MOKUME GANE RING WITH HEIRLOOM ROSE CUT DIAMOND
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
the Seattle studio
The Seattle shop was our first large scale facility with room for 50+ artists. It includes a state of the art casting and production shop, all visible to the public. The design studio has 14 design stations, 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.
The flagship Seattle studio is home to all metal casting and a majority of 3D printing technologies for Green Lake Jewelry Works. Its workshop is also 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.
DESIGNING YOUR PIECE
Ideas and inspirations used in your project.
DESIGNER
With her background in Art History, Sophie brings a wealth of artistic knowledge and storied motifs to each of her custom designs and the creative process with her clients. Beyond her knowledge of understanding visual culture and art, Sophie trained at Western Washington University to manage museum collections, records of works, and art preservation.
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.
SHAYNA E
Fabrication Artist
MOKUME GANE
Mokume gane, Japanese for woodgrain metal, is a process of forging layers of different metals into a thick billet, then creating patterns through carefully hand working and forging techniques.
Mokume gane was originally used to create and adorn swords in 17th century Japan. Over time, Japanese metalsmiths turned their attention to other objects, with a crafts revival in the 1970’s that eventually translated this tradition into rings and other jewelry.
Like the forged steel Samurai swords from which this technique originated, Mokume rings exhibit undulating waves of different noble metals, and no two patterns are ever precisely the same. Your own Mokume piece is a handmade one-of-a-kind heirloom.
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.
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
Mokume Gane ring with Heirloom Rose Cut Diamond
Hand fabricated 18k yellow gold, 14k palladium white gold, and sterling silver etched mokume gane band holding (1) flush set customer provided round diamond center stone on top center face. This band also has a round shank, slightly domed profile, and a high polish finish.