and shape for the main stones. Then we had to go out and find the stones. In this case we found a matched pair of pair shapes that had exactly the same cut and had the perfect colors. We got a bit lucky. Here is where I scanned the customers sketch into the computer and overlay ed the stone shapes and a basic ring rail.

This ring was one of the most difficult designs I have done in a while. The concept came quickly to me and my customer, but actually creating the perfect design was a bear. Each curve is based off of the line of the two matching center stones. I wanted to keep the two stones as close as possible but not touching. If the stones touched they could chip each other. Once I got all the curves so that they not only looked right but would securely hold the stones.

The render showed how amazing this could be but renders never show color as well as you want.

On the hand I wanted the two stones to look like one bi colored stone. I didn't want any straight lines.

This ring came out beautiful.
I love the way the colors compliment each other.

old is new

2010-12-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

Here is a great example of working on a design. Our customer had several family jewelry items to be redesigned into an engagement ring. We wanted to use as many of the diamonds as we could. I went through 3 concepts until I go t it right. We actually ended up dropping some of the stones. I think the end product is truly spectacular.

2010-11-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

This is a simple job that Jennifer and Ian started. So simple but so hard. Getting the spacing between the stones just right so you can see the bright wall around each stone. I did 5 layouts before I got the right balance. The pattern left one stone out so we set it in the bottom as a fetish stone. This is one that exceeded my expectations.

2010-11-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

Here we had several heirloom diamonds. We added this amazing sapphire (purple changes to pink) and made a right hand ring for the customer. I worked on this design for hours on end trying to use all of the customers stones in a graceful way. It took three version of how to hold the smaller stones. Curves bezzels and prongs. We finally settled on the prongs that almost disapear. I think it came out great. Unfortunaly I wasent inn when she picked it up but I hear she loves it.

2010-11-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

This customer is in the art and crafts world. I loved making her ring. She came in with a solid design. A beautifuly delicate ring with a matching band.

Helix

2010-10-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

Inspiration comes from a lot of places.

This customer wanted to give her daughter a special ring with some family diamonds. Her daughter was studying biology so we came up with a double helix design. Creating this one was a bear but it came out beyond cool

Simple and realy cooool

2010-09-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

This is another customer that came in with a solid idea, we just had to make the design work. Holding the diamond with just rails was scary but I was able to sneak in an under carrage that worked great.

Customers design

2010-09-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

Often a customer comes in with a design. Often its a great concept but the enginering needs work. This was the case with this one. This one came out just right. I tweaked the customers design to make everything work. No prongs we were able to use the leaves to hold the stone. We scanned the customers drawing into the computer then used it as the background as we built the cad model over the image. Once we added the exact size stone and moved things around we came up with a great design.

Matching bands

2010-09-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Finding a matching band is one of the hardest things to find. Many E rings come with them but more dont. This customer wanted an exact match so we scanned her E ring and used that to build the wedding band.It came out perfect the shanks match and everything ligns up.

Reverse cradle

2010-09-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

We are seeing more and more people wanting reverse cradle rings. This is where the wedding band fits into the e ring.

Very cool idea and very wearable.

Design is design

2010-07-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Took a road trip to American Chopper home, OCC in New York. Lots of Bikes on display lots of great design. I love the constant curves that flow from one to another. I believe that the arc of a curve is so important in design if its jewelry or motorcycles.
Back to designing. Today I m working on yet another reverse cradle ring. That's where the wedding band fits in to the engagment ring.

2010-07-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

Catching up.
I mentioned a white ring with yellow millagrain here it is. One of my favorites this summer. Customers stone we polished out some of the scratches.
Also here is the finished x ring I spoke of earlier.

2010-06-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

So here are the pics of the earrings that won the passion awards.
I also have an answer to my health problems. I have been diagnosed with pre diabetes.
Right now I'm working on a cool new idea with yellow milligram on a white ring.
Pics to follow.

2010-06-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

The Bench conference.

Well I just returned from the 2010 Bench Jewelers conference in Atlanta where I was one of the instructors. I had a great time teaching polishing and Pave classes. The best news is that after taking a few years off from jewelry design competitions, my first time back was great. I won the overall Passion award for a pair of micro pave earrings. Ill have to post picks later. Overall the event is just what I needed to keep my excitement up about work. I came back and jumped on two new designs that came out great. One of them is a combination of old and new and I don't think it has ever been done before. The effect should be diamonds floating on the hand with no visible support.

Joel

2010-06-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

So Friday I got the stones for the X ring. All the center stones worked perfect but the sides were smaller than I thought. That's a problem when you use customers stones. Oh well I could make them work but one thing you will learn about me if you read these blogs is that I LOVE precision.

So of to redesign and recast. I would rather start over then create a poor product.

On a personal note I have been rather ill. I'm having a blood test and hope that will give me some answers. I don't have health insurance..just cant afford it so I have to pay cash. Man this system sucks. Cant find a good GP doctor, and couldn't afford insurance if I did. Fortunately the business is growing and things there are looking up.

Curves

2010-06-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well I still havent conqured the Skull thing but I did manage to take a very simple design and goto the next level with it. By blending the outside prongs with the sweep of the shank I was able to transform this ring into something really special. Less busy and more custom looking. The curve where the shank meets the outside stones is really cool. compare my design with a standard ring and you will notice how its more graceful, I spent all day yesterday on the computer doing cad.

X ring

2010-06-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest rings to design is an x ring. I have done a dew and just finished one this weekend. Now we are casting and building this ring.
It would seem that an x ring would be easy but it is very deceptive. A straight x in the looking down view is so wide that its very uncomfortable, so I had to put a curve in the sides. It looks great from top bottom and sides and feels comfortable. Its not a perfect x either. Anyway here is the rendering. This is one of the best uses of CAD for the jewelry biz. If I had to build this from scratch it might be a killer. Seeing the project in a good render is the only way to do this.

Skulls and Daisey's

2010-05-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog. I hope to share with all of you what it is like designing jewelry for a living. I have been a jeweler since 1972 and now operate my own design studio. I design mostly for retail customers in the Jersey Shore area. I use Matrix cad software in order to create most of my work then my apprentices and I create the jewelry.
Todays challenge is to create a ring for a friend with a center round stone and incorporating Skulls and ..........................................Daisey's ? yes Daisey's This is a real challenge. I have tried numerous layouts but I still don't have the right one. I may just have to sleep on this. The Skulls and flowers just don't flow into each other. I might tie them together with a rope pattern or something. Being creative every day is a lot harder than it may seem. Im also torn between the single and double head motiff.
Well thats it for now.
Joel