New York Jewelry Designer

One of the great things about being a jewelry designer in New York City is having access to some really excellent gemstone dealers. It is very difficult to buy gems over the internet and so when I get a custom order, I have easy access to some of the most important wholesale gem dealers in the country and who are based right here in the Manhattan. I usually spend a lot of time going through my network of dealers' inventories before settling on the perfect gemstone. The ability to find high quality gemstones at good prices is something that my clients really appreciate.

Aquamarine Cocktail Ring

I created this ring with soft, feminine curves using a delicate blue aquamarine stone.  The stone is 2.0 carats and the ring is sterling silver. 6.25 ring size. To make the ring in another size, please email me.

Handmade Gold Jewelry

Creating a magnificent piece of jewelry requires attention to detail at every stage of the process. Handmade jewelry needs patience and meticulous care. Here are a few steps that you need to go through:

Sample 1:  Circle Pendant

With this piece, I am creating a circle pendant.  The picture below shows the back of the pendant.  Each square is cut out by hand using a very fine saw.  Look carefully, you can see the saw blade cutting one of the squares.  The saw is the thickness of a few human hairs.

Below is the  front of the Circle Pendant. I am testing out a few gemstone color options.  The top pendant shows various hued spessartite gemstones, the bottom has a mixture of aquamarine and citrine.

Sample 2: Gold Pave Earrings

I created a set of pave earrings in gold.  This is what they look like before the earring post and stones have been set.

Below, the gemstones are being individually set.  I am using a combination of pink tourmaline and aquamarine pave which is a color combination that I love.  To set the stones, the earring is first placed in a special heated plastic compound.  When the plastic cools, it forms a rock-hard vice around the earring.  This allows me to set the stones using a lot of force to bend the prongs and cut out any excess metal without damaging the exterior of the earring.

Related Links
 - Sozai Custom-Designed Jewelry

Cloud Tourmaline Pendant

The pendant is from my Cloud series. It is sterling silver with a 1.59 carat oval red tourmaline. The chain is included.

Cloud Red Garnet Pendant

I created this sterling silver cloud pendant with a beautiful deep red 1.83 carat garnet.  The pendant has a beautiful airy form. The sterling silver chain is included.

Paraiba Tourmaline Gemstones

Paraiba tourmaline is one of the most amazing gemstones. The color is a fantastic electric blue or green that separates it from all other gems. Although tourmaline is generally not a highly expensive stone in the same range as diamonds or ruby's, the same cannot be said of the Paraiba. Top quality stones can go for $10,000 to $20,000 per carat. Paraiba are named for the province in Brazil where they were first discovered.

David Sherman of Paraiba.com, the company that developed the original Paraiba mines, sued a number of gem labs to stop them from assigning the Paraiba designation to similar stones mined in Africa and Madascar. Brazilian gemstones dealers believed this was hurting the value of their business and was suing for $120 million.

Here are a few Paraiba from my collection:

Paraiba is a rare stone and is collected by gem and jewelry connoisseurs. Email me if you would like me to design a ring, or a pendant for you using one of these Paraiba stones.

Related Links

• Paraiba Engagement Ring
• Gemstones Jewelry

Carnelian Organic Pendant

This is a fun ball pendant with carnelian gemstones. Carnelian is a reddish Chalcedony. In Roman times, Carnelian was most prized and was used to adorn luxurious Roman jewelry. The piece is created in an organic style. Made in Sterling Silver.

Ancient Jewelry: Great Style Never Fades

A pearl and emerald earring dating back to the time of Jesus has been found outside the walls of Jerusalem.  The piece consists of a large pearl, inlaid with gold, with two drop emeralds and smaller pearls.  

It is remarkable for its preserved quality and precious nature.  It was likely worn by a wealthy person of the time.

What strikes me most about it is that it would not seem out of place in a jewelry boutique today.  

Charlize Theron's Jewelry World

Most people pay a lot of money to wear expensive designer jewelry. If, however, you are Charlize Theron, you get paid a lot of money to wear jewelry. In a dispute with Raymond Weil, court documents claim that  Charlize got paid:

• $3m to endorse Raymond Weil watches for 18 months
• $200,000 to wear Chopard for the 2006 Oscars and another $50,000 for BAFTA awards in London
• $0 to wear Cartier to the 2006 Golden Globes (if you don't count a $35,000 ring, $8000 earrings and a $7,500 bracelet given to her as a token of appreciation).

What can I say, except that I am jealous!!

Late Update:  It appears that Raymond Weil and Charlize have come to an agreement to settle the case.

Obama v. McCain: The Jewelry Debate

Here we have Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain wearing classic pearl necklaces. Who do you think wears more interesting jewelry in general? Let me know your comments.

Late update: On election night, Vogue is reporting that Michelle Obama wore diamond encrusted triple dangle, white gold earrings with pear, oval and marquee shapes at a price of $10,000.

Diamond Grading: The Four C's

Gabi Tolkowski, one of the greatest diamond cutters, in an interview with the The StarPhoenix, talks about the 4 C's:

The Four Cs to me is a program that teaches consumers and the people to know what they should look for. . . . Those are four elements that are the basic tools to understand how a diamond should be looking. But you cannot go and impose on a person who likes an oblong shape to go into a square one. You can't force somebody who likes the shape of a drop to get a round one. What about all those that are loved by other people? It's no more Four Cs, it's millions of Cs.

Tolkowski has cut some great diamonds such as the Centenary Diamond and the Golden Jubilee Diamond, the largest faceted diamond in the world at 545 carats.

Golden Jubilee Diamond