Jewelry quality, craftsmanship and integrity

A good example is this opal ring. You’ll notice the centerpiece stone is a brilliant “Lightening Ridge” black opal. The rich intense blue-green color of the cabochon stone is intrinsic to the design and appeal of the ring, and many jewelers would simply focus on that. But what about the rest of the ring?

Much of the jewelry you see today is being done by printing a computer generated “halo design” in wax, versus hand carving and hand finishing. A lot of thought, feel, and radiance are lost when the machines do the work instead of a person. My custom work is always hand wrought, never CAD-CAM (Computer Aided Design-Computer Aided Manufacturing). There is a place for it, but I feel the design process is better served by a craftsman’s eyes and hands attending to the details, versus a machine. Over my years in fine jewelry design, I’ve refused to take that route.

The result in the case of this ring, is a hand-engraved ring with a diamond and platinum halo around the black opal that highlights its color and fire. Every one of the halo diamonds and the two trapezoid diamonds at each side was chosen to enhance the opal’s unique character. As a finishing touch, I added 18k yellow gold prongs and filagree work – because to me, the elegance is in the details.

It takes more time to do this, sure. But I think the end result is worth the trouble, wouldn’t you agree?