We are honored to share this beautiful story, written by one of our clients, whom we recently worked with on a custom engagement ring project.
Adam and Tonya's experience perfectly captures the care, creativity, and joy that goes into every custom jewelry journey with us.
Tonya and I first met on the bus in high school. We connected over a shared love of art and travel and found a kind of understanding in each other that felt rare at that age. We fell in love fast and were inseparable.
When I left for the Cleveland Institute of Art to study painting and Tonya went to Pratt for interior design, distance made our young relationship difficult. We went our separate ways but always stayed in touch and would get coffee whenever we were both home in Rochester. We never quite let go.
Fifteen years later something in me couldn’t rest. Tonya’s voice kept echoing in my mind and I knew we needed to talk, really talk, about what had happened all those years ago. I drove seven hours from Rochester to New York City planning just to get coffee and maybe see some art. That coffee turned into a week of conversation, laughter and connection that felt as effortless as it had in high school.
When I left we were on the phone constantly, falling asleep talking like we once had. We both tried to resist the idea of dating again, convinced we’d grown too different. But when I returned to New York a few weeks later we realized that love isn’t about what was. It’s about what you choose. And we chose each other.
On what would have been our seventeenth anniversary weekend I proposed at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden surrounded by our closest friends on a bridge over the turtle pond in the Japanese garden with a ring that is one of a kind
Tonya and I began the process by finding the perfect stone together. After looking at different shapes and sizes we found a pear-shaped diamond that felt right for her hand. We wanted to design a ring and band that were organic and sculptural with soft curves and a timeless simplicity.
While sketching I remembered the Herkimer Diamond Mine near where I grew up. Long summer days spent hammering at the cliffside searching for bits of sparkle in the rock. That became the inspiration for a diamond emerging from a pool of gold as if discovered in nature.
I carved about ten wax models, exploring different angles and forms until the design finally felt right. That’s when I reached out to Susan. I knew I wanted this piece to be refined to a level beyond my capacity. She understood what we were envisioning and through her network of master jewelers guided us through every stage from refining the form for casting to perfecting the stone setting.
My hand-carved wax was scanned and refined with extraordinary precision then cast in our chosen gold. Susan’s team also created a perfectly fitted wedding band designed to hug the engagement ring seamlessly based on a quick sketch.
Hidden inside the engagement ring is a tiny turtle, a private detail for us and a nod to the nickname Tonya gave me in high school because of the backpack I used to wear.
When we saw the finished rings they took our breath away. It’s a rare and emotional thing to see something born from memory, love and imagination come fully to life and be even better than we could have ever imagined.
Susan and her team brought this piece to life with rare artistry, care and vision. They transformed a deeply personal idea into something we’ll treasure forever and we will be forever grateful.
