DOUBLE MILGRAIN BEZEL SET MARQUISE & BAGUETTE DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING

THE GREEN LAKE SHOP YOUR CUSTOM DESIGN MODEL & CASTING THE JEWELER'S BENCH YOUR FINISHED PIECE

THE GREEN LAKE SHOP

Translating our client’s ideas into beautiful custom jewelry
to celebrate the iconic moments in life since 1996.

Your piece was crafted in the
the Seattle studio

The Seattle shop was our first large scale facility with room for 50+ artists. It includes a state of the art casting and production shop, all visible to the public. The design studio has 14 design stations, private meeting rooms and a full scale coffee and wine bar.

Green Lake Jewelry Works opened its doors on Seattle’s Green Lake Drive in 1996. Since then, its craftspeople have grown to win national recognition for excellence in the art of fine jewelry making with two distinct workshops where each piece is made by hand.

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The flagship Seattle studio is home to all metal casting and a majority of 3D printing technologies for Green Lake Jewelry Works. Its workshop is also home to some of the most talented jewelers in the country, where a tradition of dedicated craftsmanship is passed from masters to journeymen and women.

YOUR CUSTOM DESIGN

Custom jewelry at Green Lake always begins with ideas, inspirations, and a sketch, where the many design elements that make for the perfect ring are discovered through ideation.

Oftentimes, a ring will go through many iterations and changes along the way before the final look is achieved.

DESIGNING YOUR PIECE

Ideas and inspirations used in your project.

DESIGNER

Melissa T

I got my first glimpse into the jewelry world as a kid, earning quarters for spotting tiny melee diamonds on the shop floor and watching in awe as my dad fired up his torch, shaping metal into something magical and meaningful. With a natural artistic streak and love of people, what began as a creative curiosity eventually became a full-time career. I began at Green Lake Jewelry Works as a young adult, spending a decade designing with clients in the Seattle studio. During that time, I mentored new designers, helped shape internal systems, and supported both the creative and operational sides of a fast-growing company. I also earned GIA certifications as a Graduate Diamonds & AJP. My work has been featured in Washington Wedding Day and I have been mentioned in In Store Magazine.

3D MODEL

CAD

Engineering the X, Y, and Z coordinates of a design is not only a way to inform sophisticated milling and growing machines to create a model; they’re also a powerful way to communicate the vision for a ring.

Realistic renderings and physical models help transform sketched ideas into reality in an interplay between the client, the designer and the CAD team, all of whose input and ideas help create something that both looks right and fits perfectly.

The entire Green Lake project team collaborates on each piece, adding nuanced details and subtle improvements to the design, all while making sure that design cohesiveness, stability on the finger, and stone security are perfected.

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KELSEY
CAD Designer

Bringing your design to life

WAX MODELS

Lost-wax casting is thousands of years old, and it’s how we still cast today. From the increasingly rare skill of carving by hand, to the employment of digitally guided milling machines, blocks of wax are cut down into precise models.

These models are used both for design ideation and adjustment and casting the actual piece.

CLEANUP & DETAILING

Each ring in a small casting batch shares a common vein of gold or platinum, from where it’s cut and prepared for setting. Rough castings first need to be carefully cleaned and polished before more bench work can be done. Even the inner surfaces are carefully detailed.

100 PERCENT RECYCLED

Green Lake’s use of gold and platinum comes from 100% recycled or certified Fairmined sources. We are one of the nation’s first adopters of recycled casting grain certified by SCS Global Services. Today we return all scrap and unused noble metals for refining in a transparent supply chain.

CRAFTSMANSHIP

All areas of old-world jewelry making are completed in a single workshop. Master gold and platinumsmiths receive rings from casting and set to care for each pieces as a one-of-kind, collaborating with designers to ensure each detail is included.

GEMSTONE SETTING

It required steady hands and confident mastery to set your gemstone for a lifetime of confident wear. Gems can be especially small and terribly rare, so the responsibility for this final stage in crafting a ring falls to our most experienced professionals.

ARTHUR B
Stonesetter

FINAL POLISH

Each custom made item in the Green Lake workshop receives a final polish before it’s carefully inspected and reviewed for standards of excellence. Each project is at last stamped with the Green Lake leaf quality mark before delivery.

YOUR FINISHED PIECE

Double Milgrain Bezel Set Marquise & Baguette Diamond Engagement Ring

Looking for a way to update their family diamonds into something the bride would love, this couple was unsure of how to transform her mom’s heirloom 1980’s setting into something that would speak to her. Originally set into white gold, she wanted a complete transformation so the piece would feel like her own, and having always worn yellow gold on her lovely, bronzed skin, she just couldn’t see wearing the rings as they were. She had always had a love of clean lines and low-profile details, but also beaded, feminine jewelry in glowing golds. She had been on the fence about what to do for so long that he wedding was coming up in just 9 short weeks. She dove into the design process with her designer and mocks ups and designs started flying back and forth with frenzy between them. And then it happened… her perfect HUZZAH moment came on one of the final mocks ups and we knew we could make it happen just in time!! The wax was quickly and pristinely made, cast into glowing rich gold, and detailed with touches of darling sparkly milgrain. Off the rings went to the bride and groom just in time for the wedding, and they later said that having the completed rings to get married in made their day feel complete. Cue the happy tears!! Congratulations!