My sister not only went back to school, but she graduated today with a Doctorate in Psychology! And to commemorate the occasion, here's the 18K yellow gold pendant with diamonds I designed for her...
Tagged Custom Design
I Do! Sometimes an Aquamarine is a Girl’s Best Friend
Colored gemstones are hot, and not just as accessory pieces. Here's a wonderful aquamarine and yellow gold engagement ring which, when paired with its matching diamond wedding band, packs an eye-popping punch.
A Design a Day – Day 54
Late last summer (those of you procrastinators, take note!), I was approached by a client who wanted to discuss a custom design project for his wife’s upcoming “significant” birthday, which happens to be today. We met so that I could learn more about what he was hoping to accomplish and so that I could guide him in his decision making. These were the parameters he gave me:
- Earrings
- Diamonds
- High karat gold (possibly two tone, so that the piece would be more versatile paired with her other jewelry)
- November birthstone
- Modern/classic design
I worked up seven different earrings designs for my client. He eventually chose this one:

November’s birthstone is usually one of two gemstones; topaz (which can be cognac-colored or various shades of blue) or citrine (honey color). After seeing this rendering, my client asked to see the briolette as a citrine instead of a blue topaz. I was able to easily change the color of the briolette in photoshop for him to see. He preferred the 2nd version. As a result, we decided to also flip the placement of the white gold and yellow gold “swag” so that the yellow gold swag would end with the citrine briolette.
From here, it was on to manufacturing. I met with the manufacturer several times to ensure that the wax carving was to my specifications and to ensure that the gemstones were to my liking.
The earrings were completed last week, with just enough lead time in advance of the November 11th deadline for me to shoot some photos. Here are the finished earrings together with my original rendering:

And, in a closeup on my Plexiglas model “Dorabella”:
