01Why sourcing matters
A stone carries more meaning when its story is known. Its type, region, locality, and specific mine when possible help explain its color, pattern, rarity, and character. Most of the material I work with is purchased directly from the miners, and some of it I mine myself. I also attend some of the largest gem shows in the world to meet miners in person, learn about their material, and purchase directly from their inventory. Knowing where a stone comes from gives you confidence that it is genuine, accurately represented, and not mixed into bulk-cut commercial material.
02Why cutting matters
Cutting is where I listen to the stone. Rather than forcing it into a standard commercial shape, I follow the color, pattern, structure, and natural direction of the material to reveal what makes it special. Because I am both a cutter and a silversmith, I understand how a finished stone’s shape and durability affect the kind of jewelry it can become. That experience guides my decisions about balance, edge strength, polish, and overall quality from the very first cut.
03Why fabrication matters
Fabrication means building a piece directly from sheet, wire, tubing, and other forms of metal. Each part is cut, shaped, formed, fitted, soldered, and finished by hand. It takes years of bench work to learn these skills, and many more to combine them into work that is strong, comfortable, balanced, and well finished. Casting begins with a model or mold that can reproduce the same form. Fabrication allows me to build each piece individually, responding to the exact stone rather than adapting it to a repeated design.
