About My Quality, Design Influence, & Training

Inspired by my lifelong passion for diving and the ocean, my jewelry draws from the idea of ‘sunken treasure.’ This evokes the beauty of ancient treasures and regal designs...with just a touch of adventure. Using high-quality, hand-selected gemstones and a custom 18K gold alloy, I create pieces where the rich gold and vibrant gems transform pieces from mere jewelry into true “TREASURE.

 Feel like getting your feet wet?  Follow me a on a few freedives here: Freedive Through Coral Cave and Shipwreck Freedive

 

ABOUT MY QUALITY

CRAFTSMANSHIP:  I craft my jewelry with meticulous attention to detail, offering a level of quality usually unmatched at my price points.  I also incorporate thoughtful touches that make a significant impact, such as bright-cutting the interior of each gemstone bezel for a polished finish, rather than leaving a vaguely rough edge.  Another example would be azuring the backs of exposed settings to enhance aesthetics and reduce weight in my higher-end pieces.  While it's challenging to list all the distinguishing features, my commitment to delivering exceptional quality and artistry at competitive prices is paramount.

GEMSTONES:  When it comes to gems, I hand-select all my gemstones which are curated for their quality, uniqueness, and their price.  I’m consequently quite proud to be able to offer a very unique selection of gemstones at unusually low prices. 

JEWELRY WORK & DESIGN INFLUENCE

My lifelong passion for the ocean and diving has deeply influenced my work. I am captivated not only by the beauty of marine life but also by the rich history found beneath the waves. Shipwrecks have long sparked my imagination, and as a child, I dreamed of discovering sunken treasure. This idea evokes the grandeur of antiquity, from the remarkable finds in Tutankhamen's tomb to the jewels of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, and the dazzling treasures of the Imperial Treasury in Vienna or the British Crown Jewels.

This fascination has evolved into a passion for creating jewelry inspired by the general theme of "antiquity" and "treasure" with a bit of a specific focus on shipwreck treasure. However, just as not all treasure is jewelry, not all jewelry achieves the status of treasure. For me, it’s the harmonious blend of rich yellow high-karat gold and vibrant gemstones that transforms a piece into something truly extraordinary—something that transcends mere jewelry and enters the realm of "TREASURE."

With this as my starting point, I have focused on the ancient Etruscan technique of granulation to create modern pieces echoing the opulence of the distant past for those seeking their own piece of contemporary treasure.

 

MY TRAINING

My interest in jewelry and gemstones began at an early age and it was not long before I began to develop a collection of rocks, minerals, and gemstones.  When I turned 18, I decided to get the equipment to cut and polish many of the stones I had collected over the years. After cutting a few practice pieces, I took them over to the local jewelry store/rockshop. Impressed by the work I had done, the owner offered me a job as an apprentice. It was there that I was taught the basics of jewelry repair and began an obsession with jewelry design. During the summers of my college years, I would return to my hometown of Traverse City, Michigan and spend my time working at bench the jewelry store doing everything from rings sizing, to chain repairs and retipping, to custom fabrication. In 2000, having spent two of my summers working there, I decided to take a break from college and move out to San Francisco to attend the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts. It was there that I learned the techniques I would need to know take my skills to the next level and truly become a goldsmith; everything from stone-setting and engraving to advanced fabrication. It was also there that I had the opportunity to take a class with renowned gem cutter, Bernd Munsteiner (the man who cut the famous Dom Pedro aquamarine in the Smithsonian and generally considered the inventor of the fantasy-cut gemstone movement) and was first introduced to and learned the technique of granulation from another phenomenal jeweler, Kent Raible. The moment I saw it, I instantly knew that was the style I wanted to specialize in.

Upon learning this new technique, I traveled back home to Traverse City and began to practice it every chance I had. Nonetheless, I still had not yet graduated from college. Eager to finish a degree, but knowing that I wanted to work as a jeweler, I began making the nearly 3 hour drive back to my home almost every weekend to work on jewelry. In 2002, I graduated from Hope College with a major in German and began designing and fabricating jewelry full time.

In the Fall of 2008, I also began producing custom sterling silver, titanium, and tungsten carbide pet tags (the latter two of which are guaranteed for the life time of your pet) as well as various jewelry for pet lovers to help round-out the site. If you are interested, you can take a look at my pet tag site at www.thesterlingpet.com.

 

RANDOM FUN FACTS

  • I enjoy scuba diving, but have come to love freediving (breath-hold diving) vastly more.  My personal best breathhold was a static hold of 5 minutes 45 seconds.  If you'd like to see what freediving is like, you can follow me through a coral cave and down to a shipwreck here:  Freedive Through Coral Cave and Shipwreck Freedive (there are also additional freediving videos on that channel which can be a fun escape).  The picture above is me relaxing on the bottom at 50ft between two coral heads.
  • I'm currently a yondan (4th degree black belt) in Matsumura Shorin-Ryu under Hanchi John Hutchcroft and teach classes at my dojo called the Blue Water Dojo in Grand Haven, MI.
  • I am a classically trained singer and spent 2 years of college pursuing a vocal performance degree before switching to marine biology and finally ending on a German major.
  • I’ve been 1200ft down the Cayman wall in an old Russian petroleum research sub.  The sub pilot was a man named Courtney Platt who also took James Cameron to the same place in the same sub which gave him the inspiration for the ocean bottom and trench in the movie “The Abyss”.
  • I have played piano since I was 5.

Most Important of All...

I have been blessed with a wonderful wife Sara, a beautiful daughter Elizabeth, and two fantastic sons Oliver and Edwin

 

 THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!