Creating a Vision – Turquoise, Ruby & Amethyst Custom Design

One of my favorite things is to design a custom one-of-a-kind piece that truly represents something important to the customer.  It can be a rewarding experience for not only me but for the customer as well.  They get to see something that expresses a piece of their story, come to life.  Last year, we were at an event and unfortunately, it started raining just a little before the event was due to close.  As we started packing up, a guy stopped by.  He’d just gotten there and wanted to quickly walk around to see everything before everyone was gone.  He stopped and talked for a minute, started to make the rounds and turned around, and came back.  From just our few minutes of conversation and looking around the booth, he felt drawn to our designs and our son’s story. He wanted to purchase something to remember us by.  I’m sure the fact that he loves turquoise, my favorite stone, and saw several designs with it might have had something to do with it too.  A few weeks later, I received a phone call.  He had a very special piece in mind and wanted us to create it for him.  The design process started with a conversation with the customer to understand his vision.  Turquoise has a VERY special meaning for him, he wanted a statement piece that would spotlight it while incorporating his and his fiancee’s birthstones, amethyst, and ruby, in a meaningful and harmonious way.  This couldn’t be just “another” wire-wrapped pendant, but something that would truly stand out so that people would comment on it, giving him a chance to tell them not only about his mission in life, but he also wanted to be able to tell them about the inspiration of the designer.  This project was truly a joy to work on and a testament to his trust.

The design I came up with features a large genuine southwestern turquoise stone as the centerpiece.  The turquoise is wire-wrapped in a way that emphasizes its beauty and gives it stability. Above the turquoise, I placed a smaller ruby for his fiancee’s birthstone and a much smaller Amethyst for the customer’s. Although just the turquoise stone, wire wrapped in this design would have been gorgeous, tying them together sets the pendant apart and creates a cohesive look.

He and his fiancée loved it so much, they asked me to create another one, the mirror image of his, swapping the amethyst and ruby placement, for her.  He asked me to have it ready for her for Christmas and if possible, to find a wooden box to present it in.  And what do you know, I happened to have one beautiful wooden box that I’d started to gift to someone, but for some reason decided to hold on to it.  According to him, it was perfect since his fiancée also loves unique wooden boxes.

Working on this project was a true privilege, and I felt honored to be trusted to create something that would represent such an important part of my customer’s life. As always, creating something inspired by my son, but focusing on the customer’s story, makes me realize how blessed I am to be able to do this.  The result was a beautiful, unique piece of jewelry that truly captured the essence of my customer’s vision.

I know these pieces will be treasured for years to come.  I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of my customer’s special story. And by learning more about the customer and his vision, we have become a part of each other’s story.  I know that years from now, maybe after I’m long gone.  He’ll be wearing his pendant, someone will comment and he’ll say, “Let me tell you a little bit about the story behind it, what it means to me, and about the person who designed it, and their inspiration (my son).”  Did I tell you I love what I do??

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