An Heirloom Redesign: "Sparking Joy" Every Day
We all are familiar with Marie Kondo's iconic entreaty to keep pieces in our lives that "spark joy" while discarding those that do not. This can be easy enough when the items in hand are clothes or old books, but what do you do with a precious piece of jewelry? Design something you love!
Our client came to us with a large ruby cocktail ring that had been given to her by her father, who loves scouring auctions for unique pieces. This ruby cocktail ring certainly fit the bill, but it wasn't our client's taste - though she loved the rubies. It was already missing one of the corner rubies, which cemented her decision to take the plunge and redesign the ring.
We first chatted about her current collection of jewelry and what she felt she was missing. This client especially loves pieces that she can put on and never take off - a true "set it and forget it" type of uniform, which I understand completely. She liked the idea of a tennis bracelet, but upon discussing the idea further, we decided that for the sake of durability and to achieve a less "dressy" look, maybe a channel-set bangle would be better. Then, we had to decide what to do with the diamonds in the ring. Should the bracelet just feature rubies? If it has diamonds, what kind of pattern would she like? We decided that an alternating diamond-ruby-diamond pattern felt too busy and traditional - she wanted something more subdued but also abstract. Challenge! In thinking through ideas more, I remembered a ring design idea I had discussed a while ago that integrated Morse Code into the gemstone spread. What if we had the diamonds represent something in their placement? My client then had the sweet idea to integrate her wedding anniversary date into the layout: 8/19, represented by a diamond placed eight rubies in, and then 19 rubies in. The result is a very subtle play on pattern that holds a beautiful meaning for her - sparking joy every day.
I checked in with her recently, and she confirmed that she wears it every single day, which is music to my ears. It's a stunning design, but not over the top. Crafting a piece like this took a lot of skill and creativity on our part, and Tim and I felt very proud of it from design through creation.
What do you have in your jewelry box that could use a little "spark"? Make an appointment to talk through your next design today. We would love to work with you!
