Blog — custom jewelry

Alastair Blake Peters, a fellow artist and former classmate from the Tyler School of Art, reached out to me requesting a pair of custom plug earrings. I laid out a spiraling fern design, based on the Fibonacci sequence, as a jumping off point for our design discussion. After reviewing the initial images, he sent me a couple of inspiration images demonstrating the radial patterns and dark, subtle coloration that he was drawn to. He also mentioned that he really admired my Protea Collection, and would love to see a plug design based on the Protea Amulet. So, for the second...

My brother Ben asked me to create a custom engagement ring for his girlfriend, Meg. He had a few images of vintage-inspired rings that Meg mentioned she was interested in. I had been picking up clues over time, as well. I already knew her finger size, that she likes round diamonds, and prefers bezel settings. That's enough to start with! (Ready to start dropping hints yourself? Send me a message!) I created two options for Ben to look over. The first option featured a round brilliant center diamond with a simple split-prong halo. I added some leaf-shaped filigree underneath the...

My client asked me to create a tough, hammered cuff bracelet as a Christmas gift for his boyfriend. To start this project, we examined and measured some of his boyfriend's bracelets to figure out the right size. I decided that it would be easiest and fastest to design the basic shape in CAD, mill it in wax, then carve a hammered texture in the wax. I used a large ball burr to mimic the texture marks that a planishing hammer would produce on the surface of the metal. After I laid out the hammered texture, my client reviewed the bracelet....

  It's engagement season! I've been designing a number of custom engagement rings this month, so my sketchbook has been filled with ideas for halo rings, one-of-kind solitaire stunners, and vintage-inspired engraved rings. xo, Christine

The alternative title for this blog post is "My First Engagement Ring". So glad it was for my sister! On Halloween weekend in 2009, my sister Tania and her boyfriend Chris came to the city for a Halloween house party in South Philly. Tania's always been a little craftier than me, so while she helped my boyfriend whip together a last minute costume, Chris and I went out to the corner store. On that walk, Chris asked if I'd be willing to design an engagement ring for Tania using a diamond he had researched and sourced from Blue Nile. My...