My favorite metal is 18K yellow gold — I think it works best with my history-inspired designs — but I use platinum, 18K white gold and silver in my jewelry as well. My “Gravity” wedding/engagement designs, for instance, all got their start in platinum. The Gravity name came from the unusual heft of the first ring.
Original Gravity wedding band. Weighs as much as a small child, I swear. Click to see the yellow gold and black diamond version.
In 2010, when I introduced a Gravity band with a heart-shaped diamond, I considered changing the name of the collection and asked for everyone’s input, but I never made a decision! There were so many good suggestions in the comments of this post … I’m looking at them all again with fresh eyes.
Click for original post about this ring.
This ring looked especially good with my latest nail look by celebrity manicurist Tracylee Percival. I hadn’t seen Tracylee in a long time and my nails were broken and extra-short, so I skipped the nail art/designs and went for a solid — Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips in “Metal Head.”
I normally wear this ring on my thumb.
I think the wedding-jewelry designs that I do for my line are a good illustration of my contrarian nature. A lot of non-wedding jewelry I see is too simple for my taste — a gem set in four prongs — so when I’m designing a regular piece, I give people unexpected, intricate detail.
A close-up of my Empress Wu dragon earring. Click for more information.
But a lot of wedding jewelry looks too fussy and delicate to me, so then I go the opposite route. My preferred bridal looks are simple, bold and strong. I’m not a huge fan of the extra-skinny, micro-pave-diamond, engagement-ring shank that seems to be the hot celebrity style lately. Beauty is about proportion, and large center stones can overwhelm fragile-looking metal work. Besides, I know how hard people are on their engagement rings. I like a ring that’s up to the task, not one where the metal — which does all the hard work of keeping the stones in position and the ring on your finger — is an afterthought.
When it comes to custom orders, I’ll do anything from classic to crazy, but I will always strive for a good balance of gems and metal. Yes, I will make you a ring with a traditional four-prong setting, but I won’t miniaturize the shank to try to make the stone look bigger.
One of my classic looks. Nicely proportioned, if I do say so myself. Click for more information.
If you have avant-garde taste, I can accommodate that too. One of my favorite custom designs is the engagement ring I did for my graphic designer Lori (who is about to get married any day!). She was so happy to have something that reflected her personal taste rather than someone else’s notion of what an engagement ring “should” look like.
Click to read about Lori’s ring.
If you’re in the market for wedding jewelry, bring me your dreams and I’ll turn them into a ring that fits your life, style and finger perfectly. It will be all about you — as it should be — and not about what works for a celebrity or a magazine editorial or advertising campaign.
You can browse more of my custom engagement and wedding rings here.
I can’t wait until you do my engagement ring! Oh no, I guess that means I need to start dating! LOL
There’s a guy in a cow suit who really likes you!
You’re a nerd.
LOL
you are so freakin’ talented….. that is all 🙂
Traditional engagement rings give me the creeps – should the occasion arise, I’m so glad there is you in the world! Gorgeous work.
And why does everyone have to go with a diamond for an engagement ring. I read somewhere that many moons ago it was a sapphire that was used for an engagement ring.
As a matter of fact I don’t care for diamonds, their boring I want color, color color color lol
As for your Gravity Band I prefer the heart.
Marta
The ring I did for Lori is actual a white sapphire cab over a small diamond brilliant! I don’t really care about color — if you want it, it’s good, if you don’t, fine. But I do prefer people to use a very hard stone like a diamond, sapphire or ruby, the way people abuse their rings. I always hear about women wanting a fragile gem like a pearl or opal. And then they’re going to try to wear it to the beach and in a pool? It will be ruined in a month!