Independent Jewelry Designers Translating From Paper To Precious Metal

While much of the country continues to figure out the best apps and programs to meet, share information and do their jobs from home, international independent jewelry designers are immersed in creative expression They reveal how they turn pencil renderings into refined sketches and eventual into fine jewelry in precious metals and gemstones "When I have the idea for a piece, I start off by drawing an initial sketch.

From there, I edit and re-sketch the piece until it slowly transforms into a beautiful design After that, I hand make a wax model and cast the piece when I decide on the metal I want to make it in Once the piece is cast, I polish it, set the stones, and add more intricate details like etching or hammering by hand" "I generally start to design by sketching by hand.

My initial designs are usually very rough and shapeless Then I transform the rough sketch into a tighter black and white sketch on Illustrator before starting the CAD From the rough sketch to approving the CAD, I spend about a minimum of three months per design for each design, and could spend up to six months to one year for a larger more complicated piece.

I go through a very lengthy and intense process to get everything right before producing an actual piece of jewelry." "We found these beautiful emerald cut morganite stones and wanted to create a one of a kind suite of jewelry For our one of a kind pieces, we don't use CADs, we much prefer pencil and paper We start with a sketch, and once the design has been completed it goes to the jeweler who makes a handmade wax model, which is then cast in sterling silver to confirm the scale, comfort and mechanics.

Wearability is a priority when we design Upon the approval of the sterling silver model for this design, we cast in 18K rose gold and set the morganite stones with surrounding champagne diamonds The result is a beautiful, golden-hued set that compliments all skin tones" "Once the first sketch is made and perfected like the first picture, I send the drawing to my designing partner who makes the computer drawing with dimensions.

While she's doing the computer work, I look for the gemstones for the earrings and have a meeting with my jeweler to explain small details and the mechanism of the piece so he can execute the project." "As I design a new piece of jewelry to add to my collection I like to think about who will wear it and how it will be worn I work things out on paper and to get a sense of how it will all lay out Lately I have been experimenting with a variety of diamond shapes and clustering them together to create linear patterns.

I love how these earrings turned out! They are really easy to wear any time and would be a great bridal earring too Lots of options for lots of women." . Source