Happy Halloween!

I just wanted to take a few minutes away from the bench to wish everybody a Happy Halloween! While Sal and I didn't get the chance to dress up this year, we decided that it was only fitting to dress up Jupiter. He is such an amazing creature... he just sat there and humored us!

So... without delay... here's Jupiter as Conan O'Brien! He's English, from Boston, has long legs, freckles and is ALMOST as pasty.

GS: Babies Everywhere!

There's nothing like a baby born with a silver spoon in his/her mouth... literally. Silver is naturally antibacterial... did you know that? That's why silver cups and spoons are a great choice for kids!

I was recently commissioned to make to make a baby spoon. I used to enjoy making baby spoons... now, honestly, they are a pain in my toosh. Silver isn't expensive, but the fabricating them is labor intensive. And because I need to charge for labor, which is more than the silver, people complain and cannot understand what is so special to warrant such a price tag. Well, it's a custom fabricated and completely personalized work of art... that you can use. And the point of this spoon is to USE it, not just have it sit in a drawer.

Anyway, here's a new one. I happened to not only know the person that ordered it, but also the couple that was receiving it. So, I knew exactly what to do on it... SPACE!

There is a cut out of a small rocket and flying to Saturn, surrounded by stars and hand engraved with the baby's name (Ari) with a star over the letter 'i'. How damn cute!

Unfortunately this isn't the best photo, but it still give you the idea!

GS: A French Inspired Engagement Ring

When you have a really REALLY high quality diamond, all you want to do is set it in a way to showcase it... not take away from it. So normally, you would set it high in the least amount of metal possible. But when it's going to a highly active client, you want to make sure it is set as safely as possible.

Normally, when I think of safe, I think of bezel. But we didn't want to bezel set this diamond, we wanted to let in the most light possible. The client also wanted something a bit more classic looking. So I came up with a heavy prong idea, which was inspired by antique furniture.

When dealing with larger stones it's common to use a 'claw' prong (which looks like 2 claws holding the stone in place for each prong.) I wanted to used a feature I adore from classic furniture, the ball and claw foot.



I'm not sure if the ball and claw is technically French by design, but I have seen many French antiques that use that element. So I built triple claw prongs, each out of 3 wires soldered together. Now, I did have the center wire much larger (round/bulbous) than the side 2 wires of each claw prong when I fabricated the setting, but my classically trained stone setter thought differently and shaped them as he saw fit. While it wasn't my original design, sometimes you can't argue with experience. So, I will consider the finishing on this piece a collaboration... and it looks amazing!

The final ring is a 1.5ct VVS1 E round brilliant diamond with a platinum setting...

GS: A Contemporary Spin on an Antique Style

Sometimes I get to make a surprise engagement ring for a couple that I know personally. And when I get to do this, I can really help bring their personality and style into the design. And this is most definitely one of those rings.

The groom-to-be wanted something slightly classic and antique, but with a hip and contemporary spin. So, my first thought was a rose cut diamond. I ADORE rose cut diamonds! They are an antique cut from the middle ages which has had a resurgence in popularity and are being cut again. Rose cuts have a flat bottom, unlike today's brilliant cut diamonds, and have the total of 48 facets. The flat bottom keeps all the weight on the top of the stone, which makes the stone look larger.

So, this ring has a .60 ct VS/F rose cut diamond in a 14K yellow setting, with a 14K white gold bezel and lining inside the head.






So, there you have it! A bit antique, a bit contemporary, totally fab!