CUSTOM DESIGNED JEWELRY

I love it when a customer falls in love with a piece of jewelry that I have designed and created, something directly from my collections, or even something inspired by something I have made before. Sometimes though, you have an idea of what you want, and you just can’t shake it, no matter how beautiful the available designs are, you desire something different, or maybe something truly one of a kind. Whether it’s an engagement ring, or an anniversary gift, or something else to mark a special occasion in your life, there is always the option for Custom Design. This blog post is to explain what that option entails.

Step 1: “ Hi Paul, I’m interested in a piece of jewelry for my wife, and I’m looking for something truly unique, so naturally I thought of you.”

If the Client wanted just anything - anything will do - they could go anywhere for anything, as long as it’s shiny and elicits at least one Oooh and at least one Ahh. The Client knows what I do. They know the time I take to create a custom designed piece of jewelry, and they know that when it’s finished there will be MANY Ooohs and MANY Ahhs. The Client will also already be aware that a Custom Designed piece of jewelry is not something they order on Monday and pick up on Friday. And if they don’t know this, then within Step 1, I will explain that the bare minimum amount of time I need is 2 months, and depending on the complexity of the design, I might require up to 6 months. Consideration will be paid to the Client’s own timeline. At the end of Step 1, I require a non-refundable “Assurance Fee” of $100. This “Assurance Fee” assures me that you are serious about wanting me to design a piece of jewelry for you. My time spent designing for you is factored into the final price of the piece, but if after spending hours working on the design, you decide you’d rather buy a new TV, then well, at least I made $100.

Step 2: I ask the Client a series of questions regarding what they want, who it’s for, what the occasion is, sizes, colors, requirements, budgets etc. I like to know as much as possible about the Client, as well as whom the gift is intended for. When I am designing and creating a piece of jewelry for someone, both the purchaser and the recipient are constantly on my mind. By the end of Step 2, I will offer the Client a rough estimate of the price.

Step 3: If there will be diamonds or colored gemstones in the design, I begin to source these stones. As a Graduate Gemologist, I take great pride in this work, for I know that regardless of my Client’s budget, I can find them the most beautiful gemstone for the job. I have an Eye for the well cut gemstone. I understand what qualifies for fine color, cut, and clarity. With my knowledge and experience, my Client can be confident that I will deliver the most beautiful gem I can find. In a sea of sapphires that all look the same, I will find the One that looks a little better than all the rest. Once I have an idea of what stones the Client wants in their design, I will require a deposit to pay for those stones. Once the stones are purchased, they become the property of the Client, and the deposit is non-refundable.

Step 4: Design Part 1: The first part of any design is honestly me staring off into space, and occasionally attacking my sketch pad with ideas. This is actually the most important step.

Step 5: I begin to formulate my ideas into working designs - all by hand mind you. I do not use Computer Aided Design (CAD) nor do I use any kind of 3D Printer or Scanner to create my jewelry. Every option is designed and drawn first with pencil, and from various angles to show the Client the general idea, and allow them to make any suggestions moving forward. Perhaps seeing the designs, will make them see the stone is too big or too small, or even realize that they want something completely different. By the end of Step 5, the Client gives the okay that though the design isn’t finalized, I am headed in the right direction.

Step 6: I then return to the Design Table, and render a few possibilities in color, either using colored pencil or watercolor to give the Client a better idea of what to expect when the piece is completed. I then present the designs to the Client, and a choice is made. At the end of Step 6, I will be able to offer the Client the Final Price for the finished piece, and require a 50% Down Payment.

Step 7: I then create a final rendering of the chosen design using watercolor and present that to the Client for their approval. Minor changes to the design are still possible at this point, and I reserve the right to decide what the definition of “minor” is.

Step 8: Wax Carving Begins. At this point it is in your best interest to leave me alone. Wax Carving can take a day, or weeks, or even months to complete depending on the complexity of the design. While some designs can be completed in one sitting, others take time not only for the design to be carved, but for the level of perfection I push myself to achieve. Sometimes the initial carving isn’t good enough for me, so I start again, and will continue to carve and re-carve until I have achieved my intended design. The difference between someone who makes a piece of jewelry by hand - either by wax carving or hand fabrication - and someone who uses computer aided design and manufacturing, is that those making the jewelry by hand have to answer many technical questions themselves instead of having a computer answer the questions for them. Once again, it is best to leave me alone during this time as I am very hard at work.

Step 9: The Finished Wax - After the Client signs off on the design, they generally will not see anything until the piece of jewelry is completed. There are some cases when I will want the customer to see the wax before I cast it, but that is by my own discretion. Wax carving is just one part of the process, and once it’s cast, it goes through several other stages of development. Once the piece of jewelry is completed, you may order a Photo Album - a small book of photographs, a chronological record from design to completion.

Step 10: The Finished Piece: Once cast, so begins a an entirely different process, using different tools, and frankly a different mindset to make what is now a hunk of raw metal, into the shining beauty it was destined to be. Sawing, filing, grinding, sanding, polishing, stone setting, burnishing, polishing, cleaning, polishing, and more polishing - it is a process that take utmost care and focus. And once it is all done…a sigh of relief. Once I have photographed the finished piece, I contact my client to arrange for delivery.

Simple as that.

PLEASE CLEAN YOUR JEWELRY, IT'S GROSS

Yes, I’m talking about that diamond engagement ring that you never take off. Your thinking that rinsing it off in the shower is enough is misguided. Tell me, when you finish using that frying pan, do you simply rinse it off and call it clean? No, because that would be gross. The same goes for your jewelry, especially your diamond jewelry. What you may not know about diamonds is that they literally attract grease - and when I say literally, I mean Literally. From your natural body oils and dead skin cells, to the various creams, lotions, and perfumes; to the baby food your child just spit up on you and the delicious family dinner you made last month….it’s all there, locked away in the recesses of your diamond engagement ring, the eternity band, or even those diamond studs that never leave your ear lobes. Yes indeed, it is gross.

Compared to diamonds, other gemstones like sapphire, garnet, aquamarine etc. etc. will not attract as much grease, though they still have the ability to be gross. You should want your jewelry to look as beautiful as the day you received it. Jewelry should be respected, and not merely for the investment that was made in its purchase, but because fine jewelry is a work of art. You wouldn’t buy a nice painting and put it in a cigar lounge, I mean, unless you were a moron. That painting needs to be cared for so that it looks it’s best year after year. For a piece of fine jewelry - the designer who made that ring, worked really hard on it, spent hours and hours laboring over the design, the fabrication, the polishing, the stone setting - so the very least you can do to extend the beauty of that art work is to keep it clean.

Okay, but how do you clean your jewelry? Well, first things first. You Don’t Need to Wear It All The Time!!! This will greatly reduce the frequency that you need to clean your jewelry. If you’re in the kitchen making a wonderful dinner for your family - take that ring off and put it in a safe place (Not Above The Sink). When you are putting on creams, lotions, and perfume…take that jewelry off, and wait for your hands to dry.

I recommend cleaning your jewelry at least once per month, and every 6 months, I would recommend taking your jewelry to your jeweler for a professional cleaning and inspection. The inspection is to make sure that all of the stones are secure in their settings. For at home cleaning, the safest manner in which to clean your jewelry is with a soft toothbrush and warm soapy water. Care must be taken. This is not scrubbing a frying pan, this is more like preventative dental care with the TLC associated with giving your baby a bath. Be Nice To Your Jewelry.

If you want something closer to a professional cleaning in the comfort of your own home than there are various machines and cleaning solutions designed for your in-home jewelry cleaning. If you have the space for it, you and your fine jewelry may enjoy having an Ultrasonic to loosen the dirt and grease, and the hot dry steam of a Steam Cleaner to further remove the grossness. If you don’t have the space, there are options that fit in your purse or glovebox that will help keep your jewelry sparkling.

Stay Tuned for Cleaning Products Available via PV3 Boutique.

JEWELRY GIFTS FOR MEN

It would be fair to say that most men do not wear a lot of jewelry, hell, half the men in my family never wore wedding bands - not to suggest that as an option, though some men just don’t like wearing rings. Those who do wear rings - wedding bands, pinky rings, collegiate or fraternal rings, count them amongst their own jewelry collections, which even the men who don’t wear rings probably have but don’t refer to as their “jewelry collections”

Picture if you will a man’s dresser with a leather tray on top - in effect their “jewelry box,” and within it the many jewelry gifts they have received over the years that marked all manner of special occasion. In my own tray, on my own dresser, I am daily reminded of those special moments in my own life. The Hamilton watch my Grandfather gave me for my Confirmation. The Rolex he left me. Gold cufflinks given to me by my Uncle Jay. The monogrammed Sterling Silver buckle I received when I graduated high school - the one every man in my family wears. The various cufflinks, my tuxedo studs…each piece in this shining pile takes me back to memories of special moments, some more meaningful than others, but all apart of the story of my life.

Jewelry gifts are the perfect choice for the men in your life - your husband, sons, grandsons - these are the gifts that will last forever, to leave lasting memories, and be passed down to future sons and grandsons.

WHITE GOLD IS STUPID

That’s right, I said it, and I’ll say it again - white gold is stupid. People get sold on white gold as a less expensive alternative to platinum, but if you want a white metal you can have palladium or even silver. Don’t like the tarnish on silver? Don’t worry because there are now different silver alloys that resist tarnish such as Argentium Silver. Not to say silver is the best white metal, that accolade is reserved for Platinum.

The problem with white gold is that the alloy to make it white doesn’t quite get there - and that is why more often than not your white gold will be plated with white rhodium (which is in the Platinum Family), If you’re going to wear electroplated jewelry, you might as well have rhodium plated brass. Also, depending on what metals are used to create the white gold alloy, white gold can often be brittle, and over time you run the risk of prongs snapping. This isn’t the case with Platinum, that bends like butter, but stays in place without the springiness associated with white gold. If you’re investing in a gemstone or diamond, you should choose the best metal to hold that investment in place.

I’ve heard of jewelers that convinced their clients that white gold is better than platinum - these people are being lied to. The fact is that platinum is rough on a jeweler’s tools, especially our files, and this leads to jewelers having two sets of tools, one for platinum and one for everything else. The jeweler who says he doesn’t work with platinum because of this lie or that lie, is really saying while you may be able to afford his work, he can’t afford new files.

Now, while I am a devout fan of yellow gold, as far as white metals go there is nothing more fine for both the jeweler & the client than Platinum. Palladium has risen in value, though it has a duller shade of white that can appear almost grey. On a budget, Silver - the most reflective of metals - is an exceptionally beautiful option.

As an independent Jewelry Artist, I refuse to use white gold. Your options are Platinum or Silver.

I AM PV3

Hello!

As this is my first blog, I figured I’d start off by giving you a few more details about who I am other than the designer and maker of your new favorite jewelry collections. Whereas the rest of fromgemstojewelry.com addresses me in the 3rd person, the blog will be a space for me to act as myself. My name is Paul Vermylen III G.G., a.k.a. PV3 - you can call me Paul if you prefer.

Let’s see….well, professionally I refer to myself as a Graduate Gemologist Jewelry Artist. Within the industry, that first title and the “G.G.” at the end of my name is a well recognized and respected professional title that I earned after spending two years studying everything - ahem - From Gems to Jewelry at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, CA. The G.G. is the crème de la crème of diplomas offered by the GIA, but I also earned every other diploma they offered - Graduate Jeweler, Applied Jewelry Arts, and Graduate Pearls. In the course of studying jewelry fabrication methods, I fell in love with the ancient art of wax carving for lost wax casting - a 6000 year old dying art form that I am proud to continue.

I feel it’s important to point out these educational achievements for a couple of reasons. For one, I want you to know that I am not just some random dude selling jewelry to make money without sound knowledge of the product. All too often I have witnessed gemstones and jewelry being sold to the consumer under false pretense of what they actually were. It’s not only education that these sellers lack, it’s a matter of integrity. As a Graduate Gemologist, I personally source and select the diamonds and colored gemstones that I use in my jewelry or acquire for my clients. You can trust me to find the finest gemstones for any budget, and that anything I sell or say regarding - ahem - From Gems to Jewelry will be honest and truthful.

The story of how I got to where I am now is a long one, but I will give a short summary. I have read many an “About Me” section that mention a “life long love for jewelry,” - yeah, I don’t have that. Some time in 2007, I was living a semi-successful life as a starving poet, and one afternoon found myself in a small shop that sold tumbled gemstones. At the time, I knew nothing about gemstones, and less than nothing about jewelry, but a tumbled blue gemstone with golden flakes (lapis lazuli) caught my attention, and if my memory serves me well, it was at the very moment I picked up that stone that the clouds in the sky parted, and a bright ray of sunlight shone down on my path, which quickly led to an obsession for gemstones, and by way of gemstones, a love for jewelry and a desire to create.

So here I am, over a decade later, launching a new website for my jewelry collections and a blog. I have a lot of great ideas for this blog, and look forward to sharing them with you. It helps that I began as a writer (mostly poetry, but I am working albeit slowly on my first novel). The From Gems to Jewelry Blog will obviously cover everything -ahem - From Gems to Jewelry. My goal is to post a new blog at least once per month and that my blogs will help to educate not only my clients and followers, but the general consumer population who are desperate for a blog as awesome as this one will be.

Thank you for stopping by at fromgemstojewelry.com and for reading my first blog. Here are some blog titles you can look forward to:

  • It’s Not The Diamond’s Fault, It’s Yours

  • White Gold Is Stupid

  • 10 Gems You’ve Never Heard Of

  • Your Jeweler is Probably Lying to You

  • Gemstone Décor

  • Please Clean Your Jewelry, It’s Gross

  • The Truth About Gemstone Treatments

  • Metal Detecting for Treasure