CUSTOM KOI FABLE BAND
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
GIA Graduate Gemologist, GIA AJP.
Sophia combines a flair for artistic design and technical expertise in jewelry creation, as well as client vision and taste to produce stunningly beautiful, unique pieces that will light up the room.
Sophia has examined and sourced thousands of gemstones, and her experience can both articulate exactly what clients are looking for in a gemstone as well as assess qualities often missed by the naked eye. Throughout her studies in fine arts and metalsmithing at the University of Washington, she developed creative and professional skills that make her an invaluable asset to Green Lake—and a trusted designer to our clients. Sophia is a Graduate Gemologist through the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
Sophia is Green Lake's most prolific designer with over 2000 completed custom pieces and literally hundreds of named 5 star reviews from these satisfied clients.
3D MODEL
CAD
Engineering the X, Y, and Z coordinates of a design is not only a way to inform sophisticated milling and growing machines to create a model; they’re also a powerful way to communicate the vision for a ring.
Realistic renderings and physical models help transform sketched ideas into reality in an interplay between the client, the designer and the CAD team, all of whose input and ideas help create something that both looks right and fits perfectly.
The entire Green Lake project team collaborates on each piece, adding nuanced details and subtle improvements to the design, all while making sure that design cohesiveness, stability on the finger, and stone security are perfected.
Bringing your design to life
WAX MODELS
Lost-wax casting is thousands of years old, and it’s how we still cast today. From the increasingly rare skill of carving by hand, to the employment of digitally guided milling machines, blocks of wax are cut down into precise models.
These models are used both for design ideation and adjustment and casting the actual piece.
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.
CELESTE
Fabrication Artist
HAND ENGRAVING
Hand engraving is the pinnacle of the jeweler’s craft, displaying fine artistry in crisp detail. It takes perfectly honed, hardened steel tools, a steady hand and years of dedicated practice to get it right. Green Lake's skilled engravers maintain world class craftsmanship within the increasingly rare art form, of which this piece provides a stunning example.
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
Custom Koi fable band
Custom 950 platinum band with a flat comfort fit profile and raised high polished side rails. Set along the recessed background between the rails is a cast in place Koi fish and branch motif. 18k Yellow gold and 14k rose gold inlay elements set into the fish. As well, 14k rose gold ginger blossoms and leaves and 14k rose gold cherry blossoms assembled onto the existing branches and a gate with an 18k yellow gold roof and 14k rose gold pillars assembled between the fish and the leaves. Hand engraved wave patterning covers the remaining blank space with hand engraved Japanese characters set within the cherry blossoms. The recessed background has a matte finish while all the raised details are high polished.
CLIENT IMAGES AND COMMENTS
Each project is designed with and for a specific client, taking into account personal style and preferences.