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Spectrum Award Entry, “The Trembling Lily”

September 6th, 2016

For the past thirty years, the AGTA Spectrum Awards has recognized designers within the jewelry industry. Considered the finest jewelry competition in the world, the Spectrum Awards places emphasis on use of natural colored gemstones and cultured pearls. Each piece is carefully inspected during the judging process by a panel of experts from […]

12 Unique Engagement Rings from 2015

December 14th, 2015

At Green Lake, we get to make engagement rings that really challenge creativity and test technical ability. Pieces start out as wild ideas that are eventually translated into the perfect ring for our clients – picking ‘favorites’ is near impossible, which is why we post our work at least twice daily on Facebook and Instagram. Still, there’s […]

Why We Decided to Use Fairmined Gold

November 3rd, 2015

Right now, Green Lake is one of only a few places in the world where you can design your own engagement ring or wedding band and have it cast in Fairmined certified gold; Fairmined is an assurance label that certifies gold from empowered small-scale miners who meet world leading standards for responsible practices (It’s much […]

ARTISTS AT WORK: Krista Robertson Wins 2015 Vision Award

May 20th, 2015

Each year MJSA – the U.S. trade association dedicated to professional excellence in jewelry making and design – announces winners from its Vision Awards Competition. Created to recognize outstanding achievements in design and manufacturing, awards are segmented into categories most representative of the modern jeweler. One of those areas of distinction is ‘Custom Design’ and […]

ARTISTS AT WORK: Goldsmith Everett Hoffman Wins National Recognition

May 15th, 2015

‘Artists at work’ isn’t some empty tag line here; our bench jewelers regularly have art on display in galleries around the country. Most recently, Green Lake Gold & Platinumsmith Everett Hoffman won entry into the first ever annual chasing & repoussé international exhibition, hosted by Denver’s Outnumbered Gallery on behalf of the Society of North […]

SCOTT + RHO: A Most Thoughtful Custom Design

April 30th, 2015

It could well be that Scott now holds the distinction as our most thoughtful custom ring client yet (and that’s saying A LOT considering Green Lake’s clientele is full of people going above and beyond to make something truly special). All the way from Indiana, Scott got in contact with Sam here at the workshop […]

BEAU + TANYA: Talk About A Cool Wedding

April 30th, 2015

A few month’s back Beau, a custom ring client working with Designer Emily J and a professional wildlife photographer doing work for National Geographic and REI, asked if he might be able to film the setting of his ring. We said, ‘OF COURSE!’ Later on Beau sent us his wedding ‘video’ that looks more like […]

It’s Difficult to Know the Diamond You Buy Online, Especially the Color

April 14th, 2015

Despite being considered ‘white,’ diamonds actually come in a range of color. Most fine jewelers offer diamonds from a ‘D’ grade (perfectly colorless) to typically a ‘K’ (some hint of yellow to brown), with ‘H’ and ‘I’ graded diamonds in the middle accounting for a majority of engagement ring purchases. Though color grades are evident on a […]

Be Mine: Lovely ‘Roses’ for Valentine’s Day

February 12th, 2015

Roses are a go-to gift for your sweetheart for sure, but on Valentine’s Day nothing says you mean business more than jewelry. So we thought we’d share a few of our favorite recent pieces that deliver on both – roses and jewelry. -ROSE GOLD- One popular noble metal used in many of our recently crafted […]

NATURAL MONTANA SAPPHIRES: Mine to Market

January 21st, 2015

FROM the SOURCE To spend a day sifting through rocks with Montana miner Drew Barns, you might come to believe sapphires are anything but rare. On his sprawling property along a bend in the Yellowstone River stands a hard-worn sluice, the go-to machine for a placer miner like Drew, who loads the hopper with […]

10 Unique Engagement Rings from 2014

December 8th, 2014

It’s that time of year once again where we look back at the most daring designs, expert craftsmanship and dazzling sparkle to leave the workshop. We’re perfectionists here and so it can take weeks to ensure the absolute finest rings are delivered – Green Lake only makes but a few thousand each year (which is […]

OPAL: Birthstone for October

October 3rd, 2014

Birthstones are always a tricky subject around here because the question of “who made up these rules anyway?” invariably comes up. Sure enough it’s a tough one to answer. Some say birthstones originated from ceremonial breast plates worn by high priests of the Ancient Israelites (called a ‘Hoshen’), which bore 12 different gemstones to represent the […]

RESTORATION: Some of the Coolest Repairs Yet

September 23rd, 2014

An Engagement Ring for the Ages It’s a rare sight indeed to see an actual Victorian era estate piece show up in the Seattle studio, but when this 1890’s ring came in we knew it was going to be a fun restoration. Originally set with two identical old European mine cuts, one of the diamonds had […]

RESTORATION: How to Save a Channel Band with Missing Diamonds

August 13th, 2014

Many brides wear tiny, delicate diamond bands alongside their engagement ring to add sparkle to the hand and serve as a life-long reminder of the big day, but after years of wear they may discover something truly awful – There’s a diamond missing! This is actually a rather common occurrence, and here’s why: Firstly, these […]

ERIC + IRENE: Our New Favorite Clients

July 28th, 2014

Well, no one’s playing favorites, but Charlotte North Carolina’s Eric E. and Irene G. were especially delightful to design for – there we said it. It would seem they liked working with us too; after a year-and-a-half, a hundred correspondences, and two trips to Seattle to visit the workshop, Green Lake must have played its […]

ARTISTS AT WORK: Custom-Cut Sapphire

June 25th, 2014

The Green Lake workshop crafts custom made-to-order engagement rings and wedding bands day in and day out. In order to bring each client’s vision alive, designers and jewelers must often push the limits of noble metals and precious gemstones to the max. We’ll extrude impossibly thin wire for delicate filigree, blaze and electrify metals to […]

EMERALDS: A Family of Precious Beryl Revealed

May 9th, 2014

We humans have considered emeralds particularly valuable for a very long time. Ancient Egyptians are credited with being the first to mine these jewels, out from the shadows of what Romans would later call Mons Smaragdus or ‘Emerald Mountain.’ Just a short thousand years later the Spanish returned from new world conquest, flaunting richly green […]

BEST IN SHOW: Shinya Takahashi Wins Again

April 30th, 2014

As Green Lake’s Technical Director, Shinya Takahashi keeps our considerable online gallery of work neatly indexed and organized, a purpose-built collaborative design platform serving our friends out-of-state, and an internal production tracking system – as well as a proprietary client resource management strategy – all buzzing with reliable efficiency and regular updates. Shinya is […]

ARTISTS AT WORK: Green Lake in Chicago

April 17th, 2014

At Green Lake, you’ll see our little ‘artists at work’ slogan just about everywhere; it’s on our signage, on our letterhead, and on the little copper boxes in which each ring we craft is delivered. This slogan (by the way) is absolutely true, and this month there are two artists in particular you really need […]

MELTING GOLD: Watch Pouring Ingot to Make a Ring

March 20th, 2014

From the crucible to the ingot mold, watch where a ring truly begins to take shape. Fire in the Green Lake workshop is as daily an occurrence as is hammering and filing, and truth be told it ignites some magic and excitement in us every time: MELTING GOLD from Green Lake Jewelry Works on Vimeo. […]

Buying a Diamond Online? Here’s what Diamond Certificates Don’t Always Show

March 6th, 2014

It’s never been easier to search the world’s diamond vaults for the absolute best quality and value. From your armchair, all of a diamond’s cuts, carat weights, clarity, and color are virtually at your fingertips to compare. Be careful, though, because with all that convenience it’s easy to get caught up with technical […]

What Makes Sapphires So Blue?

February 7th, 2014

From Victorian-era jewelry to contemporary design, sapphires are a favorite gemstone for bridal pieces to last the ages. Second only to diamond in hardness, sapphires are an especially durable gemstone for jewelry to be worn on a daily basis. Where diamonds are treasured for their lack of color, sapphires are most valuable when they are […]

HEAVY METAL: Hand Engraved

January 22nd, 2014

Here is a men’s wedding band unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It’s an inlayed, relief engraved mokume gane ring, crafted entirely by hand – and there’s only one. Not surprisingly, it’s available exclusively at Green Lake Jewelry Works. Green Lake specializes in making totally custom, handmade, one a kind wedding jewelry. To offer […]

VAL + RACHEL: A Custom Masters of the Universe Ring

January 21st, 2014

By the power of Grayskull…this ring is awesome! Ok, had to say it – but If you’re a baby of the 80’s then you know what we’re talking about. The power sword, if you recall, was what Prince Adam would raise to turn into He-Man (admit it, you remember). Green Lake Jewelry Works is really […]

Cool Together – One Man’s Truly Custom Proposal

December 19th, 2013

Talk about creative! Recent Green Lake custom engagement ring client Ethan W hand made this wintry terrarium to propose with – of course she said yes! See Ethan’s gallery for the ring here and meet Samantha, the designer he worked with here at Green Lake.

The Perfect Engagement Ring for a Young Doctor

December 12th, 2013

What makes for the perfect engagement ring to a new medical school graduate bound for long hours, latex gloves, and exam rooms? Jasper H, a recent Green Lake client and creative product manager for leading online company, came upon just the solution: A pendant shaped to hold her engagement ring close, even when she couldn’t […]

10 Unique Engagement Rings from 2013

November 19th, 2013

Ever since the very first one-of-a-kind engagement ring we crafted, Green Lake has been fashioning increasingly delicate, precise, and creative custom pieces year after year. The art of fine jewelry making demands decades of skillful apprenticeship that evolves into confident mastery. Artists at Green Lake are ever chasing new design challenges, creative interpretations of old […]

GOLDEN TATE: Touchdown Jesus

October 28th, 2013

When local pro football wide receiver Golden Tate first called on Green Lake Jewelry Works, we thought for sure he was looking to make a custom ring. After all, that is the core of what we do. However, Green Lake has also recently produced some big, custom pieces – from Pawn Star Chum Lee’s face […]

A LUXE HALLOWEEN : Couture Jewelry that’s Scary Cool

October 16th, 2013

Here are some of the most unique, one-of-a-kind pieces you will ever see in a noble metal. As Halloween approaches, we at Green Lake Jewelry Works are pulling these rings, watches, and necklaces out from the crypt and showcasing their darkly chic appeal. Each were designed and handmade here in our Seattle workshop and are […]

ENGAGEMENT STORY: ALLEN + CRYSTAL

October 10th, 2013

WE AT GREEN LAKE JEWELRY WORKS RECENTLY RECEIVED THIS GREAT NEWS – CONGRATS ALLEN + CRYSTAL! “I ended up proposing to Crystal a couple of weeks ago out on the waterfront in north Tacoma. I set it up as just walk down by the water with the dog before we went out for a nice […]