Gratitude

We love making jewelry - and we make lots of it. Truly, so much goes into each piece. For those of us in the office and studio we don't get the rush of gratification from seeing someone's face when they come in to pick up their engagement ring or necklace that we've worked on. More often we're putting out fires of materials problems and rushing orders thru so that someone can propose on their chosen date. What makes all this worthwhile (beside the fact that we generally love what we do) is when we get unsolicited, heart-felt feedback from our customers - of which we've gotten a bunch as of late! We got permission to share a few of these on the blog - thanks so much to our wonderful customers.

'Dear Rebekah, last evening J. and I celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary. After dinner I gave her the ring you worked so hard to restore. She loves it. The beautiful diamond you selected sparkles on her hand. She feels it is a happy ring, it’s visual and physical lightness really appeals to her, and the classic yet modern design of the piece is just to her taste.  The proportions of the ring look great on her beautiful long tapering fingers. Your extraordinary craftsmanship and talent as a designer transformed my grandmother’s ring into a uniquely beautiful piece. Thank you so much for helping us to mark and celebrate this milestone in our lives. All the best to you and yours' - Tim, June 26th

'Hey Rebekah and crew - we picked up our wedding rings a couple weeks ago, and we haven't yet had a chance to thank everyone for the great advice, friendliness, and general good vibes we got there. We love the rings, and we value the fact that they're hand-made locally. In a time where so many things are cheapened by mass-production it's nice to see a successful business dealing with such quality. Again, many thanks and be well!  Hopefully we'll get some ring photos from the big day to send along!' - Phil, July 11th

'Rebekah, what a joy to work with you. Both E. & I said how grateful we are to have your hands and spirit working on our rings.  Many many thanks.' - Joy, July16

Vacation

The blog has gone quiet of late due to the oppressive heat melting our ambitions. That, and we also had company vacation the past couple weeks! So nice to un-plug & disconnect for a minute. Built an improvised brick oven in the woods of NH, swam alot & even hung out with baby goats. Now that we're back we are re-invigorated & over the next couple weeks will be moving into a bigger & better production studio. All very inspiring, so look for new posts coming shortly..

New Antique Engagement Ring

Today we completed the restoration of this beautiful Victorian engagement ring that we purchased recently from one of our European antique dealers. It is a perfect example of a piece that can only be entirely handmade.  The crown setting is in 14kt white gold and holds an aprox. 1/4 ct diamond. The low bridge has beautiful rose cut bead-set diamonds embedded in it which gives this ring extra sparkle. Here is yet another reason to choose quality over size in a diamond. It is a one of a kind piece, as only an antique ring can be, fully restored to its original splendor. It will be making its way to one of our stores in the next few days and soon onto the hand of a very lucky lady! -RB

Victorian Jewelry (Circa 1840-1890)

Victorian Jewelry (Circa 1840-1890)

The second day of our 'Antique Jewelry Primer' brings us to the Victorian era. Probably our collective favorite & the period which inspires us most in terms of our own aesthetic sensibility. Delicate, intricate motifs (often inspired by nature) prevailed with floral motifs and symbolic themes found on rings, lockets, brooches and earrings. 

 Victorian Cameo Necklace

Queen Victoria influenced much of the fashion of the world.  By the mid century, and with the death of Prince Albert, the Queen went into a long period of mourning and black jewelry came into fashion.  Jet jewelry is timeless and strikingly contemporary as it goes with so many of our own (current) fashion trends. Later in the century, silver jewelry again took its place as diamonds and pearl set jewelry were once more in style. The end of the Victorian Era saw a move towards color & light with jewelers invoking more feminine styles &  brightening their designs with emeralds, sapphires & spinel. 

Georgian Jewelry (Circa 1714-1835)

Georgian Jewelry (Circa 1714-1835)

We covet any treasure from this elegant era of jewelry history! Tastes and style changed considerably over the span of this era. The start of the period was mainly gold and silver with diamonds, sapphires and emeralds. Later though, the fall of the aristocracy and neo-classicism led jewelry designs into a different world altogether - one of less costly materials and semi-precious gem stones. During this time, a rising middle class began to afford the luxury of jewels and finery. Paste jewelry came into vogue as a substitute for diamonds by a growing middle class that couldn't quite afford them. Pastes (which are glass composites) are softer than ordinary glass but have a higher index of refraction and dispersion that give them great brilliancy and fire. Quality paste stones from this era were faceted & polished in the same way an actual diamond would've been cut - and often, no less beautiful.

 This stick pin is a simple example of paste jewelry from the end of the Georgian era.