BLACK DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING WITH HAND FABRICATED FILIGREE CURLS

THE GREEN LAKE SHOP YOUR CUSTOM DESIGN YOUR GEMSTONE 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
Bellevue studio

The Bellevue shop is a state of the art custom design and production studio where the artists work in full view of the public. This location is also the heart of our stone cutting dept, with a full time lapidary on-site cutting Sapphires and other gemstones from rough.

The design Bellevue studio has 15 design stations including 3 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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In 2016, celebrating 20 years of artistry, Green Lake Jewelry Works created a second studio in Bellevue, WA with the aim of creating the perfect environment for both jewelers and clients.

Named one of the ‘Coolest Stores in America’ by Instore Magazine, the Bellevue studio is 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.

DESIGNER

Rebecca P

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 SKETCHES

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.

DIAMONDS + THE KIMBERLY PROCESS

Green Lake’s collection of diamonds only maintain gems with certifications from the GIA or other internationally recognized laboratories, all with an assurance of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme — the UN resolution passed in 2000 to ensure ‘conflict diamonds’ do not enter the global supply chain.

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.

CASTING

At the workshop, the model was cast in a specialty plaster-like investment and heated to release the wax or resin from its mold, then cast using a specialized induction casting machine from Italy.

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.
DAT LE
Fabrication Artist

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.

DAT LE
Stonesetter

ARTFUL FILIGREE

Filigree is the thinnest of wire extruded from precious noble metal, and fashioned by hand into delicate curls to add intricate details to open spaces. The ability to form fine wire like this is almost a lost art. In a world of mass produced jewelry, it’s a skill that takes years to master and it imbues pieces with a beauty that’s nearly impossible to match.

DAT LE
Filigree Artist

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

Black Diamond Engagement Ring With Hand Fabricated Filigree Curls

Custom 950 platinum ring holding (1) bezel set GLJW provided kite rustic black diamond center stone. Split, curve-tapered shoulders hold (2) GLJW provided marquise lab diamond melee prong set with handmade fine wire filigree curls. This ring also has a round shank and a high polish finish.