This client was in need of someone to make a very special pendant. After an unsuccessful search with jewelers near his home in Philadelphia, he decided to take to the internet. We began with email correspondences full of lots of questions and answers. He shared that his mother recently passed and that she’d left a diamond cluster ring to him. As what happens so often to others, the heirloom may not necessarily be our preference – perhaps too worn to wear or a different style than ours – but it doesn’t make a piece any less emotionally meaningful. Same was true in this instance. This client impressed upon me the importance of this ring. He also conveyed that he wanted to do something with the flag of his ancestral homeland, the Dominican Republic. The cluster of diamonds on this ring reminded him of the country’s flag, specifically the insignia seen on the center of the flag. I sent my famous rough sketches that allow my initial thoughts and visions to be put on paper. He shipped the ring to me and, once received, I was able to get exact measurements to create the flag. Beginning with a plate of metal, the bars of the flag were hand-engraved. The white gold setting that the diamonds are in was fitted into the center of the flag. Next, two loops were added to the back so that the pendant would be able to slide on his chain, which was a gift from his sister. I suggested that he think of something meaningful to engrave on the back. We ended up creating a triangle with three initials – representing himself, his mother and his sister. A trinity symbolic of their everlasting familial bond to one another. What’s more special than that?
Once everything was all complete I had to ask him, “What made him choose me?” His response was so meaningful. He said, “After reading the stories I could feel your heart.”
And that my friends, is why I continue to do what I do.
- Materials: 18k yellow gold, 10k white gold, Single cut diamonds
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Client location: Philadelphia, PA
