The Crashing Wave Bridal Set has its roots in the very beginning of my career, before Kristen Baird® Jewelry even existed, yet executing this design would not have been possible without all the technical skills I have gained over the years. It represents the journey of my life as a jeweler and the culmination of a long friendship.
A Serendipitous Beginning
I met this bride-to-be way back in the earliest days of my life as a jewelry designer. The day after I graduated from SCAD, I moved into a new apartment, and the day after that, I set out on a cross-country road trip to California with a woman I had just met through a running club. (Oh, the spontaneity of youth!) Along the way, we stayed with many of my new friend’s friends. It was quite the adventure! I met so many incredible people along the way, including this future client. Kristen Baird® Jewelry was still just a tiny sparkle of an idea in my mind, but she was supportive right
away. Once I started my business, she was one of my earliest followers on social media.
Over a decade later, her boyfriend reached out to say she wanted me to make her engagement ring. I love it when life comes full circle!
Heirloom and Original
I’ve always believed that incorporating family history adds to the symbolism of bridal jewelry, so I was delighted when my client brought not one, not two, but three heirloom pieces with usable stones. First, we had the original diamond from her grandmother’s engagement ring. Then, we had a diamond from her mother’s pendant necklace. Finally, we had a large diamond and a halo of small diamonds, all from her mother’s anniversary ring, given by the bride’s late father. I was determined to use as many of these special stones as possible.
But the bride-to-be is also an original, her own unique person, so it made sense for her central stone to be something brand-new. And you can’t get much more brand-new than a completely custom-cut alexandrite created just for you. You certainly don’t see that every day!
Ambitious Design
As inspiration, the groom brought his bride-to-be’s Pinterest board, and I combed through it looking for the similarities in all the rings she had pinned. After many passes, I determined that the essential elements were rose gold, asymmetric design, a pear-shaped stone, a bezel setting, and a waving band. I pitched this to the groom, and he said “Yep, that sounds about right!”
I knew I would have to build the initial design in CAD. The nonstandard central stone, plus the heirloom diamonds of all different sizes, meant everything would need to be laid out perfectly. We decided on a tilted setting for the alexandrite with three diamonds sweeping over the top edge, like a crashing wave. The matching shadow band would perfectly trace the opposite curve of the ring, creating a design full of movement and life, like a rolling ocean.
Trial, Error, and Triumph
When the elongated pear-cut alexandrite arrived from my favorite speciality gem-cutter, my first thought was wow, that’s stunning. My second thought was that’s going to be really tough to set. Good thing I like a challenge! The super-sharp point of this stone, while beautiful, would be fragile, and there was a risk of breakage during setting. The fact that this stone was one-of-a-kind made it even riskier. There would be no do-overs!
I had to work through the setting three different times to get it right. After some trial-and-error, I found the best method was to build the setting in silver and trim it down to size by hand. Then, I had the model cast in 18K rose gold. It was quite a learning opportunity, but as I said to Abby in the studio, “We don’t compromise. We get it right.” And ultimately we did!
Once we had our extra-special custom bezel built, we used the laser welder to drop it into the ring. Finally, I very carefully set that irreplaceable stone into the thick, protective bezel. It turned out to be the second-most-challenging stone I’ve ever set. (First prize still goes to Natural Emerald Ensemble.) But it was SO WORTH the effort.
Just look at that beauty! She’s a stunner…
A Christmas Proposal
I shipped the ring a few weeks before Christmas, and it arrived while the bride was on a work trip, which was perfect. He proposed on a foggy Christmas night in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, in front of the beautiful State Capitol building. Magically, the fog lifted just in time so they could see the beautiful red Christmas lights of the skyline right before he dropped down on one knee.
She told me she was so captivated by the moment and what he was saying to her that she didn’t even realize he was holding a Kristen Baird jewelry box. When she finally looked down and saw the ring, she was absolutely floored. It was the perfect ring for her. She especially loved the color-changing Alexandrite stone… now she’ll never get bored!
The following day, the couple set off on a celebratory trip to her hometown, Savannah. (She had been expecting the proposal to happen on this trip, so she was very surprised on Christmas!) We all met up a few days after Christmas to relive the whole story, reminisce about how far we’ve come, and celebrate. What a gift!
“Best gift this year was the gift of being able to say YES to M!!!
The ring is an original Kristen Baird Jewelry design using my Mom and Grandmothers diamonds from their wedding sets. The wedding band is also made up of diamonds from my mother’s wedding and anniversary ring from my dad. Truly a one-of-a-kind, heirloom piece!! I’m speechless and on cloud 9!"
