Judy has been in the jewelry business for over 40 years. She has been custom making and designing jewelry for 30 years now. Work with her one on one creating the piece of your dreams. Judy recently designed a beautiful tanzanite piece, you can see pictures from start to finish below:
Custom Made 18K Yellow & White Gold 4.75 Carat Tanzanite & .73 CTW Diamond Ring- June 2009
The concept started with a 4.75 trilliant cut tanzanite, the customer wanted Judy to design a 2 toned 18k gold ring with diamonds. Below is the wax, its created in the customers size and the stones are placed in place to see exactly what the ring will look like.
The mold was then shown to the customer, once the customer approves the actual ring itself is made and we have a custom made ring!
Explanation of Custom Made Jewelry:
To be considered "Custom Made Jewelry" the piece should only be created one time. Custom Jewelry comes in many levels and price ranges, from the most common Jewelry assembled from standardized parts, to lost wax castings, to high end fabricated Jewelry.
Many jewelers use manufactured pieces that are made by the thousands. They set a stone or stones in a pre-made mold and call it Custom Made. This is not to say the piece will not be beautiful, but that is not what Custom Made is meant to be.
The process of the Lost Wax Technique:
The process begins with your vision and our jewelry designer’s creativity. Our jeweler uses their artistry and experience to interpret your wishes using drawings or photos of rings that inspire you.
Once you decide on the design you like and the stones and metal have been chosen, a hand carved wax model is created. This process is done by actually carving the design using the stones you have chosen. The wax model is created so you can visualize, touch, feel and make any changes if needed, which makes you a real part of the whole creation process.
When the wax model has been approved, the next step is to encase the wax model in a special plaster, put it in a high temperature oven and bake until the wax vaporizes, leaving the impression of the piece. Then the appropriate amount of melted metal will be poured into the prepared plaster and left to harden. The next step is removing the plaster and exposing the unfinished piece.
Our jeweler is now ready to finish the piece, by filing, setting the stones and polishing; thus the vision becomes reality.
Hand Fabrication:
This is a technique that does not use a wax model. It is solely produced by fabrication, meaning forming parts from sheet metal, wire, and findings to complete the piece, using solder to put it together. Then the stones are set and the final polishing is done.
If you are interested in designing your own piece of jewelry give Judy a call (360) 668-2658 or send her an EMAIL.
