Every commission starts the same way: two chairs, a sketchbook, and a question we ask before any talk of stones or budgets — who is this for, and what do they actually wear? The answer shapes everything. A ring for someone who gardens bare-handed is engineered differently from one destined for a jewelry box between galas.

Week one is pencil work. Ana sketches in front of the client, which surprises people — they expect a tablet and a rendering. But a pencil line can be argued with in real time, and the arguments are where the design happens.

Weeks two and three belong to wax. We carve a full model the client can hold, wear, and squint at in daylight. Changes at this stage cost nothing but shavings, which is exactly why we insist on it. Roughly a third of our commissions change meaningfully at wax — a shoulder softened, a gallery opened up, a stone rotated ten degrees.

Week four is fire and glass: casting in recycled gold, then setting under the microscope. Our setter, who has done this for twenty-two years, still holds her breath on the final prong of every emerald. Week five is finishing — polish, hallmark, photography for the client’s records, and the handshake.

The ring in these photos went home on a Thursday. The proposal, we’re told, happened Saturday morning. She said yes.