Julia Kay Taylor moonstone necklace

[pregcurious]

I just finished my first completely custom piece, and I am so happy to say that it went very well. Julia was great to work with, and sent me several sketches of the center piece with changes based on back and forth emails. She also made the chain instead of using a manufactured one. I tried to take some pictures, but I am only posting one because they are _bad_. You can see a nice picture here on Julia's 12/8 blog entry:

http://juliakaytaylor.blogspot.com/

Ironically, I haven't worn it anywhere yet because it's really a statement piece. The moonstones are sourced from Barry at Acstones (picture added to spice this up), with the exception of the center oval that Julia sourced. The small stones you see around the center piece are diamonds. I am seriously thinking of have matching earrings and ring made to make a set. I may also make the necklace longer after I wear it for a while.

 

[alfaman]

Preg,

I am half a mind to engage Julia's services to create my e-ring.
What say you? How would you describe her style?

 

[Blue-Seeker]

Beautiful. My jaw is on the floor! It is so graceful and fluid.

 

[pregcurious]

Alfaman, I think it's best to chose an artisan based on if you already like their design aesthetic, and that's where I started for this project. Julia has a design stage during which you can work through her via email, her hand-sketches, and your pics. She then executes the piece. I requested to make a change to my piece after it was done the first time, which I describe below, and she was very gracious. She sent me a picture before soldering the 2nd time, probably to address the issue of my not being able to visualize things very well.

I did not micromanage Julia, and I trusted her aesthetic to produce beautiful designs. I sent her one inspiration picture, and referred heavily to one of the designs on her website. After 1 hand-sketched version of the entire necklace, and 4 hand sketched versions of the centerpiece she sent me, the necklace was made. After the necklace was done the first time, she sent me a picture of it. I did not like how the centerpiece looked in real life, and I noticed a tiny detail that had been omitted. (I had not realized how certain elements would look in real life--so not liking the centerpiece was my mistake 100%). Without hesitation, she redid the centerpiece to address the small detail and changed the centerpiece according to a new sketch we had agreed on. This time, she sent me a picture before soldering to make sure I liked it. I would not have expected her to redo the centerpiece without an extra fee had it not been for the tiny detail that was omitted. I found the whole experience wonderful, and I would absolutely work with her again.

If you are only looking mostly for technical ability, have a different aesthetic, and want to micromanage, I think you are better of going through someone who can do CAD/cast because CAD allows you to see an accurate representation of the piece and allows for many modifications. If you are looking for bezels, I think Julia is one of the best, and I would trust her to produce a beautiful, even bezel. Even the bezels around the tiny diamonds and hand-bent pieces around the centerpiece are prefect. The chain has an organic quality that comes from being handmade, but she can also source manufactured chain for you that is very even (and without as much character, IMHO.)

I've only had 2 previous semi-custom experiences before. The first was with Whiteflash, and the second was with Quest Fine Jewelers to fix the same piece. I had a bad experience with WF, but many people here love them. My mistake with WF was not micromanaging them, and not asking for CADs, which I thought were overkill for the modification I requested. They gave me a product that was sub par, and told me it was not possible to fix it. Quest fixed it without hesitation, but they were limited by aspects of the previous design. I told WF, and in response they reimbursed me for the fix, which was fair. I realized after that experience that I only want to work with artisans whose aesthetic I love and I can learn from, or CAD with micromanaging. I don't like micromanaging, so I will probably work more with artisans. That said, if you want to do CAD/cast, I think many people have been happy with WF through that route. If you are on a tighter budget, I think DanielM is more affordable. I would read reviews on PS using the search function before engaging with a vendor. Every popular vendor here has their supporters and detractors.

 

[pregcurious]

Thank you, Blueseeker

 

[Aoife]

Absolutely gorgeous!

I had noticed this on Julia's blog, and hoped that I would get a chance to see it on PS. I am really hoping that you get an opportunity to take more photos, especially some photos of you wearing it. I'd especially love to see how the detail of the little moonstone that dangles in the back looks on you.

Congratulations on the successful completion of a really remarkable custom project. If you haven't already, you might want to send Barry a photo of the finished piece, since he loves to see what happens to the gemstones he sells.

 

[jezebelle]

Very pretty!

 

[T L]

GORGEOUS!!

 

[Treenbean]

Beautiful!!! Very art nouveau. Neckshots please!

 

[stargurl78]

That is absolutely stunning, PG!!!!!! What a cool design!

 

[alfaman]

Preg,

I only have two words for you....Wow Amazing!

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks stargurl, treenbean, TL, jezebelle, Aoife, and Alfaman. I sent Barry a link as you thoughtfully suggested, and he liked it. I can't wait to buy more stones from him.

 

[tyty333]

That turned out very nice! We need some neck shots!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wow, that is beautiful!

 

[Amys Bling]

how did I miss this??