On my way to the Diamond District in New York City, I bumped into an acquaintance; a successful businessman who manufactures goods that he sells to many large chain stores in the US.

I had with me a custom designed pendant in blackened silver that I just finished for one of my customers. I was taking it to laser engrave my makers mark on it; that’s the final touch when creating a piece of jewelry.

Custom Designed Pendant Process 

Excited about my new design, I took the piece out to show it to my acquaintance. He really liked it, complimented me on the design and workmanship, and after mentioning that I work full time on my jewelry business, he asked me: How many pieces do you make per week?

Later that day, while taking a class at Bianca Lopez Studio, I told other fellow jewelry designers what my acquaintance asked. Everyone burst out laughing, and Susan Gordon responded with the perfect question: “You mean how many weeks does it take to make one piece?”

I understand that a businessman thinks in terms of volume. In modern days, companies usually focus on creating one product, so it can be mass-produced and sell by the thousands. But hand crafted fine jewelry cannot be created that way. Every aspect of jewelry making is long and precious.

Jewelry has been created from the beginning of time, with metals such as gold and silver, as well as gemstones and precious stones that took hundreds of thousands of years to develop by nature. Modern jewelry is the product of thousands of years of technical methods, design elements and aesthetics that have been developed and shared by all cultures and civilizations. 

Marquise Earrings Making Process

There are so many aspects of jewelry making that it could take a lifetime to learn the techniques and design fundamentals to make a successful piece of jewelry. When working at the bench, a jewelry designer will most likely face challenges, and will have figure new methods or ideas that would help in the creation of that piece. Many times that solution will not work, something could be off visually or technically; so the jeweler would have to start all over, hoping that another approach will be successful in helping his or her vision come to life.

 These challenges can be present every step of the way, from designing, to carving, casting, constructing a piece, soldering, polishing, lapidary work, setting the stone, engraving, adding finishes, and so on and so on. For the jeweler, every piece is a challenge, another experience, and a chance to learn something new.

Sphere Moonstone Ring Making Process

Creating fine jewelry requires a lot of time, patience and a great deal of skills. That’s why the prices one-of-a-kind pieces, limited editions, or custom designs can be higher than mass manufactured jewelry. When buying jewelry from my collections or ordering a custom design piece from me, you can be assured that each piece will be created with the outmost care every step of the process. I take great care and pay attention to every detail to make sure you will get a high quality piece of jewelry that you can cherish for years to come.

Concave Ring Making Process

 If you want learn more about my new designs make sure to join my Facebook group Inside The Studio. This is where I share my creative process as well as give members first dibs on exclusive, limited edition pieces. I would love for you to be a part of it!