What elevates a beautiful piece of jewelry into a work of art? This is subjective, but the pieces I’m most proud of are the ones that tell a story. When every element is deeply symbolic and personal, I know I’ve created something special. The Sea Cliff Ring encapsulates everything I love to do: a technically complex design built from sentimental heirloom pieces and bursting with meaning. Like the layers of stone that accumulate over centuries, each band tells a story.
Bedrock Materials
My client’s original engagement ring featured a gorgeous natural aquamarine gemstone in a unique scallop-motif setting in rose gold with tiny diamonds. She loved her ring, but unfortunately, the fragile setting didn’t fit her lifestyle. The little diamonds kept popping out of the setting, and even the aquamarine was loose. She wanted me to design an upgraded ring using her original stones. So far, so good!
But that wasn’t all! The client also brought the ring from her first marriage. Although that relationship didn’t work out, it was still an important part of her story, and she wanted to incorporate it in her design in a secondary way. Finally, she wanted to add another element with colorful stones to symbolize her own creative spirit. Now things were really getting interesting.
Inspired by Geology
The overall look of this design was guided by the client’s love of rocks and geology. We envisioned a ring in three layers, like the bands of colored stone that become visible after the ocean’s waves cut a cliff into the shoreline. Each level would represent part of her life: her first marriage at the bottom, her current marriage in the middle, and her personal self-expression at the top. The word she kept coming back to was “gravitas.” She wanted something with weight and staying power, like the bedrock that holds up the layers of soil.
A Layered Design
Technically, this ring is a variation on the Tidal Trio concept, all in 18K Rose Gold. All three bands are heavily modified versions of signature stacking bands. The bottom is the Footprints in the Sand, with her first diamond offset from the center in a heavy bezel. We also used the accent diamonds from that ring, embedding them in the flowing band.
The center band is the Dandelion Meadow with her stunning aquamarine at the center and more accent diamonds from the first ring. (Side note: I adore the combination of aquamarine and Rose Gold!) The aquamarine is set in a custom picture-window bezel with a scallop motif on all four sides to honor her wedding ring. Four itty-bitty diamonds from that original bezel are set underneath the main stone, one on each side. The openings allow more light to come in, illuminating the stone.
Finally, the top layer is an Around the Cosmos band, altered to fit the curve of her central stone. It features an ombre pattern of tourmaline stones, from watery ocean blues to earthy greens and chartreuse yellows on the other side, honoring her love of the natural world.
Crafting the Sea Cliff Ring
To start, I built this ring completely in silver out of three different bands, two custom bezel settings, and 16 additional settings. The decorative bezel for the aquamarine was designed in CAD and then printed and cast in silver. I joined all of those parts together to create one solid piece, soldering the three bands together in the back.
Then, I sent the silver model out to be cast in solid 18K Rose Gold. The final gold version is one solid piece, which is great for wearability. Next, I set the whopping 18 stones and finished the ring off by cleaning and polishing. This client also requested that sizing bars be added to the back for more flexibility with sizing and extra comfort.
I’m proud of all my commissions, but some of them are extra-special. Between its technical complexity, layers of symbolic meaning, and overall beauty, the Sea Cliff Ring will be one I showcase for years to come!
