ENGAGEMENT RING FEATURING LALIBELA AND AXUM CROSSES WITH PHOENIX AND MOUNTAINS
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.
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
I marry my passion for precious metals and gemstones with the fast-paced, creative energy of developing unique ideas - always working closely with a team of master craftspeople on behalf of my clients.
After earning my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing from the Rhode Island School of Design, I spent my early years working with several high-end fine jewelers in Boston. Later, I moved to New York City, where I spent a decade designing fashion jewelry for global brands. With a strong technical foundation in structural design and a fashion-forward approach to translating sketches into beautiful pieces, I’ve developed the ability to troubleshoot quickly and communicate design visions clearly and effectively.
YOUR GEMSTONE
Your gemstone was hand and eye selected from thousands of stones that we view before choosing the finest, most beautiful gems that suit our very choosy designers and clients.
We are as picky about our gems as we are about every other aspect of our work.
GREEN LAKE GEM LAB
Above and Beyond® Gemstones
The Green Lake Gem Lab sources rare stones through a responsible network of globally dispersed miners and reputable traders, and verifies the validity of each gem with sophisticated testing equipment and independent certifications.
SAPPHIRES
From Victorian-era jewelry to contemporary design, sapphires are a favorite gemstone for bridal pieces to last the ages. A gemstone from the mineral variety corundum, sapphire gets its blue hue from the element titanium as the crystal develops over eons, deep within the earth’s crust. Subtle differences in chemical composition, such as varying amounts of iron, can produce colors that are deep and inky to others that are lighter, with a cool iridescent sparkle.
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.
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.
HAND FORGING
The subtle nuances of hand forged details are unmistakable. Whether a piece is fabricated entirely by hand or includes a few handmade elements, hand fabricated details cannot be replicated by casting alone. This ability to not just polish rings, but create them from fire and pitch with traditional tools, makes a piece like yours distinct in its quality.
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.
HAND ENGRAVING
Hand engraving is the pinnacle of the jeweler’s craft, displaying fine artistry in crisp detail. It takes perfectly honed, hardened steel tools, a steady hand and years of dedicated practice to get it right. Green Lake's skilled engravers maintain world class craftsmanship within the increasingly rare art form, of which this piece provides a stunning example.
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
Engagement Ring Featuring Lalibela and Axum Crosses With Phoenix and Mountains
Custom 2-tone ring holding (1) 4-prong set GLJW provided cushion purple sapphire center stone surrounded by scalloped halo containing (32) GLJW provided round diamond melee bead set with fine milgrain detail around outer edge of scallops and stone. Ring is comprised of 950 platinum with 14k rose gold details as listed. Both shoulders feature (1) pierced, CAD-and-cast Axum cross surrounded by (14) prong-set GLJW provided round diamond melee and (1) GLJW provided round diamond melee prong set at center of cross. Both shoulders also feature (1) pierced, CAD-and-cast Lalibela motif near shank bottom with (4) GLJW provided round diamond melee bead set within and surrounded by fine milgrain details. (1) Shoulder features (1) 14k rose gold CAD-and-cast Hansa in between cross and Lalibela with (1) GLJW provided round sapphire melee bead set at center and (2) GLJW provided round diamond melee prong set to each side. Other shoulder features (1) 14k rose gold CAD-and-cast lily in between cross and Lalibela with (2) GLJW provided round diamond melee prong set to each side. Fine milgrain detail is featured throughout shoulders. (1) Side face gallery features pierced, CAD-and-cast mountain range with (1) 14k rose gold CAD-and-cast Phoenix bird above them. Other side face gallery features pierced, CAD-and-cast mountain with smaller mountain range below it. Both side faces feature hand engraved half-wheat patterns and fine milgrain details. Underside of main head features pierced, CAD-and-cast "seed of life" pattern with (6) GLJW provided round diamond melee channel-set within and fine milgrain detailing on all pierced areas. Interior of band features (1) GLJW provided round colorless diamond melee and (1) GLJW provided black diamond melee flush set on opposite sides. Top face of shank bottom is left blank for potential future sizings. This ring also has a round, straight taper shank, flat profile, and a high polish finish.