Cool Ideas

For a Special Daughter

A customer wanted to give his daughter a very special gift for Christmas. Here's his story:

"After some initial discussions, via telephone, I decided that a ring might be the best choice. Cathy and I worked via phone and email, as well as Facebook during the process. After deciding on a ring, Cathy called me and we spoke at great length about my daughter, her likes and dislikes in jewelry as well as mundane things like ring size. She forced me to think. I provided pictures of my daughter so she could see her and the kinds of things she wears. Armed with that information Cathy went away and came back with suggested designs. I was floored! I could actually see my daughter wearing any of the possible designs. It was amazing! Over a period of a few weeks, the design was refined and I selected the option I liked best. The finished rings were outstanding and my daughter loved them. ... In a way, Cathy got into my head and brought out the perfect gift. Trusting Cathy with this important gift was the best thing I did! All of the things that one might think of negatives were not; long distance communication, no input from my very selective daughter, and ring design when Cathy had not ever met my daughter. It all worked out. ... My daughter loves her rings ".

His final choice were these stack rings, which struck me as being very versatile, since they could be worn alone, or as a group, or paired with other rings she might have. The rings were 3 different colors of sapphire, all set in gold, with textured and plain bands. I thought the petite baguette stones would be just the thing for a petite young woman.

Sapphire Stack Rings
"The rings are gorgeous! Far more beautiful than I could ever have imagined. ... You made the whole process easy for me. You may be certain that I will tell everyone that might be interested in truly outstanding custom work to look you up on your shop's website or Facebook page. I look forward to working with you in the future. "

I love feedback like that and the knowledge that I played my little part in helping a Dad show his daughter how much he loved her.

Make a Family Memory to Last a Lifetime

My customer brought me an antique silver cuff that was very badly tarnished, thin, and had split almost into two pieces. She wondered what, if anything, could be done with it. I told her that because of the split and the thinness of the metal, a repair probably wouldn't hold up under the strain of putting the cuff on and taking it off. But the cuff had potential! I wondered if I could use the metal to make earrings and pendants.  My customer has two granddaughters; she thought they might each like these as a memento. As you can see, once I cleaned up the metal, the beautiful pattern emerged! As she wrote me:

"I hope that your creative work will inspire others to dig out those broken/unused heirlooms and work with you to breathe new life into them!"


Very Cool Idea - Recycled Gold and Conflict-free Diamonds
Do you like repurposing and recycling? And believe that gemstones should be mined ethically and responsibly? There are many ways to show your beliefs in your choice of jewelry. The necklace below is made by recycling clean gold scrap (the little bits and pieces of unused gold from projects) into golden nuggets. Each one is a little different; their appearance is determined by all sort of factors that occur when the gold is melted into a nugget. If you want to go one step further, you can also embellish the nugget with conflict-free diamonds that have been sourced from Australian mines.

The possibilities are endless - necklaces, rings, earrings and cufflinks. Even wedding rings and/or wedding party jewelry. Each piece will be unique and made totally from ethically sourced materials. The price of these pieces is determined by the weight of the gold. Please get in touch with me if you would like to discuss a project using these materials.


Cool Idea - A Bangle with a Personal Statement
A new customer got in touch with me and asked me if I could design a bangle for her that would provide a subtle reminder for her busy daily life. She wanted a bangle with the word "pause" on it so that she could always see the word from any angle. She wanted a simple, organic bangle - not ostentatious or highly embellished - a quiet statement piece. After a number of online discussions, we hit upon a design, a four-sided gently waved bangle.

As she told me, ""I just wanted to let you know that I opened my bracelet last night and I'm very happy with all aspects of it. It fits perfectly, the finish is just right, and the overall weight of it and the wavy edge and words are just right. I was thinking that it's sort of a two-fold piece--it's ornamental, like you'd expect a bracelet to be, but it also has a severity that's part of its real function, which is to support my meditation practice. Kind of like wearing prayer beads. Anyway, I am very pleased with it and I much appreciate not only your lovely craftsmanship but your patience and flexibility and efforts to make sure we were always on the same page." For a jeweler, it doesn't get much better than this.

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Email: cathyheinz@maine.rr.com
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