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…
wedding bands
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…
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…
Throwback Thursday: Eryn Wearing Something Borrowed
My right-hand woman Eryn got engaged in this February and married in September. I previously mentioned that Eryn had her eyes on my opal lariat necklace for her big “something borrowed” jewelry, but wound up selecting a different design. Here’s a belated photo of her mom helping her with my one-of-a-kind Selene moonstone necklace. When…
Jewel of the Month, Part II: Abigail’s Engagement Ring
Every day, I get three or four emails in which someone claims to be a “big fan” of my blog and offers me $50 to publish a guest post (which often includes the dreaded “infographic”). Of course, anyone who truly is a big fan of this blog might have noticed that I haven’t had a…
Wendy Brandes Jewelry in the News
A big thank you to Amy Elliott of JCK for including my hockey mask and chainsaw earrings in her Halloween jewelry round-up. I also enjoyed a visit with Severine Ferrari, the editor-in-chief of Engagement 101. She shared a video on the ‘Gram of the 18K yellow gold and black diamond wedding band I created to…
Wednesday’s Video: Engagement-Ring Advice
I’ve written about the problems of using nontraditional gems in engagement rings: People are just too tough on everyday rings to mess around with pearls! That’s why I prefer to use only the hardest gems in engagement rings. Diamonds, for instance, rate a perfect 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, while rubies and sapphires (aka…