ask Dave West: The Jewelry Expert

Designing Jewelry Part 3

2009-10-01T17:28:00-04:00

As I was saying in my last post – every designer and artist has a unique way of approaching a project. I believe that this individual interpretation of inspiration creates an artists core "style". No matter how varied an artist’s work may be – I have always found that there is a recognizable "style" underlying what may appear to be unrelated aesthetics.

I recently became acquainted with a designer whose work I admire – Ji Hwang.

Her organic jewelry designs are not only graceful but I think what also attracted me to them is that they are so utterly different than my own. Ji’s work seems to "flow" from one shape to another – where as mine tends to be "built". I was quite surprised to discover that Ji’s earlier works where in many ways similar to my own. And while the end results are entirely different there are identifiable consistencies between her earlier and later works - as there are with my own.

Below is an earlier piece by Ji Hwang and a very old piece of mine.

Followed by a recent piece by Ji and one by myself.

David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Octobers Birthstones – Opal or Tourmaline

2009-09-30T18:02:33-04:00

October has two of my very favorite gemstones for birthstones – Opals and Tourmalines.

Tourmalines occur in a wide range of colors including some new earth tones.

Opals , like many gemstones, occur in a wider array of colors and varieties than are popularly known. One of my personal loves is fire opal.

David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Octobers Jewelry Design of the Month

2009-09-30T17:34:33-04:00

October’s design is a pendant with a custom cut red-green bolder opal set in 18k yellow gold and platinum with 0.75Ct total weight of diamond accents.

David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Designing Jewelry Part 2

2009-09-05T05:37:00-04:00

We are all products of our experiences. Our outlook on life, opinions and perception of what is going on around us is shaped to a very great degree by our past experiences and as unique as every individual.

Early in my freshman year at the School for American Crafts the class was given a design exercise to create a vessel using a pyramid. At first I remember thinking this was kind of a simplistic assignment for such a prestigious school – I mean how much is there to a pyramid!

Being nineteen - and stupid as only a nineteen year old male can be - I went storming into my professors office to demand a more challenging assignment. My professor calmly listened to my somewhat righteous tirade and just as calmly told me “I didn’t say what KIND of pyramid – you go think for a while”.

Our class was small – only thirteen kids – and when critique time came I will never forget the lesson I learned and what my professor was trying to tell me – is that thirteen people will have thirteen answers to the same question.

No photo was ever taken of my pyramid vessel – it was only a design exercise – but here is a computer render I made thirty years later from memory.

Speaking about being young and stupid – I ran across this hilarious video of Craig Ferguson on the subject:

Thanks to my blogging mentors Yvonne DiVita (Lip-Sticking) and Tom Collins (Books, Blogs, and Beyond) for pointing me to the video.

David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Septembers Jewelry Design of the Month

2009-09-01T01:50:00-04:00

This months ring is something a little different – we call it “The Twist”.

The center diamond is a 1.00Ct (one carat) along with 0.40Ct total weight of diamonds on the sides.

David W. Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Septembers Birthstone – Sapphire

2009-08-29T15:12:32-04:00

It is common for people to associate a particular gem with a single color. A good example is September’s birthstone - sapphire. Blue, a rich vibrant blue, is the color that immediately comes to mind when one thinks of sapphire.

But, as I mentioned in my previous post on sapphire; the gem actually occurs in a wide variety of fabulous colors.

So if your birthday is in September and you love blue – Great. If your birthday is in September and you prefer a different color – well there’s still a sapphire for you!

David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Designing Jewelry

2009-08-22T14:15:39-04:00

A friend recently asked me a common question in such a profound way that it got me really pondering my answer. Now this question is deceptive – simple enough on the surface and since it is so frequently asked, easy to give a rote answer to. But it’s not a simple question and a rote answer rally isn’t a good answer – at least mine isn’t, now that I think about it.

Every artist and designer is asked this question and every artist and designer has a different answer – as it should be. The question itself, asked in various ways, is – where do you get your ideas from?

I’ve always tended to answer the question with something to the affect of, "I love the interaction of shapes and lines;" (true – I do) or, "I was inspired by ---"(also true) or - and I suspect this is a very unsatisfying answer to the questioner – "It just came to me" - which the damn things do, with no rhyme or reason, at odd times and with no predictability, they just pop into my head.

What my friend was really asking me and what really got me thinking was: how did you develop your style, what are your influences, how do you create something that is uniquely yours?

This next series of posts will attempt to answer my friend along with everyone else who has asked me "Where do you get your ideas from?"

David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 2009

2009-08-18T15:57:39-04:00

This year marks the 10 anniversary of a donation, in the memory of my children, of a custom designed and handcrafted piece of jewelry to be raffled off at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundations, Rochester NY chapter’s annual gala in early November.

Not only does this project have a great deal of personal meaning to me – I also look forward to and enjoy the unrestricted design exercise.

The year’s piece, “The Swirl”, is a simple open helix curve set with forty three diamonds. With a diameter of a little over an inch and 1.25Ct. total weight of fine diamonds – "The Swirl" is truly a circle of light.

David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Augusts Jewelry Design of the Month

2009-08-01T14:48:35-04:00

Recently I introduced our new “Create Custom Jewelry Online” feature on our website and this blog. The feature has been hugely popular and I, along with the other jewelry designers featured, have been working like crazy to get more jewelry designs online.

I got to thinking that it would be fun to post a design every month that one of our customers had created using the online custom jewelry builder.

It seemed appropriate that the first featured design should be the ring we are creating for Yvonne DiVita – my blog mentor.

Yvonne’s ring has a stunning one carat oval diamond in the center with a matching round diamond on each side – the center diamond will be set in platinum with the rest of the ring in a rich 18k yellow gold – a very elegant, timeless choice.

David W. Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com

Create Your Own Custom Jewelry Online!

2009-06-16T16:19:54-04:00

Have you ever been shopping for that perfect piece of jewelry – only to be disappointed that you can’t find exactly what your heart desires? Or do you just prefer to have a unique piece of jewelry that you had a hand in designing – customizing the piece just the way you want it?

One of the projects I have been working on - along with some of the finest jewelry designers in the business today as well as some "hurt your head smart" software engineers - is the Virtual Display Case or VDC as we call it.

The VDC was first introduced last fall as an in store computer station so customers could create customized jewelry in 3D and then have their choice made to order.

I am very excited to announce that the VDC is now available online on my website. You can browse, anytime anywhere, though huge selection of jewelry by leading designers (myself included) in photorealistic 3D. It is a LOT of fun - and just a little bit addicting.

Once you have selected pieces that you are interested in you can then view them in 3D and customize each one to your taste. The VDC allows you to change metals and gemstones and you can see your personal creation instantly in 3D. You can even save your creations in your own personal "jewelry box" and share them with friends and family. When you are ready to turn your favorite selection into made to order custom jewelry - we are just a click or call away.

To give it a try just click HERE

Or try the banner to the top right of this blogs home page - or the banner at the bottom of my websites homepage.

David W. Nytch, CGA www.westandcompany.com