Jewelry Redesign Story #59: The Best Gifts are the Ones You Give Yourself
THE REDESIGN CHALLENGE:
Erin inherited quite a lot of jewelry pieces from her mother. Although she admired them and did like to wear them, she also recognized that she was interested in pieces that were a bit lighter, more delicate, and easier to wear than was the fashion when her mother was wearing jewelry which were heavier and more rigid than what is in style (not to mention more comfortable!) now.
When Erin reached out to us with this redesign request, she knew it was the perfect time to recreate her mother’s earrings: It was her birthday and this was just the gift that she wanted to give herself!
Erin, a woman who knows what she wants, isn’t afraid to let her husband take the back seat when it comes to gifts. In this case, that meant taking charge of the gift herself on behalf of her husband. She picks, he pays. Everyone wins!
THE REDESIGN CONCEPT:
initial sketches
Erin wanted earrings that were light and delicate but also unique and interesting.
When offering a client a design that is unique, we like to offer them a few different options so they can pick something that is not just generally unique, but something that is unique to them and directly suited to their tastes and expressive of who they are and what they want to wear.
We gave Erin a few different options, including clusters that ranged from quite tight to rather loose and shapes that went from star-like to leaf-like.
Erin chose to go with a design that was fan-like and airy but still clustered together for a coherent piece that would create earrings that both looked and felt light without losing the visual impact of the close-together emeralds of her mother’s earrings.
THE REDESIGN PROCESS:
Rhino modeling
Because we were using the existing emerald stones from Erin’s mother’s old earrings, we had to make sure in our Rhino modeling phase that the stones would fit perfectly into the design we chose in both the setting and in tandem with any new stones (in this case, diamonds) that are being added to the piece.
During the Rhino modeling, you can make sure that you are using diamonds of the right size and use those measurements to build the right amount of metal around all the stones that you are planning to use in your piece.
Additionally, you can use the metal measurements to make sure that the weight of the metal will be to the liking of the client (especially for earrings which are especially important to be lightweight as they are worn on a delicate part of the body) without sacrificing the construction and durability of the jewelry and its ability to hold all the stones.
Casting
Once we received the casting we saw that the existing stones would set perfectly in the setting with the new diamond stones and that we had enough metal to make the new earrings.
THE REDESIGN REVEAL:
New Jewelry on Customer
Erin loves the new earrings which she finds pleasing on the ear both visually and to wear with their super lightweight design.
We were happy that Erin was able to sing loud and proud “Happy birthday to me!”.
Material: Round emeralds and diamonds in a prong setting in 14k yellow gold
Manufacturing Level: Medium
Design level: Medium
Get the perfect birthday gift by giving it to yourself! Get started with your redesign here.
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