As I have gotten older, I have come to appreciate the “finer” things in life. Really in all aspects, but definitely in my fashion and accessory choices. In my jewelry, I have my every-day pieces that are so special to me, I could not imagine a day not wearing them. These pieces were either given to me by someone special, passed down through generations, or mark monumental moments in my life. They are priceless. They are irreplaceable. They are heirlooms that I intend to keep in my family and one day, pass down to my children.
A couple of months ago, I met Kate (of Kate Furman Jewelry) on Instagram. We began to discuss an opportunity to work together in designing a piece of jewelry for my collection. I was SO excited to actually design something that I knew would become a special piece in our family and quickly went to the drawing board. Of my everyday jewelry pieces, I typically want “dainty” and “classic” to be descriptions of them. I have my wedding ring (which is obviously special), the ring Jon Luke gave me after Miles was born, my grandmothers initial ring and three other small gold/diamond rings. I love each of these so much because I know that I will pass them down to my children one day. So when it came to the design of a new piece, I wanted something classic that would look good with my current mix, but eventually be special for my family as well.
To be honest, I did not know where to even begin when it came to designing a piece of jewelry, but Kate was amazing to work with. Her pieces are so beautiful and unique so I knew I wanted something that could be worn everyday. Timeless, but maybe with a little edge. From the start, I knew I wanted a ring and I knew I wanted yellow gold, but then I was not sure as the options were somewhat endless. She would send me inspiration images which were SO helpful, and ultimately helped me decide that I wanted a stone. I have always wanted a black diamond ring so this was the perfect opportunity to add it to the mix of my everyday pieces! Now that I had my metal and stone in mind, it came down to all the minor details. I compared both, a round stone and an oval stone, but ultimately decided on round, keeping things very traditional. This decision was the toughest one for me because I LOVE the unique style of an oval diamond. Ultimately though, I love a classic shape so round it was, which led us to the next step; the band.
To help me reach my decision, Kate sent me several images to help me visually see what my options were. Did I want a larger stone? A smaller stone? A thick band? Or a thin band? These are all questions she takes in to consideration when designing a unique piece of jewelry. Below are some images she sent over for inspiration which again, was SO helpful to see!
These three images were pretty much my final three in the design process. I was so close to getting a thicker band (similar to the middle style), but at the end of the day, I wanted to be able to stack this ring with others. We took the idea of a round black diamond from the first image, mixed with a slightly thinner gold band in the third image and created my beautiful ring! Once the design was finalized, Kate went to work and kept me in the loop throughout. She would send me videos of carving the ring wax (which was super cool and I am sharing more on stories), then setting the stone. When the stone was set, my ring was complete and I was SO excited to receive it in the mail! I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!
As I mentioned before, Kate’s pieces are so unique. Each piece tells a story and you can see that in the piece of jewelry. There are so many pieces that she created that I am in love with and I am beyond excited to share her work with you all. You can see more of her work here, and see her studio where the magic happens!
Creating this ring was a process that I will always remember. I truly loved seeing this ring come to life as well as loved being able to work hand in hand with Kate as she created it. It will forever tell a story and it is amazing that such a small idea can turn into a beautiful heirloom that I intend to pass down to generations to come. This ring is both classic and unique and something that I will cherish forever. An heirloom that will live on.
