HEATHER'S PENGUIN RING

THE GREEN LAKE SHOP YOUR CUSTOM DESIGN YOUR GEMSTONE MODEL & CASTING THE JEWELER'S BENCH YOUR FINISHED PIECE

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
Bellevue studio

The Bellevue shop is a state of the art custom design and production studio where the artists work in full view of the public. This location is also the heart of our stone cutting dept, with a full time lapidary on-site cutting Sapphires and other gemstones from rough.

The design Bellevue studio has 15 design stations including 3 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.

Learn More
In 2016, celebrating 20 years of artistry, Green Lake Jewelry Works created a second studio in Bellevue, WA with the aim of creating the perfect environment for both jewelers and clients.

Named one of the ‘Coolest Stores in America’ by Instore Magazine, the Bellevue studio is 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.

DESIGNER

Erich M

Erich is a freelance illustrator and exhibiting painter who started out as an expatriate living in the heart of Austria, before moving to the United States. His artwork has been exhibited in galleries across the United States, Europe, and Australia. In 2011, he began pursuing a career in fine jewelry, beginning with an AJP certification from the Gemological Institute of America.

YOUR GEMSTONE

Your gemstone was hand and eye selected from thousands of stones that we view before choosing the finest, most beautiful gems that suit our very choosy designers and clients.
We are as picky about our gems as we are about every other aspect of our work.

GREEN LAKE GEM LAB

Above and BeyondTM Gemstones

The Green Lake Gem Lab sources rare stones through a responsible network of globally dispersed miners and reputable traders, and verifies the validity of each gem with sophisticated testing equipment and independent certifications.

THE NIGERIAN SAPPHIRE INITIATIVE

Sapphires discovered in this region of the world tend to darker tones, especially deep teal to blue. From Victorian-era jewelry to contemporary design, sapphires are a favorite gemstone for bridal pieces to last the ages. A gem variety of corundum, sapphire gets its colors from subtle differences in chemical composition, such as varying amounts of iron or titanium. This produces colors that range from deep and inky to lighter tones, with a cool iridescent sparkle.

Green Lake’s Nigerian Sapphire Initiative is an organized effort to support the sustainable development of small-scale mining communities with investments in health, safety and education. In 2018, Green Lake financed the geophysical survey, drilling and equipment for a well to provide safe drinking water to one of the main mining communities from where thee shop sources sapphire rough. Proceeds from the sale of these sapphires go to support education in the form of books, safety with updated tools and techniques, and health with access to clean water and modern medicine. Visit NigerianSappireInitiative.org to learn more.


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.

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.

ROCKY H
Stonesetter

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

Heather's Penguin Ring

Custom 950 platinum engagement ring. This ring has a bezel set GLJW provided round sapphire center stone being held by a hand carved South African penguin. The penguin has hand engraved detailing and extends from the top face down to the right side with hand detailed feet going halfway down the ring. This ring has waves of light blue to dark blue GLJW provided round sapphire melee bead set below the penguin on the side faces and running halfway down the ring. This ring has a round shank and a high polish finish overall.