Happy New Year

18k yellow gold pendant with tourmaline and diamonds

I'm in recovery mode right now.  That six week period leading up to Christmas without any days off always wears me out a bit.  And then to only get one day off before you have to go back to work is never any fun.  I always prefer Christmas to fall on a Saturday so I can get a three day weekend.  No such luck this year.  But it was nice that we had a busy season and when I'm working on the weekends I get a chance to do thing I love most and be creative on the bench.  This seemed to be a big year for necklaces.  The ruby beads I posted a picture of here sold almost immediately and all of my gold necklaces that I had out also sold.  One lucky woman also got a beautiful strand of South Sea pearls.  If you weren't lucky enough to get anything this year you needn't worry.  I believe that there are any number of holidays that are good gift giving excuses.  For example in February there is  Chinese New Year and Flag Day.  In March there is Daylight Savings Time ends day and the first day of Spring.  These are all huge gift giving holidays around here.  Of course there is also January 25.  Why you might ask?  Well because it's the only January 25th we're going to have this year!  What better reason do you need?

I am making my annual trip to California this month and I am looking forward to the break and the inspiration that always comes from being in Big Sur.  We will be open some of the time I am away and we have some workmen in and out of here during the period to take care of some things in the workshop, but please call if you aren't sure if we're in or not.

In this article I talked about a customer who had taken twenty years to purchase a ring from me.  They came into my store this past week and we had a wonderful time getting to know one another better.  We couldn't resist getting some pictures of us so I have posted them below.

I'm looking for topics some of my readers might like to hear.  If any of you have any interests in particular stones or topics please send them my way.  I always love to hear from any of you so any comments are appreciated.

If you're a new reader please remember to check out my blog directory on the right side of the page.  It breaks down many (although not all) of my articles by topic.

The pendant above is one I custom made for a customer this Christmas.  It has a magnificent tourmaline in it as well as some of my sparkly diamonds.



I hope everyone had a happy New Year and I will be writing again upon my return from California.