The highlight of 2019 for Wendy Brandes Jewelry was a gem of a person! I am still madly in love with the photo shoot I did with Judith Boyd, aka Style Crone, because I’m always trying to show that jewelry is for everyone. When I did appearances this year, I decorated my booth/case with photos…
gorgeous clients
Wednesday’s Video: Self-Engagement Ring
If you missed last week’s video about my gorgeous customer Laura’s “self-engagement” ring, here’s a little taste. View this post on Instagram Last week on our #vlog, we were talking about a gorgeous custom ring for a gorgeous client: ⠀ ⠀ “I will be 50 on Thursday and I would like to celebrate with a…
Jewel of the Month: Laura’s Tourmaline Ring
April’s Jewel of the Month is a custom ring I created for gorgeous client Laura in honor of her 50th birthday. Fun fact: This was the first time I ever took apart one of my existing designs to use a gem for a customer’s ring. Say goodbye to my original 18K gold Fulvia ring … ……
Jewel of the Month: Ring Redesign With Rubies
I was going to wait until we were further into February to reveal the Jewel of the Month, but I just put the finishing touches on it today and I can’t resist sharing! Gorgeous client Phala asked me to turn her classic ruby-accented engagement ring and wedding band into a nontraditional, single ring. For inspiration,…
Bonus Jewel of the Month: A Fern for Jāņi
Happy Jāņi to all you Latvians out there … especially my gorgeous client Sandra, who is also celebrating her wedding anniversary with her dashing husband. For the edification of my non-Latvian readers, Jāņi is a holiday linked to the summer solstice. The actual solstice was on Thursday, but the holiday is officially celebrated during the…
What Wendy Wore: Abigail & Max Got Married
It’s fun when I get to make the engagement ring and wedding bands for a couple and then attend the wedding. That’s happened a few times. (Whenever you hear someone stage-whisper, “THANK GOD!” when a wedding band smoothly goes on a finger, you know there’s a jewelry designer among the guests.) Last weekend, I had…
Jewel of the Month: Garnet Man Brooch for January
January’s birthstone is the garnet, so this is the perfect time to unveil my latest creation for ANZA Gems: a 20.36-carat rhodolite garnet “man brooch” accented with seven rose-cut diamonds and set in 18K yellow gold. All of my ANZA designs are special because I get to work with ethically mined gemstones that give back…
Jewel of the Month, Part II: Abigail’s Engagement Ring
Every day, I get three or four emails in which someone claims to be a “big fan” of my blog and offers me $50 to publish a guest post (which often includes the dreaded “infographic”). Of course, anyone who truly is a big fan of this blog might have noticed that I haven’t had a…
Flashback Friday: Pearls From the Past
The last day of June is a good excuse for one more post about the month’s birthstone, the pearl. I made this one-of-a-kind pair of pearl earrings in 2008. The pearls are set in 18K yellow gold and accented by 83 points of black diamonds (there are 100 points in a carat). It’s a much…
Customer of the Day: Grace Lavarro
I had the pleasure of meeting Grace Lavarro at the JCK LUXURY show in Las Vegas in June. We were introduced by our jewelry designer friend Marla Aaron. Grace is the owner of Jewels by Grace, which sells antique diamonds, fine vintage and estate jewels, and contemporary engagement rings. I definitely didn’t expect her to…