In December, when actress Emma Stone showed off the pearl engagement ring given to her by writer/director Dave McCary, my first thought was, “I have to write that ‘Pearl engagement rings are bad‘ blog post AGAIN? Nah … I’m not gonna.” A few weeks later, actress Michelle Williams was spotted wearing what looked like a…
engagement rings
Wedding Wednesday: Brown Diamond for a Dude
Two years ago, I shared this photo of a brown-diamond engagement ring that I custom-made for a man to wear. (It’s shown next to one of my own platinum styles.) View this post on Instagram Man's 18K gold yellow ring with brown diamond, shown next to my own platinum thumb ring. Custom-made for a gorgeous…
Wednesday’s Video: The Wedding Band
Last July, I did a video about how I — a jewelry designer with plenty of secure places to keep jewelry — lost my wedding band. This was no store-bought ring, either: My wedding band and engagement ring were the first two pieces I designed, years before I got into the business. Recently, it dawned…
What Wendy Wore: Abigail & Max Got Married
It’s fun when I get to make the engagement ring and wedding bands for a couple and then attend the wedding. That’s happened a few times. (Whenever you hear someone stage-whisper, “THANK GOD!” when a wedding band smoothly goes on a finger, you know there’s a jewelry designer among the guests.) Last weekend, I had…
Wednesday’s Video: Engagement Ring How-To
People frequently ask me how to pick the right engagement ring. In this week’s video, I offer my expert advice, based not only on my 13 years in the jewelry business, but also on my own personal engagement-ring story. Don’t forget to check out the related links in the video description on YouTube for some…
Jewels of the Month(s): Custom Wedding Bands in 18K Gold
I wanted to show these two custom wedding bands together, so I’m squeezing in the Jewel of the Month for March just in the nick of time — alongside the very belated Jewel of the Month for February. One of the great things about the jewelry business is that my customers often become good friends….
Wednesday’s Videos: Mangagement Rings and More
A big thank you to jewelry writer Amy Elliott, who gave me a shout-out in this Yahoo! News story on “mangagement” rings. I happen to be very proud of a gorgeous brown-diamond mangagement ring I made last year. Man's 18K gold yellow ring with brown diamond, shown next to my own platinum thumb ring. Custom-made…
Wendy Brandes Wedding Jewelry on Engagement 101!
As you might guess from the name, Engagement 101 is the site for everything you need to know about engagement rings and proposals. EVERYTHING! There are different proposal ideas for different seasons, a checklist, a schedule — damn! This is thorough! I’ve walked quite a few men (and women) through the proposal process, but from…
Celebrity Engagement Rings: A Review
There have been a few high-profile engagements recently, and I’ve been keeping a professional eye out for the rings. Prince Harry gets a round of applause for one of the best celebrity engagement rings I’ve seen in a while. I like its well-balanced proportions and somewhat unexpected use of 18K yellow gold. Embed from Getty…
Year in Review: Jewels of the Month for 2017
At the end of the year, I tend to feel like I didn’t do as many new designs as I wanted to … via GIPHY … so it’s good to take a look back and appreciate everything that has been accomplished! While my Jewel of the Month posts usually feature my newest designs, I also…