In the summer of last year I met a young couple at an art fair in Montauk. Anthony was an actor and Laura, an oncology nurse. They lingered at my booth, then left… and then he returned alone.
Anthony wanted to set up a meeting to discuss a custom ring and he wanted to surprise his wife! My kind of man.
She had a full body tattoo of a Japanese cherry blossom tree. He wanted a gold ring representing a cherry blossom. We met in the city at a coffee shop on the west side. There were drawings first.
Then I set to work on a wax model.
A 5 karat black diamond in the rough was placed in the center and 5 trillion (triangular) diamonds were placed between the petals of the ‘flower’.
Anthony was involved at every step. There were more meetings at the coffee shop. About a half dozen meetings.
The model was approved and a gold ring was cast.
Then the stone setter went to work. My Russian friend Oleg did this part. His work is excellent. Finally, the “finish”, a polished exterior and a roughed up organic interior representing the cherry blossom. See the image of “The final product”.
Then came the suspense. He would surprise her on a special occasion. Would she like it? I was nervous…. A week later the report: she was happy! And so were we!
The job took 4 months. Great customers! A fun experience. This is how we do custom work.
Great post– I especially like your accompanying photographs which highlight your process very nicely. Fascinating story!
Thanks John. It was a fun project for a great couple.