Category: Uncategorized
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Gem Blast: Imperial Garnet Voeu
Oh Voeu…one of my first stock designs, the Voeu is always going to have a special role in my life. You’ve seen the padparadascha sapphire version already, and if you’re following me on social media, you might have seen a hint of another one that came into my life recently.…
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One of a Kind
I spent the last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico – the place where I was born and raised. Taking almost an entire week completely off from jewelry and getting back to my roots, spending time with family and friends was one of the most refreshing things I could have done…
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The Vivant Ring
One thing I sometimes struggle with is keeping it simple. Sometimes I find myself adding details and thinking, “This is perfect!” and then going back and thinking, “Why did I add so much?!” I always try to remember that Coco Chanel quote: “Before you leave the house, look in the…
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Inside the Industry: Engagement Rings
I originally was thinking of the “Real Housewives of _____” series when I had this idea for the blog. I’ve never actually watched even an episode of any of the shows, but their jewelry seems to have a prominent presence in the show, as I will occasionally hear about various…
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What’s in a Name?
What’s in a name? I get a lot of questions about why I name jewelry what I do, so I thought I should explain a bit more as to how I came to the defining theme in the names of my collection. Vivant – Vivacious I feel like so many…
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Guest Post: The Evolution of Collecting
I have a special treat today, a guest post from someone who has become a close friend through gemstones, and whose services I sometimes utilize as a gemstone personal shopper due to her connections within the industry. So if you have ever asked me for help finding a gem, rest…
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Building a Gemstone Collection
Over the past several years I have built a wonderful collection of jewels with a client of mine. She started out pretty slowly, but about 5 years later, through a lot of time, trial and error and wading through a pool of contacts, she has managed to build one of…
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Gem Blast: Boutique Gems
So, I’ve mentioned before how many photos I take in any given photography session. These were taken in the last photography session I had before the sun went away for a week. I think I ended up taking about 400 photos in this particular session and I wanted to share…
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A Conversation
An actual conversation I had the other day. I was amused, and I figured I’d share. Elle: I told my real estate agent yesterday that I design jewelry because she was like, “Real estate is my day job, but I actually have my MFA in Color Theory” And I said, “Guess…
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Choosing a Jewelry Designer
Well I’ve talked a lot about my own design philosophy as well as my style and over here on my Atelier page, I talk a bit about my design process. But what I haven’t really talked about is how important it is to really make sure that the designer you’ve…
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Remembering Stephen
This week, the gemstone world lost someone important, who touched me profoundly, though he may not have known it. A year or so ago, I took custody of an amazing amethyst that has been posted here before. Of course it’s huge size (just under 28cts) was the first thing I noticed,…
The Gemstone Project 